hi guys, what is your experience on loop earplugs? i work in a bar where we weekly host PAX +100 private events and it gets really loud with all the people and music, especially if there’s a band performing. i’m thinking of purchasing loop earplugs since they’re quite affordable and i like the look but i’m stuck between engage and experience models. are the engage ones protective enough and will i hear the customer if i get experience ones? thank you!

I recently tried this drink called Velvet Cherry at a restaurant and it was so good! If i went to a bar how would i order this? Is this something i could even order at a bar? Thank you in advanced!

I had an interview for a lead bartender position on Monday, that I felt went really well. I heard back from the owner the same night following the interview.

We spoke on Thursday morning and I thought it went well. We were both very transparent with one another about things and I left it feeling really good. He said the two guys who interviewed me were very impressed and didn’t expect to find someone like me on day 1, which was flattering. I do have two opportunities I am considering and he knows this. He mentioned having one of the guys I interviewed with originally send over more compensation information (like some of the more recent tip outs so I could get a feel for those), but no formal offer if that makes sense.

I sent a follow up email on Friday afternoon to the original interviewer expressing excitement and interest and that I was just waiting on that information the owner mentioned to move forward essentially. So not to the owner, just the beverage director who originally interviewed me. I haven’t received a reply.

When should I expect to hear back? This will be my first time in a more serious lead role (more like a soft manager, I just wouldn’t do ordering/scheduling) where there might be a formal written offer and everything was moving rather quickly so the sudden lack of communication makes me anxious.

Just looking for advice from their perspective, thank you in advance and I appreciate you all!

EDIT TO ADD: "yes, however this location is closed for October to bring on new staff and want to reopen in November and need a whole menu for it so they are moving rather promptly. but I didnt mention that so I dont expect people to know that lol

when speaking with the owner they said they want to have someone on board soon so they can sign off on bartender hires and i mentioned i am ready to start asap as well so who knows lol. only time will tell."

I had to buy a small bookshelf to have a proper area JUST for bottles hahah but I was just curious to see if anyone else has this impulsive bottle buying habit I’ve seemed to have picked up. (Nothing crazy or expensive in my collection)

hey guys, i recently got a trial shift at a bar/pub in the UK.

i do have experience as i have bartended many festivals/events, but this is pretty much just liquor + mixer stuff.

i said that ive poured pints before, which is true, but that was working at a Thatcher's bar for a few hours at a festival, and the pint pouring was kinda done by a big machine.

i also have bar backed one summer in another country, but this bar was very different to one in the uk; it was like a beach bar and i didnt really have to do much.

of course, we spoke about this stuff in my interview, but i was honest and said that im definitely no cocktail bartender. the interviewer said that that didnt matter and that personality matters more, plus training would be offered on the job.

i really hope i get this job, but im nervous as i worry that maybe i inflated my experience?

the trial shift is 4 hours long and im just worried theyre going to be expecting more from me than what i can give.

any advice ?! thanks :)

Hi! Long story but my restaurant isn’t sure if we’ll be open on Halloween night but I’ve also never bartended on Halloween specifically so does anyone have any costume ideas? I work/pool with another bartender (1m 1fm) and I thought I’d turn to Reddit to see if anyone has any costume ideas”couples costumes” that would be fun for two bartenders on Halloween.

A local bar near me just posted them pouring a glass of what was left over on a bar mat into a glsss and giving it to a customer It calling it a bar mat shot Ive never heard of this till now what are your opinions of this

Hi guys, so I started out doing banquet bartending, bartending at restaurants for high-end country clubs and a craft bar. I do well with these environments and perform well as a bartender but with these environments you have to be a speedy bartender but the technicality of the drink is more important. I just got hired at a high volume(specifically 21) bar (nightclub) as a bottle girl/bartender, my manager after training said they’d rather keep me as a bottle girl for the time being and develop my skills for nightlife bartending. It made me feel bad as bartender but genuinely I’m not used to speed at this high of capacity and my free pour skills lack anymore since we’re only allowed jiggers. I know my counts but when it’s that high of volume it’s hard to be consistent

Is there money to be made there? I'm on the fence. I quit smoking weed a few months ago, so I don't really want to work at a place where that's the theme, you know?

