A
bartender is a person who serves beverages (usually
alcoholicAn alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. They are legally consumed in most countries, and over 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption...
) behind a counter (or similar) in a
barA bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...
,
pubA public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
,
tavernA tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food, and in some cases, where travelers receive lodging....
, or similar establishment. A bartender, in short, "tends the bar". The term
barkeeper may carry a connotation of being the bar's owner. In addition to their core beverage-serving responsibility, bartenders usually maintain the supplies and inventory for the bar (though some establishments have
barbackA barback is a bartender's assistant. Barbacks work in nightclubs, bars, restaurants and catering halls. Barbacks stock the bar with liquor, ice, glassware, beer, garnishes, and so on, and usually receive a portion of the bartender's tips; often around 10% to 20%, or a portion of total sales; from...
s who help with these duties). In establishments where
cocktailA cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink that contains two or more ingredients—at least one of the ingredients must be a spirit.Cocktails were originally a mixture of spirits, sugar, water, and bitters. The word has come to mean almost any mixed drink that contains alcohol...
s are served, bartenders are expected to be able to mix hundreds to thousands of different drinks.
Bartenders also usually serve as the public image of the bar they tend, contributing to as well as reflecting the atmosphere of the bar. In some establishments focused strictly on the food, this can mean the bartender is all but invisible. On the other extreme, some establishments make the bartender part of the entertainment, expected perhaps to engage in
flair bartendingFlair bartending is the practice of bartenders entertaining guests, clientele or audiences with the manipulation of bar tools and liquor bottles in tricky, dazzling ways. Used occasionally in cocktail bars, the action requires skills commonly associated with jugglers...
or other forms of entertainment, such as those exemplified in the films
Cocktail and
Coyote UglyCoyote Ugly is a 2000 romantic comedy/drama based on the actual Coyote Ugly Saloon, set in New York City. The film stars Piper Perabo and Adam Garcia...
. In regions where tipping is the norm, bartenders depend on tips for most of their income. Bartenders are also usually responsible for confirming that customers are of the
legal drinking ageLaws about the legal drinking age cover a wide range of issues and behaviours, addressing when and where alcohol can be consumed. The minimum age alcohol can be legally consumed can be different to the age when it can be purchased. These laws vary among different countries and many laws have...
before serving them alcohol. A major responsibility of a bartender is to make sure customers do not over-imbibe.
United Kingdom
In the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, bar work is not generally regarded as a long-term profession, but more often as a second occupation, or transitional work for students to gain customer experience or to save money for university fees. As such, it lacks traditional employment protections and therefore has a high turnover.
The high turnover of staff due to low wages and poor employee benefits results in a shortage of skilled bartenders. Whereas a career bartender would know drink recipes, serving techniques, alcohol contents, correct gas mixes, licensing law and often share cordial relationships with frequent customers (known as "regulars" in some parts of the world), short term staff lack these skill sets. Some pubs and bars prefer more experienced staff, although chains tend to accept inexperienced staff subsequent to in-house training.
United States
The
Bureau of Labor StatisticsThe Bureau of Labor Statistics is a unit of the United States Department of Labor. It is the principal fact-finding agency for the U.S. government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics. The BLS is a governmental statistical agency that collects, processes, analyzes, and...
maintains and publishes extensive data on occupations in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, including that of bartender. It publishes a detailed description of the bartender's typical duties and employment and earning statistics by those so employed.
External links and further readings