Flair Bartending

Ours is a business of subtleties and intangibles, where small things often make a huge difference. After all, we tend to stock the same products on our back bars and carry the same styles of glassware behind the bar. So what differentiates your operation from those on either side of you?

Before you answer, ask yourself what most people are looking for from a bar, lounge, or club. It’s connectivity, the pervasive sense of belonging and being at ease in a place.

Ultimately guests are looking for a place with which to identify, a place they can call their own. That connection is accelerated by dousing their experience with panache. In this context, panache is an unexpected spark of electricity that turns an ordinary night out into something extraordinary. It’s what gets people talking about your place the next day around the water cooler.

Like an untapped reservoir of excitement flair bartending is a time proven means of wowing guests, building repeat business and driving sales to new heights.

If by flair bartending you are thinking about the time consuming, liquor wasting circus routines featured in the film Cocktail, well, forget it. Those kinds of side show performances best belong at sponsored events and competitions, not behind working bars. No, by flair bartending, I’m talking about the ability to flip bottles, toss a mixing set now and again, and conclusively demonstrate to the clientele a complete mastery of all things behind the bar.

Flair bartending,It’s the ability to create and serve drinks in a stylish and interesting way. Working flair doesn’t have to be complicated, or risky to look good, It involves tossing, spinning, flipping of glasses, bottles, shaker tins, garnishes, straws, napkins, strainers, ice and ice scoops, that sort of thing.

A good flair bartender should be able to do something cool and captivating with every object behind the bar.

We work in a competitive market where success is always determined by the consumer. They
vote with their dollars and today they’re spending their time and money at places that give them the best all-around experience. If you’re looking to hedge your chances of success, consider arming yourself with a dynamic new set of skills.

Working flair is easily learned and has an immediate impact. Do it before those competitors on either side of you catch wind of it.

How to do a Kamikaze

Royale Bloody Mary

If your party begins with brunch, serve a morning cocktail that easily carries over into the afternoon. The spicy drink, made with Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, horseradish, and ground pepper, is tempered by a splash of lime juice and soothing tomato juice.

Ingredients                                       

2 1/2 oz. Cilantro Infused Vodka

3 oz tomato juice

1/2 oz. lime juice

1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon hot sauce

1 teaspoon prepared horseradish

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Shake well and strain into a tall glass filled with lime juice infused Ice cubes.
Garnishes: celery stalks, sliced jalapeños, lime wedges, tomato wheel, basil leaves, seafood seasoning and a skewered Jumbo Shrimp.

This is a high-end Bloody Mary.

by Lusitano

TheShaker.us

 

Herb's Vodka Cocktail Shakeoff

"The Ultimate Bartender"

Scotch Whiskey

Whiskey has been made in Scotland since th late 1500's. It is distilled from barley wich is allowed to germinate, or malt. The grain is dried in kiln over a peat smoke, which will added to the whiskey. There are three basic types od Scotch whiskey: malt, grain and blended.

Malt Scotch whiskey is full bodied, full flavored, 10 to 12 years old, with a distinctive, smokey, peaty taste. The majority are called "single malts", straight, unblended whiskeys from a single distillery. Most single malts come from the Highlands of Scotland, although fine malt Scotch is also produced on the islands of Islay, Skye and in Campbelton in the Lowlands.

Grain Scotch whiskey is a light bodied scotch whiskey distilled in a continuous still from cereal grains and produced almost entirely in the Lowlands of Scotland. While occasionally marketed straight, this whiskey is most frequently used in the blending of other Scotch whiskeys.

Blended Scotch whiskeys are the majority. They are combinations of grain and malt whiskeys blended to a unique and secret recipe. The difference between various blended Scotches comes from the proportion and quality of the products used.

Whiskey has been produced in Scotland for hundreds of years. The Gaelic "usquebaugh", meaning "Water of Life", phonetically became "usky" and then "whisky" in English


According to the Scotch Whiskey Association, no one knows exactly when the art of distilling was first practised in Scotland; it is known that the Ancient Celts practised distilling, and that the liquid they produced.  known in ancient Gaelic as uisge beatha ("water of life") — evolved into Scotch Whisky. By the 11th century distillation first occurred in Scotland in the early Christian monastic sites.

