1954 Practical Bar Management by Eddie Clarke

PRACTICAL BAR MANAGEMENT

The first few rounds of cocktails must be tip-top, not with the object of knocking the guests out, thereby enabling the bar tender to catch an early bus home, but on the principle that the first drink is always the best, and it is that that gets the party going. A good bartender will watch his flock carefully and adjust the strengths according to their tempo. The waiters must hand round the canapes, etc., and be on their toes to save the host that added responsibility of worrying about the state of his guests' glasses. He already has enough worry with the prospect of the bill to come. The mention of the liquid content of the glass brings up a point—don't fill them more than three-quarters full. Cocktail parties cause careless hands. Now for the question of staff to deal with a party. One good bartender and two waiters ought to be able to cope with any party up to 50 guests. A party from 50 to 100 would need two bar tenders and three waiters. Finally,here is some idea of the amountofliquor needed. Any quantities mentioned must, of course, be considered very elastic, because a httle less Gin,or a little more Vermouth in each cocktail will make a great difference in the total consumed over several hundred cocktails. One must bear in mind also that some cocktail parties are brief affairs whilst others go on into the early hours of the morning. Let us then base our standard on a party for 50 guests, who will chat and drink normally for abouttwo hours and will sip their cocktails from a^-ounce glasses. Taking into account that some guests take very little, others are moderate imbibers, and that others would be more at home in a farmyard, we come to the conclusion that the average number of cocktails consumed would be about five per head,so, since it is better to err on the right side, we will say six. A bottle of Gin holds some afif ounces and a litre bottle of Vermouth roughly 35 ounces and as our proportions for a Martini are three parts Gin to one part Vermouth—it will work out that four bottles of Gin(io6f ounces)will need one bottle of Vermouth (35 ounces)to bring it up to a three to one basis. Now together, these two ingredients will add up to a total of 141! ounces—we want to stir it in ice and pour it into 2^-ounce

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