Our School – Teaching about Spirits with Spirit

We pride ourselves on the exceptional education that we provide to our students. We have been in business for several years and have taught hundreds of students how to be top-notch bartenders. Our headquarters are based in Rhode Island and we teach in several locations throughout the country. Our focus is to provide the most in-depth bartending education possible while doing so in a convenient time frame, and by teaching the material in an enjoyable and easy to follow manner. The staff at our school is excited about their work and honored to be teaching our students about the wonderful profession of bartending!

An Excellent Education

Building a strong foundation of knowledge and learning proper techniques are essential for pursuing any profession, and bartending is certainly no exception. Our industry-leading program is among the best and most informative bartending courses in the country and we teach about all aspects of the occupation. This is evident with the many success stories we hear from graduates who have went on to pursue their work.

A bartender would not be able to work properly behind the bar if they had never learned the correct mixology techniques. This would show with the lack of professionalism they would demonstrate, the quality of their cocktails, and how full their tip jar may be at the end of each night. This is why we teach our material so thoroughly. With the amount of knowledge that our students learn and with the valuable skills they acquire, they are ready to bartend extremely well (and earn as much as possible) when they graduate and become professional bartenders.

Our Instructors

Our instructors are among the best bartenders in the industry. We select teachers who have had several years of bartending experience and who have worked in some of the finest establishments in the country. We also keep our class sizes small so that teachers are able to work with each student to help them develop their skills and techniques. Each instructor goes through our teacher-trainer program to ensure that they have all the tools necessary to best convey the class material. Our instructors are passionate about what they teach and are ready to pass along the professional insight that they have learned from several years of experience onto our students - including their sometimes comical “tricks of the trade”!

From "Selling a Tall" to "Yelling Last Call" - How the Class is Taught

We teach about every aspect of bartending and professional mixology very thoroughly in a fun and enjoyable atmosphere. We want to give our students the best education possible to ensure that they learn how to bartend at their best and keep their tip jar at its fullest. During the two-day program the instructor's lesson plan starts from the beginning with the basic fundamentals, and then goes into every subject of bartending very in-depth so that no bit of information is left out. We have designed our class to be as informative as possible while still being able to give everybody a fun, easy to understand, and enjoyable classroom experience. We start at the beginning, yet as the class progresses we cover material that even the most experienced bartenders can learn a great deal from. While teaching the subject matter we heavily stress the importance of safety and responsibility practices as well.

Each student is given our Student Manual, which is one of the most informative bartending guides available. It is theirs to keep so they can take notes and use it as a future reference. The students also get plenty of "hands-on" experience with mixing all varieties of cocktails. During the mixing sessions, students take turns being bartenders, "bar-backs", and customers to accomplish a real-life bar setting. Upon completing the course, students receive a Bartender Training Certificate ("Bar Card"). This is a wallet-sized certification of completion card that they can show to potential employers in order to verify their bartending training. Each student also becomes certified in the National Restaurant Association's ServSafe® Alcohol Safety Program (which is required to work in several states) so they are ready to legally begin bartending right away. The class is great for beginners and no previous experience is necessary to take our course.

Some Examples of Topics Covered:

Bartending styles and pouring techniques along with how to shake, box, muddle, stir, and build all types of cocktails
Working effectively and efficiently behind different types of bars (with an emphasis on developing speed)
Beer and wine knowledge (ale and lager varieties, red and white wine pairing, etc.)
Making the best tips possible, cash management, price list info, up-selling, and “working the bar”
Bartending terms like “eighty-six” and how to properly use mixers, garnishes, speed racks, glassware, jiggers, muddlers, bar spoons, shakers, strainers, and several other tools
Customer service and bartender presentation
The bar layout, setting up and taking down the bar, "bar-back" duties, and bar management
History of bartending along with learning about clear spirits, dark spirits, and various liqueurs
Studying recipes and "hands-on" practice with mixing all types of cocktails such as straight-up drinks, on the rocks drinks, neat drinks, and frozen drinks (there are over 200 recipes in the manual)
Help with getting a bartending job and placement information
ServSafe® Alcohol Responsibility and Safety Training Program (required to work in several states)
Free “refresher classes” for all graduates if they want to brush up on their skills
Many "tricks of the trade" and other areas of study