Shooters and Cordial Drinks

From: "The Ultimate Bartender" - Complete ebook Guide 

by Sergio Lusitano

Shooters are large and diverse body of drink recipes, ranging from the elegant and sophisticated to the radically bizarre. Shooters are anything but one-dimensional. They have evolved into complex drinks with improved flavor and presentation. If any one recipe can be credited for lauching the popularity of this drinks, it is the “B-52”.

Shooters are fun, interesting and contemporary. Since most are served neat or straight-up, the quality of their ingredients can be fully appreciated. When appropriate, shooters should be served in chilled glasses. This will help keep the ingredients at their proper serving temperature and improve the drink's presentation.

Experiment with glassware, such as sherry, cordial or Pousse-cafe glasses. Match each speciality shooter with the most appropriate glass. Pousse-cafes are layered cordial drinks wich create three or more stripes. In French, Poussecafe translates to “Push Coffee”, a reference to it's reputation as an after dinner drink.

Technically, shooters such as a B-52 are also Pousse-cafes. When prepared properly, the layered ingredients will form “stripes” within the glass. This occurs as a result of using liqueurs with different specific gravities or densities. The effect achieved is similar to the way oil will float on water or vinegar, creating two layers.

To accomplish this, care must be taken to prevent the various products from mixing in the glass. The ingredients should be poured in the order specified in the recipe, since the ingredients are listed from heaviest to lightest (top listed ingredient on the bottom of the glass, each successive ingredient atop the previous).

The easiest and fastest way to create these layers is to use the back of a bar spoon to slow the pour of the liqueur. The spoon is held just above the level of the first liqueur poured into the glass, and the next ingredient is poured slowly and carefully over the sloped back of the spoon.

Each layer is poured using this same technique. The same effect for a two-layer drink can be obtained by first tilting the glass so that the bottom layer is almost touching the inside rim. The second product is then slowly and gently poured onto the glass surface between the first liqueur and the rim. While pouring the second layer, the glass should be carefully brought upright.


Use shot or rock glasses.


After Five

1/3 fill Kahlua
1/3 fill Peppermint Schanpps
1/3 fill Bailey's

American Dream

1/4 oz Kahlua® coffee liqueur
1/4 oz amaretto almond liqueur
1/4 oz Frangelico® hazelnut liqueur
1/4 oz dark creme de cacao

Banana Sandwich

1/3 oz Kahlua® coffee liqueur
1/3 oz creme de bananes
1/3 oz Bailey's

B-52

1/3 shot Kahlua® coffee liqueur
1/3 shot Grand Marnier
1/3 shot Bailey's

Bikini Line

1/2 oz vodka
1/2 oz Tia Maria® coffee liqueur
1/2 oz raspberry liqueur

Brain Tumor

1 oz peach schnapps
1/2 Bailey's
Dash grenadine syrup
cherry brandy

Caribbean Sunset

3/4 oz Malibu® coconut rum
3/4 oz melon liqueur
2 oz cranberry juice
orange juice

Chip Shot

1 oz Amaretto
1 oz Kahlua
1 oz hot coffee

Flaming Jelly Bean

1 oz 151 proof rum
1 oz blackberry brandy
1 oz ouzo anise liqueur

Inverted Nail

1/2 fill Drambuie
1/2 fill Glenfiddich Single Malt

Lobotomy

1/2 oz raspberry liqueur
1/2 oz amaretto almond liqueur
1/2 oz pineapple juice
1/4 oz Champagne

Mexican Siesta

salted rim optional
1/3 fill Gold Tequila
1/3 fill Grand Marnier
1/3 fill Sour Mix
Lime wedge garnish

Neutron Bomb

1/3 oz butterscotch schnapps
1/3 oz Bailey's® Irish cream
1/3 oz Kahlua® coffee liqueur

Parisian Pousse Cafe

3/4 oz Blue Curacao
3/4 oz Kirschwasser® cherry brandy
3/4 oz cognac
3/4 oz Green Chartreuse®

This are some of the recipes you can find at "The Ultimate Bartender".

On the book you'll have 80 pages of great information and over 100 recipes.