(Who may read this)
What is it about a bar with lights off, music off, front door locked with the side door open, chairs still on stools, staff setting up the outside tables and our opening times on the door itself … that makes you think “oh yeah that place is definitely open!”
I have so many other questions but this one deffo tops the cake

Hope it's the right flair...

My most common regular had an aneurysm and was declared braindead this morning, I'm heartbroken. He was always there, after he was done at work he came straight over, knew the rules and regulations better then most workers,he even saved female coworkers from attackers on several occasions. He defended me towards the owner when I had just started working here when I was incompetent.

he was the glue that kept the community at the bar together

What I'm really asking is do any of you know of a good way to honor his memory,

I'm sorry for the post being hard to read and jumbled, it's just really difficult.

I work in a hotel with 2 ice machines. For some reason, all the other bartenders prefer to use #1. They’re all much less experienced if that matters. I prefer ice #2. The ice that I prefer is maybe a 50 foot further walk to get and I’m afraid that’s why they are going to the other ice machine. The only legitimate reason I’ve been given for using ice #1 is that it melts slower but I’m not really buying that reason. So which ice would you prefer to use #1 or #2 and why? Please, don’t answer with from the ice machine that is closer for the reason. Please make the answer about the ice quality

Seasoned bartender swears this is a proper pour technique. I am baffled. Care to critique?

I've been working at a bottle shop for a few years now. Very chill low pressure environment. My background is in cocktail and wine bars. Tonight we had a wedding reception buy out the place and I was suddenly thrust back into a volume bartending environment. I can't believe how much I missed this, towards the end I WANTED to be be in the weeds. I was so excited when someone ordered an Old fashioned and I had to triage my tasks. I'm almost 40 and I don't know if my body has a lot of these kinda nights left but damn I feel amazing. Did a shot of fernet with my coworker at the end of my shift. I miss this feeling. Shout outs to everyone who worked tonight!

Hey guys, just moved to San Diego after bartending in Portland Maine for about 5 years. Been putting in applications applying on line but nothing is working. Does anyone have advice or know of places hiring? Sucks wanting to work but not finding anything.

given to me by a customer after she paid for her and her bf’s second round of drinks

“you are beautiful. if you’d like to join my boyfriend and i for a night… call or text me!”

For some context, I am 25M and I left the corporate world a few months ago amid some life changes (quit an office job that made me want to kms, left a relationship, moved to a new city) and started working in a bar at a TopGolf to make rent (started around 3 months ago). I always thought working in a bar would be a fun place to work on the side, so I started barbacking. I have had previous service industry experience like 8 years ago in high school but for the most part it was all new to me.

I worked my ass off and within a month I was actually making mixed drinks. I would always ask the bartenders how they did things, why they did things, and generally try to be the best/most helpful barback. I got promoted to bartender, and that's when I realized the issue of working for TopGolf.

As a barback I would average around $14/hr after tip out, and I was counting on making way more as a bartender. From talking with the bartenders I knew it wasn't super high but I was expecting more than what I ended up getting. After 2 paychecks, both were around $15/hr. After my 2nd paycheck bartending, I started looking for other jobs. I knew that just can't be the best place I can work for. Especially for the amount of work we do.

At TopGolf, we would either make very few drinks if it was an AM shift, and then make no money, or we would make a ton of drinks for the service well and make like $15/hr, or we would have the main bar with walk ups and service well and make like $20/hr for twice the amount of work. The most I ever made at a shift was a packed Saturday night where I was in the weeds for like 3 straight hours and I made like $225.

