Have you ever worked professionally as a bar tender?

by **PFrank** » Sun Jun 03, 2012 5:41 pm

Figured I'd throw this out there to my fellow booze enthusiasts. Have you ever worked professionally as a bartender? How did you like the experience?

No, this questions isn't completely random (still on my first G&T). Beyond curiosity, I've often thought about opening up a little hole in the wall when retiring. ;)

by **frankennietzsche** » Sun Jun 03, 2012 8:25 pm

I did for about seven years. I loved it and wish that I had never quit to "go legit" because that all backfired.
I don't know about owning a bar, though, unless I was already financially stable.

by **Wingman** » Mon Jun 04, 2012 8:04 am

i did for about 10 years. i loved it and wish that i had never quit to "go legit" because that all backfired.

i'd love to own a bar, after The Child is out of the house.

by **peetie44** » Mon Jun 04, 2012 9:23 am

Legalize the weed. [x]

by **BeerMakesMeSmart** » Mon Jun 04, 2012 10:37 am

I worked at a dive bar for a while. It was the kind of place where you'd get funny looks if you ordered a drink with more than 2 ingredients in it. I laughed in a woman's face once when she ordered a watermelon margarita. Even if we had some watermelon laying around, we didn't have a blender. I miss that bar.

by **JimLahey** » Mon Jun 04, 2012 7:23 pm

Just a few times... I never really cared for it because the bar was at a restaurant that serves ridiculous drinks. I always had to use the blender, together with ice cream, fruit, all that shit, why can't people just order a beer or drink some whiskey?
It did teach me how to make some pretty impressive drinks, but I've never had to use that knowledge because I don't usually keep 8 flavors of ice cream in my fridge and sliced pineapple and strawberries. I have beer in the fridge, and giant bottle of whiskey by my desk, that's all I need.

by **GinSoakedGirl** » Tue Jun 05, 2012 3:09 am

Yeah I've worked in two drinking establishments. The first one was in the bar/club at uni and it was boring and hectic - real production line serving at times and during the quiet periods when you're the only one at the bar none of the other students wanted to stick around and chat because they didn't tend to come in alone. Also glass collecting was frankly treacherous at night time, smashed glass all over. The other place I worked was in a proper old man's pub. Everything was made from over-varnished wood and carpet. I loved it, getting to know all the regulars, lots of banter. I miss that.

by **Shane-O-Matic** » Tue Jun 05, 2012 5:23 am

Yep. Worked in a function suite in 2006, which was pleasant. Then, in 2010, I worked in a real dump. Sure, people drank whisky, but no one seemed able to handle it.

I'm trying to get back into pub work. I do miss the banter, even if I prefer to disperse it from the sunnier side of the bar.

by **Jiggers McCoy** » Tue Jun 05, 2012 11:05 am

Never poured, but a few times I did helm the liquor counter of the grocery store I worked at. People weren't as chatty.

by **WolfOfTheWest** » Tue Jun 05, 2012 6:41 pm

Never have, always wanted to. My cousin just got a job as the live-in manager of a pub, though, and I'm hoping that when I get home I'll be able to guilt-trip him into giving me work.

by **Smatter Noguts** » Tue Jun 05, 2012 7:48 pm

JimLahey wrote:Just a few times... I never really cared for it because the bar was at a restaurant that serves ridiculous drinks. I always had to use the blender, together with ice cream, fruit, all that shit, why can't people just order a beer or drink some whiskey?
It did teach me how to make some pretty impressive drinks, but I've never had to use that knowledge because I don't usually keep 8 flavors of ice cream in my fridge and sliced pineapple and strawberries. I have beer in the fridge, and giant bottle of whiskey by my desk, that's all I need.

I did this as well, making the chick drinks that took forever while the senior bartenders poured the long shots and took the big tips.

Meet Market Madness, circa 1973

by **PFrank** » Tue Jun 05, 2012 9:21 pm

LMAO @ watermelon margarita in a dive bar. Classic.

Thanx to you all. If I ever open that mellow, jazz-filled, gin joint, I know a bunch of world class boozers who need to be invited. :)

by **Mr Boozificator** » Fri Jun 08, 2012 1:33 pm

First in 1989 for a summer. Then in 1992 for a while, then for a year full time in between august 1995 and september 1996.
Two thousand good bar stories about it, with drinks, bad love affairs, brawls and one gunfight. Also one night against drunken police officers. Wild nights and no sunlight.

by **PFrank** » Fri Jun 08, 2012 8:01 pm

Ooh, those sound like some delicious stories.

by **treetop** » Sat Jun 09, 2012 6:54 am

many, many years in college bars, dive bars and biker bars. i was rude, inconsiderate and often drunk. that seemed to work very well for the task at hand.