Check at the link below

http://www.theshaker.us/Home_Page.php

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Absinthe

The precise origin of absinthe is unclear. The medical use of wormwood dates back to ancient Egypt and is mentioned in the Ebers Papyrus, circa 1550 BC. Wormwood extracts and wine-soaked wormwood leaves were used as remedies by the ancient Greeks. Moreover, there is evidence of the existence of a wormwood-flavoured wine, absinthites oinos, in ancient Greece.

The first clear evidence of absinthe in the modern sense of a distilled spirit containing green anise and fennel, however, dates to the 18th century. According to popular legend, absinthe began as an all-purpose patent remedy created by Dr. Pierre Ordinaire, a French doctor living in Couvet, Switzerland, around 1792 (the exact date varies by account). Ordinaire’s recipe was passed on to the Henriod sisters of Couvet, who sold absinthe as a medicinal elixir. By other accounts, the Henriod sisters may have been making the elixir before Ordinaire’s arrival. In either case, a certain Major Dubied acquired the formula from the sisters and in 1797, with his son Marcellin and son-in-law Henry-Louis Pernod, opened the first absinthe distillery, Dubied Père et Fils, in Couvet. In 1805 they built a second distillery in Pontarlier, France, under the new company name Maison Pernod Fils. Pernod Fils remained one of the most popular brands of absinthe up until the ban of the drink in France in 1914.

Rapid growth of French consumption
An advertising poster for Absinthe BeuclerAbsinthe’s popularity grew steadily through the 1840s, when absinthe was given to French troops as a malaria treatment. When the troops returned home, they brought their taste for absinthe with them. It became so popular in bars, bistros, cafés, and cabarets that, by the 1860s, the hour of 5 p.m. was called l’heure verte ("the green hour"). Absinthe was favoured by all social classes, from the wealthy bourgeoisie to poor artists and ordinary working-class people. By the 1880s, mass production had caused the price of absinthe to drop sharply. By 1910, the French were drinking 36 million litres of absinthe per year (compared to their consumption of almost 5 billion litres of wine).

International consumption

Absinthe has been popular outside of France, including in Spain, New Orleans and the Czech Republic. Absinthe was never banned in Spain or Portugal, and its production and consumption has never ceased. During the early 20th century it gained a temporary spike in popularity corresponding with the French influenced Art Nouveau and Modernism aesthetic movements.

New Orleans also has a historical connection to absinthe consumption. The city has a prominent landmark called the Old Absinthe House, located on Bourbon Street. Originally called the Absinthe Room, it was opened in 1874 by a Catalan bartender named Cayetano Ferrer. The building was frequented by many famous people, including Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde, Franklin Roosevelt, Aleister Crowley and Frank Sinatra.

Absinthe has been consumed in the Czech Republic (then part of Austria–Hungary) since at least 1888, notably by Czech artists, some of whom had an affinity for Paris, frequenting Prague’s famous Cafe Slavia. Its wider appeal in Bohemia itself is uncertain, though it was sold in and around Prague. There is evidence that at least one local liquor distillery in Bohemia was making absinthe at the turn of the 20th century

On March 5, 2007, the French Lucid brand became the first genuine absinthe to receive a COLA (Certificate of Label Approval) for importation into the United States since 1912, following independent efforts by representatives from Lucid and Kübler to topple the long-standing U.S. ban. In December 2007, St. George Absinthe Verte, produced by St. George Spirits of Alameda, California, became the first brand of American-made absinthe produced in the United States since the ban. Since that time, other micro-distilleries have started making small batches of high-quality absinthe in the U.S.

Preparation

Traditionally, absinthe is prepared by placing a sugar cube on top of a specially designed slotted spoon and then placing the spoon on the glass which has been filled with a shot of absinthe. Ice-cold water is then poured or dripped over the sugar cube so that the water is slowly and evenly displaced into the absinthe, typically 1 part absinthe and 3 to 5 parts water. During this process, components not soluble in water (mainly those from anise, fennel, and star anise) come out of solution and cloud the drink. The resulting milky opalescence is called the louche (Fr. "opaque" or "shady", IPA [luʃ]). Releasing these components allows herbal aromas and flavours to "blossom" or "bloom" and brings out subtleties originally over-powered by the anise. This is often referred to as "The French Method."