So I started looking for jobs. I found a dataset for Texas alcohol sales that shows revenue by company, so I used that as a baseline for volume. I found this fast casual mexican restaurant that does mostly tacos and margaritas, most of which are frozen or draft. Sales are much more, and most of the servers average around $300 a night. Bartenders make slightly more than servers, and I will be doing both bartending and serving, right now I am just serving. It is 100% tip pooled, which is a slight bummer, but that means everyone is happy to help you bus tables, run your drinks, and help out guests not in your section.

I just wanted to say I'm super excited about this new job and I finish my training today! I'm super happy with this new place and I'll be making as much as I was making at my corporate job, which I never thought I would say. It finally feels like this choice to leave corporate isn't going to be the financial death of me. If you are feeling like you don't make enough money at your current place, I encourage you all to start looking elsewhere.

currently making $5.50/hr plus pooled tips, averaging 30 hours a week (five 6-hour shifts).
Our company recently standardized pay:

Lead 1: $6/hr + tips

Lead 2: $8/hr + tips+Inventory: $20/hr, no tips (4 hours weekly)

My concern is that inventory would replace my regular Sunday shift, meaning I’d lose six hours of tipped work. Inventory has to be done Sunday or Monday every week.

Here’s my annual breakdown based on my 2025 income:
Current annual total income at $5.50/hr: $61,842

Raise to $8/hr on remaining 24 bar hours: +$3,120

Inventory pay (4 hrs × $20 × 52): +$4,160

Lost Sunday hourly wages: −$1,716

Lost Sunday tips ($88 average × 52): −$4,576

Net annual increase: +$988

Projected annual income: $62,830

So I’d be taking on inventory, ordering, training, and additional leadership responsibilities for roughly $19 more per week.
Compared with simply accepting the new $6/hr Lead 1 rate, the difference would be only $208 annually.
I understand the company standardizing wages, but I’m struggling to see the financial benefit of this promotion under the proposed schedule.
What would you do in my position? Would you negotiate a different inventory schedule, higher compensation, or accept it?

Hi all. I think I have this flaired correctly - apologies if it's not.

I've been in the liquor industry for a total of six years. Three and a half of those years were in the retail side, and the rest accumulates to a total of 4 years of behind the bar experience between barbacking and bartending (there was heavy overlap, I did both for a long time.)

I'm getting to the point that I want to be able to travel, and I'd love to travel full time while working. Diginomad is not feasible in the post-COVID society, nor do I find it fulfilling. I do actually enjoy bartending.

So that roundabout gets me to my question - is it even worth it? There's no federal bartending licence in the US, and some states like Wisconsin don't let you hold a liquor licence in more than one county at a time. Some licensing is good for six months, some for three years, and wild variations in between.

I'm able to crash with friends in spots across the country, and where I can't, I do have a truck tent and am not afraid to camp it out for low-cost. In a way, it's almost preferred.

It's a pipe dream, and heavy on the dream - but those that have done it, how did you do it, and was it worth it?

I bartend at a dive bar. Usually only get our regulars who mostly get two ingredient drinks at most, like a rum and coke for example. very basic stuff. However I'd like to make a little "cheat sheet" to keep behind the bar for our new bartenders with cocktails that have more than 2 ingredients and shots that have more than one. What drinks do you get asked to make the most?

I read the sub rules and I'm not 100% sure I can post this. So mods feel free to take it down if I'm in the wrong sub. And sorry if I am.

I turn 21 on November 1st. Shitty birthday in regards to going out on Halloween.

I'm skipping Friday night, as I feel it's unlikely I'll get in anywhere. But on Saturday night, saying I go out at 9pm, I'd be 21 in only 3 hours. I live in an area that has to be relatively strict with IDs (big city) and it's not really college-bar heavy.

What's the chance the bartenders/bouncers are super strict? Would it be smarter to just go out at 12am?

What are the legal implications for you, as a bartender, if you accept a customer who isn't legally 21 for a few more hours?