Anything you do will be done well if you enjoy what you are doing. The secret behind being a good and successful bartender is to enjoy the job, take pride in it and to relish being the life of the party. While a good bartending school will teach you all the dos and don’ts of the trade, the enjoyment factor is purely personal. If you wish to become a successful bartender first visit a few bars, watch the bartenders in action, put yourself in their place and figure out whether you would enjoy doing what they are doing. If your answer is a resounding yes, then promptly enroll at one of the many good bartending schools. Once you have mastered the art, there will be no stopping you.

Latest trends in mixology.

Keeping up to date and watching out for new trends, is a very important aspect of bartending. So today we will talk about some of the latest trends. There were a few things that were trending at the turn of this century that have today become norms in bartending, they are

• Use of fresh fruit juice: If it was a hot trend in the past, today it is a must, especially for citrus fruit juices.
• Good quality ice: Good quality ice is imperative to produce cocktails of superior standard. Bad quality ice will give you watered down, ruined drinks.
• Local sourcing: Ingredients for drinks are increasingly being sourced locally, not only resulting in fresh flavours but also minimizing the carbon print of the bartender or distiller.
• Homemade ingredients: Many bartenders are making their syrups, bitters and even vermouths at home thereby putting their individual stamp on their drinks.

David Rios, a Spaniard who beat 43 finalists to grab the title of the world’s best bartender in 2013 predicted some trends for 2014 and he sure hit the bull’s eye.

• After years of flamboyance and style the serious mixologist has finally returned to the basics. His focus is now on precision drink creation using the jigger for every pour. The jigger today is to the mixologist what the knife is to a chef, the symbol of his art.
• Rios also predicted that while the popularity of molecular techniques like foaming, spherification and nitroinfusion will continue, mixologists will return to mastering classic cocktails like the martini.
• Another trend this year has been the creation of pre-batched carbonated cocktails. Many bartenders are carbonating and bottling their popular cocktails to save on service time. Some of them are also placing them in kegs so that they have cocktails on the tap. It sure saves them a lot of time in a busy bar.
• Flavoured ice cubes is another factor that has been gaining popularity this year as has been the production of homemade vermouth.
• Nitroinfusion and clarification are two techniques trending this year. While the first saves time the second results in better looking, clearer juices. But there have been mixed reactions regarding taste in the final products compared to the ones produced using traditional methods
• Finally as predicted showmanship has become increasingly important with bartenders adding a lot of theatricality in the creation of drinks much to the delight of their guests.

Do you want to learn about the new trends in mixology? Contact us soon.