"The Bohemian Method" is an alternative that is popular primarily due to the use of fire. Like the French method, a sugar cube is placed on a slotted spoon over a glass containing one shot of absinthe. The difference is that the sugar is pre-soaked in alcohol, usually more absinthe, and then set ablaze. The flaming sugar cube is then dropped into the glass igniting the absinthe. Finally, a shot glass full of water is added to douse the flames. This method tends to produce a stronger drink than the French method. A variant of "The Bohemian Method" is to allow the fire to burn itself out. This variant, called "Cooking the Absinthe" or "Flaming Green Fairy," removes much but not all of the alcohol.

Slow drip absinthe fountainOriginally a waiter would serve a dose of absinthe, ice water in a carafe, and sugar separately, and the drinker would prepare it to his preference.[44] With increased popularity, the absinthe fountain, a large jar of ice water on a base with spigots, came into use. It allowed a number of drinks to be prepared at once, and with a hands-free drip, patrons were able to socialize while louching a glass.

Although many bars served absinthe in standard glasses, a number of glasses were specifically made for absinthe. These had a dose line, bulge, or bubble in the lower portion denoting how much absinthe should be poured in. One "dose" of absinthe is around 1 ounce (30 ml), and most glasses used this as the standard, with some drinkers using as much as 1½ ounces (45 ml).

In addition to being drunk with water poured over sugar, absinthe was a common cocktail ingredient in both the United Kingdom and the United States, and continues to be a popular ingredient today. One of the most famous of these is Ernest Hemingway’s "Death in the Afternoon" cocktail, a concoction he contributed to a 1935 collection of celebrity recipes. His directions are as follows: "Pour one jigger absinthe into a Champagne glass. Add iced Champagne until it attains the proper opalescent milkiness. Drink three to five of these slowly."

Effects

Absinthe has been frequently and incorrectly described in modern times as being hallucinogenic. In the 1970s, a scientific paper mistakenly reported thujone was related to THC, the active chemical in cannabis. Ten years after his 19th century experiments with wormwood oil, Valentin Magnan studied 250 cases of alcoholism and claimed that those who drank absinthe were worse off than those drinking ordinary alcohol, and that they experienced rapid-onset hallucinations. Such accounts by absinthe opponents were embraced by its most famous users, many of whom were bohemian artists or writers.
Two famous painters who helped popularize the notion that absinthe had powerful psychoactive properties were Toulouse Lautrec and Vincent van Gogh. In one of the best known accounts of absinthe drinking, Oscar Wilde described the feeling of having tulips on his legs after leaving a bar. Today it is known that absinthe does not cause hallucinations. Thujone, the active chemical in absinthe, is a GABA antagonist; and while it can produce muscle spasms in large doses, there is no evidence that it causes hallucinations. It has been speculated that reports of hallucinogenic effects of absinthe may have been due to poisonous chemicals being added to cheaper versions of the drink in the 19th century, to give it a more vivid colour.

However, the debate over whether absinthe produces effects on the human mind additional to those of alcohol has not been conclusively resolved. The effects of absinthe have been described by some as mind opening. The most commonly reported experience is a "clear-headed" feeling of inebriation—a form of "lucid drunkenness". Chemist, historian and absinthe distiller Ted Breaux has claimed that the alleged secondary effects of absinthe may be caused by the fact that some of the herbal compounds in the drink act as stimulants, while others act as sedatives, creating an overall lucid effect of awakening. Long term effects of low absinthe consumption in humans remain unknown, although the herbs in absinthe have both painkilling and antiparasitic properties.


                  

How to do Martinis & Manhattans

The Classic Martini and Manhattan enjoy enormous popularity. These drinks are at the peak of fame and also potency.


Martinis and Manhattans are most frequently served before dinner during the Cocktail Hour and are likely to be ordered with premium name brand liquors.


These cocktails are among the drinks most frequently served in a bar. Customers who order these drinks are often particular about how their cocktail is prepared. Making these drinks is greatly affected by customer preference.


Another aspect to these drinks is the amount of concentration necessary to remember all of the various specifics involved in a customer's order. To remember precisely what each customer requested requires total concentration under very distracting circumstances.

