June 2009

Bartending Stories

I had a few jobs in college. Some were good, some were awful and some were strange. While I was making my bones as a part-time, entry-level copywriter, I also pulled a night shift tending bar in a variety of mostly unpleasant places. I got my mixology certification just shortly after turning 21 and I quickly discovered that even holding a state license doesn't trump experience. Bars have a fairly high turnover rate, but most popular or high-end places won't hire someone for anything better than a barback shift if they don't have a year or two of experience slinging suds and rocks glasses somewhere else. For all the newbies, that first job is almost guaranteed to be somewhere shady.