Working World

Night Shift

Bartending guru shares the scoop on life behind bars

By Nuttaporn Srisirirungsimakul, Photographs courtesy of Witoon Wongsawat

Did You Know : Bartenders call non-alcoholic drinks �virgins.�

Bartender trainees learn to mix drinks.

Imagine being the centre of every party, having a blast and getting paid for doing it. Imagine what life would be like if you weren�t tied to a traditional 9-to-5 job but could still earn piles of money to put yourself through school or take a dream vacation. Sounds too good to be true, right? Not according to Witoon Wongsawat, who says a career as a bartender offers all this and much more.

And you can take Witoon�s word for that. Married at a very young age, Witoon took a job as a bartender hoping to earn enough money to support his family. He soon found he had more than enough. Not only did Witoon manage to put his children through school on his bartender�s salary, he also went back to finish his own education.

Now the former bartender is the director of Witoon Cocktail & Wine School. Funded by spirits importing company Pernod Ricard, the school offers free bartending courses to new graduates under the age of 25.

EXPERT EDUCATION

�A bartending school?� you ask. �How hard could mixing drinks and chatting with customers be?�

Well, according to Witoon, a proper education is needed if you want to be a �quality� bartender. �Though some can put on a show flipping bottles while mixing drinks, most Thai bartenders still aren�t up to standard,� Witoon said.

Witoon shares his knowledge in the class.

So what exactly is required of a good bartender? First of all, Witoon said, a bartender needs to be very knowledgeable about mixing alcoholic drinks. �You have to know the differences between each spirit � what it is made of and what goes with what,� Witoon said.

Bartenders also need to know which types of glasses each drink should be served in and how each should be garnished. �For example, a dry martini goes with an olive while a gibson is decorated with a cocktail onion,� Witoon said.

In addition to serving liquor, bartenders also serve cappuccino, tea or even fruit juice, so good bartenders have to learn about those beverages as well, Witoon said.

Interacting with patrons in a friendly way is another important part of bartending. �Bartenders meet lots of new customers every day, so you have to know how to talk with each of them and learn to be a good listener,� Witoon said.

Managerial skills are also required since a bartending job also includes keeping the bar well-stocked, dealing with cash, recording drink sales and supervising other bar staff members.

STEPPING STONE

As tempting as it sounds, some are still hesitant to enter into a life behind the bar, wondering what career path such a life would entail. Witoon agrees that a lifelong career as a bartender might not be an ideal career choice for some.

�Of course I don�t want my students to be bartenders for the rest of their lives,� Witoon said. �That�s why I want to educate them so that they can move on to be bar supervisors, food and beverage managers or restaurant consultants.�

However, Witoon urges patience for those who choose this career path. �You have to be prepared to start at the bottom and then work your way up,� Witoon said.

And the best start is, of course, a proper education.

Witoon Cocktail & Wine offers six-week bartending courses for free. The next class starts in December and will run from 10 am to 3 pm Monday to Friday. For more information call 02 939 2416 or 01 861 1136.

Vocabulary

knowledgeable (adj): knowing a lot about something
spirit (n): a strong alcoholic drink
garnish (v): to decorate a dish of food with a small amount of another food
patron (n): a person who uses a particular shop/store, restaurant, theatre, etc.