The slightest mistake may result in wasted liquor, often expensive ones.

Martinis and Manhattans are prepared with between 2 oz and 3 ½ oz of the requested liquor. The high-proof liquors (80-100 proof) served undiluted explains why these drinks are so potent. Martinis and Manhattans are ordered on the rocks or straight-up. When ordered on the rocks, the drink is prepared directly into an iced rocks glass (built), garnished and served.


A Martini or Manhattan straight-up is prepared in an iced mixing glass, then stirred gently and strained into a chilled cocktail glass. Shaking the cocktail rather than stirring it will “bruise” the liquor, as well over dilute it, and is often grounds for a customer rejecting the drink.


Should the customer fail to state his or her serving preference, it is your responsibility to ask. Do not assume you know how the customer wants the cocktail served, unless it is a reorder and already known.


Each recipe is prepared with sweet and/or dry vermouth. Vermouth is a Italian fortified wine. Vermouth is put into these drinks to soften any edge to the liquor and is always poured before the liquor. If you use too much or the wrong vermouth the drink may be remade without wasting expensive liquor.


by The Shaker

     

Tequila

Tequila is a great party maker. Is a spirit that lifts your spirit.

Produced in or near the town of Tequila in Jalisco, Mexico, this liquor is made from the fermented sweet sap of the Agave Tequilana Weber, known in Mexico as the Mezcal plant and in the U.S. as the Century plant. The sap is taken from the plant's pulpy center, allowed to ferment and then double-distilled in

copper pot stills.

Tequila is marketed in three styles: the unaged silver, often bottled immediatly following distillation. Reposado, aged in oak vats for 1-2 years, and Anejo, aged between 1 and 3 years old, with 80-92 proof.

Wine Service

To become a top seller, you'll need more than knowledge. An electrifying personality, confidence and altruism are the ingredients The Shaker recommends.

I believe some people already born with this qualities but I also believe that you can acquire them. So it's up to you to develop them and make the best out of it.


Restaurant guests are no different than any other customers walking around in a shopping mall or any other business. Guests come into the restaurant to spend a certain amount of money, not to browse.

They maybe not buy the most expensive bottle of wine, but they will buy something. Your warm greeting, customer read, product knowledge, smart selling, language, focus and enthusiasm will determine just what that is. Around 75% of guests walking into a restaurant want a wine suggested to them.

After a long day at work, or just the anxiety over what to wear to dinner, your guests may need a little guidance to unwind. Take the edge off with a little humor, setting the tone for the rest of the meal.

Once you establish a bond, it is easy to lead them down the path to their choice. what guests want is the one thing money can't buy, positive, intimate relationships that enhance their memories and experiences.

Give your guests a warm greeting, and bond with them as much as they allow within the guest/server relationship context.

Don't assume customer type based on physical appearance!

We've all been there. You've saw them coming into your section and started looking to your wine list, trying to figure out that awesome recommendation,  and then you get a cold shower when they order wine by the glass.

We'd love for all guests to be in the "low maintenance" category, in general, however, guests fall somewhere between high and very high maintenance.

The highest maintenance guests demand constant attention and recognition. Get used to it. It's simply part of the business.

It's amazing how much you can learn by listening to your guests demands, and following through on them. Remember, it is all about them and their experience.

Smart Selling

Our job is to present guests with all of their options, starting with the best. Just as you present and then sell through multi-course tasting menus, appetizers and entrees, so should you suggest the glasses and bottles of super premium bubblicious, white, red and dessert wines.

Do not cross the line from upselling to being pushy.

Note the guest body language, facial expressions and sense of comfort. Run your finger across the price so that the decision is made discretely. Ask for a general price range, again using your finger and asking "something in this range?".

Remember, present guests with the full array of options, starting with the best, and keep smiling even when they order at the low tier.

Product Knowledge-Know your List

Study the wine list and pick items in the high, medium and low tiers for each major type of wine. You must know what type of food in your food menu, this wines will pair better. Guests will be eating out of your hands if you are expressing the pure joy of what these pairings can bring.

At the year-end holidays and at Valentine's Day be fluent in Champagne-speak. Have a full awareness of what is available, especially at the upper end and don't be afraid to recommend the best. also memorize and then recommend the most expensive cognac, ports, etc... Write down and memorize a few sexy buzzwords for each high end product on your list. Review these cards often and update as new products are added.

