Can i be a bartender without going to bartending school?

Yes, why you can. Just a word or two first:



DON"T go to bartending school, a total and complete waste of time and money, and all it really does is give you a worthless piece of paper that FALSELY proclaims that you're now a qualified bartender, which these graduates are anything but. And I am endlessly stunned by the haughtiness and holier-than-thou attitude displayed by your average bartending school graduate. HELLO!!! It's not like you've earned a college degree here! It's not like you're now intellectually on par with a rocket scientist. I can't count the number of times I've watched a "graduate" get behind the bar for the first time, and wind up getting totally smoked and snuffed by the patrons and onslaught of a moderate sized crowd, all while begging me for answers to "how do you make this drink" or "how do you make that drink"?. Stop wasting my time dammit.



First, get a job as a barback and look, listen, and learn. Or, for a female, cocktail waitressing is another easy way to gain experience, especially if your bartender is willing to teach you a bit, plus, as a barback or cocktail waitress, instead of wasting your money on a completely worthless certificate whose value is only one grade up from toilet paper, you'll be earning a decent income as you learn. While on the job, absorb as much information as you can from the bartenders you are working for, and ask questions, as time allows. Get a few good bartending books, read and try to memorize the more commonly requested cocktails in your area, and also the classic types. Beware--for lots of drinks, 10 different bartending books will give you 10 different cocktail recipes (try looking up Mai Tai in a few and you'll see what I mean)--so don't freak out. Another weird thing, I was bartending in the FL Keys for 20 years, and I dealt with a lot of international tourists and tourists from all over the U.S., and (don't freak out here either) the same drink with the same name will be made completely differently where they (the tourist) is coming from. For instance, a european martini is far different than an american martini, so if I was asked for a martini by someone with a european accent, I'd have to stop and clarify it with them (60 to 100 years ago, the american and eurpoean martinis were exactly the same, not so anymore). A hick coming outta South Dakota will insist that his Tom Collins is red and has grenadine in it, and yes, that is in fact what you get when you order a Tom Collins in SD. I now call that one a Sven %26amp; Ole Collins (because a Tom Collins it surely isn't). And that's just the tip of that iceberg. Bartending is far and away more art than science, there are very few 'right' answers--some right answers, but not a lot. Get used to that.



Bartending school will try to teach you the science, little of the art. And bartending school graduates will of course tell you how great the experiance was for them, and how much better of a bartender they are versus the non-schooled bartender (that holier-than-thou thing I mentioned earlier, simply because they cannot intellectually digest the fact that they have flushed $500 to $1000 of their money down the toilet. And you'd better be a people person, someone that people want to talk too, and you HAVE to talk to them, whether you want to or not. And patience--you MUST have a well of patience 100 feet deep or more.



In summary, artending schools are a waste. Get yourself a job as a barback or cocktail waitress, buy a coupla good bartending books (yes, they same drink will have different ingredients in different books--don't freak out), learn the standard drinks, learn your regional favorites (they vary greatly), and do it yourself. It ain't rocket science. Here's a little secret: real bartenders snicker and laugh behind the backs of bartending school graduates. I mean puh-leeze, get a life. .



Also, don't just learn at work. DO YOUR HOMEWORK, which of course happens at HOME.Can i be a bartender without going to bartending school?
In most states, yes, you can. Very few states require any type of licensing to be a bartender.



That said, bartender school can be fun and interesting, however you'll learn far more on a 4 hour shift behind the bar than you will in 2 weeks of pouring water with food coloring to look like scotch and sweet vermouth into a Boston shaker.



My recommendation: Go to one to learn pour times, and some terminology and have fun but they turn out over-confident arrogant pretend-bartenders who can't deal with making more than one drink at any given time.Can i be a bartender without going to bartending school?
wow i dont know .for a small amount of time i wanted to be a bartender. i was told by an actual bartender at a middle eastern nightclub that schooling is good to learn-but i'm assuming that you can learn by going online and memorizing mix drink recipes. i would recommend that you go to ANY bartender and ask around.Can i be a bartender without going to bartending school?
Yes. Start off waitressing or bar backing, and gradually work your way up to bartending. It's a lot harder than going to bartending school, but it can be done.





I am a graduate of bartending school, and don't regret it at all. It's great because of the job placement program, but I did learn a lot more in my first 2 hours on the job.



Not all bartenders out of bartending school have hot headed attitudes.



It really helps having practice making the drinks with room to screw up and learn from your mistakes without costing someone massive amounts of money.



The greatest thing about the bartending school, at least ABC Bartending School, is the job placement program. No matter where I move in the country, they can help me find a job.Can i be a bartender without going to bartending school?
Don't go to bartending school. They may teach you the basics of constructing a drink, but they do not teach you recipes.



There are thousands of recipes out there. You will learn to make what your customers in your particular bar order. Various places have different customers with different tastes. While you may make a ton of one drink at one place, someone may never order it at the next place you work.



The best way to gain experience is to barback or be a cocktail waiter/waitress. I actually gained my experience from creating ShotDrinks.com, then was hired as a bar manager a few years later. Being bar manager meant I had to help barback when the club was busy and also help make drinks when we were slammed. After that I had my experience and have bartended at numerous places.



I recently wrote a cocktail recipe book named "5900 Cocktail Recipes". It's currently available in paperback at DaveAVance.com.



My next book, "Martini Madness: 380 recipes to tempt your taste buds" should be out in a couple of weeks.