Efficiency Pouring for Bartenders

by Kip Pascal

Can you pour shots that hit the one-ounce mark every time? Yes, I am talking about free pouring from a bottle. No bar guns involved.

Note: If you need to learn this skill,
then read The Perfect Shot.

As a bartender, you will have to, on a good night, mix lots of drinks at the same time. So, how do you save time as a professional?

The answer is to practice efficiency pouring.

Line Them Up Against The Wall ... I Mean On The Bar

Get a bunch of glasses, and line them up on the bar. Try to get the lips of the glasses to touch.

No space in between is definitely preferred.

Now, you are going to bend your wrist, tipping the bottle, to start the pour sequence.

Are you with me, so far?

As you top the spout to the first glass, you do your standard 3-Count. You count to three, but this time, you don't put the bottle to the upright position.

Keep the pour going ... into the next and the next. No lifting up in between.

1-2-3 ...1-2-3 ...1-2-3 ...1-2-3 ...1-2-3 ...1-2-3 ...1-2-3 ...1-2-3 ...1-2-3 ...1-2-3 ...1-2-3 ... AND UP!

You lift after the last count of three.

The Super Professional

Just like with the perfect shot, the mark of a professional bartender is the ability to pour a perfect shot into glasses of all shapes and sizes.

So, start practicing with a mixed line up.

Just think; you will separate yourself from other bartenders. Many are reliant on the electronic gun to deliver a perfect shot.

Here, you can free pour a line just about as fast as the franchise bartender. You will be the one with the skill.

But can you pour and tell jokes at the same time?