It is a myth that in order to recommend a wine that will please your guests you need to know hundreds of facts.

Enthusiasm - The Razzle Dazzle Factor!!!

Keep it simple. While more than a few wine geeks are out there, the typical guest doesn't really care about clonal selection, barrel types. If a guest does ask specifics and you don't know the answer, say something funny, pause and give them a smile. If they ask how it tastes and you don't know, simply say with a smile, "It's smooth". They'll either buy it or not, but at least they'll have fun along with you. Joke about it all you want, but as long as appealing words are used, the message gets across that the wine in questions is going to be just fine.

Make up for what you don't know in enthusiasm. Give them some razzle-dazzle!!!

Ask leading questions that require a committed answer such as:

"Would you care for a glass of Champagne?"

"May I make a recommendation in wine this evening? We've got a great Merlot."

"May I suggest a lighter-bodied Chardonnay such as our Chablis by the glass?"

"If you prefer, I'd be happy to bring you the fuller-bodied, richer, Reserve Cabernet?"

Using your greeting, customer read, smart selling, product knowledge, language focus and enthusiasm will take you a long way on the road to pleasing your guest and fattening your wallet. When things get tough, remember that more guests are coming and that the shift will come to an end soon enough.

Each new table is a chance to forget stormy seas and embark on a new adventure. Embrace this opportunities and have fun!

Smooth Operator

As you know, there is so much more to serving wine than simply opening a bottle. here are simple tips on how to give better wine service. They include being aware of how you move, being prepared, using language focus and learning a few basic wine service techniques.

Body movements and presence on the floor

Guests pick up on things like the pace of our movement, the sweat on our brow, etc.. Our presence needs to calm the guests and enhance their total experience, no matter how stressed we may be.

Despite the insanity in the back of the house, once you enter the front, take a deep breath and remember you are on the stage. Quick, sharp movements are perceptible arbiters of discomfort and do nothing to bring that "oasis" feeling to guests.

Move gracefully no matter how stressed you are.

Wine ordered by guests is their possession. Treat their bottle that way. Keep it in their line of vision if you have to step away and open it or decant it. Don't assume you can taste it. This will depend on the house policy, but in general, unless the guest offers, don't take a taste.

Don't overfill glasses, especially with more costly wines. Top up lightly and often, requesting permission each time, "may I pour a bit more wine for you?". Keeping in mind that the wine is their purchase, use phrases such as:

"May I remove the cork?"

"May I remove this glass?"

"Is the temperature to your liking?"

"May I place this wine on ice?"

"May I decant this wine for you?"

"May I bring another bottle?"

Service Temperature of Wine

The only rule you need to know is that wine should be served at the temperature that the guest prefers. If they want their red wine on ice, do it. If they want their white wine sitting on a ledge in direct sunlight, do it.

Sure, there is common knowledge of "proper" service temperatures, but ultimately it is up to the guest.

-Champagne 42-50 degrees   -Whites  45-55 degrees    -Reds   50-62 degrees

Coasters and Underliners

Placing a bottle of wine on a table, side table, or bar counter is like serving a steak without a plate. In a perfect world, set a coaster or underliner on the table for the wine bottle. Coasters are also the ideal way to present the cork. Nothing from wine service should touch the table without an underliner. For decanters use a napkin-lined plate.

Using Your Wine Service Linen

Service linens for wine are different from service linens for food. You may fold and place in your pocket, they need to stay long and crisp for "cradling" the bottle and for draping over arm for wine service. Service linens become stained with red wine drips quickly. Get another use out of them by reversing them and recreasing the fold. Another way is using black linens to wine service. It will save the restaurant money.

Presenting a Bottle  of Wine

Always handle a wine bottle below the neck and from the back label or bottle bottom. Do not handle by the neck as you might a bottle of beer. For elegant service this applies to all beverage bottles handled in the front of the house.

Present the bottle to the host, using a linen to line and cradle the bottle as it rests on your hand and wrist. Use your other hand to point out the brand name, type of wine, appellation, vintage and any other distinguishing information, saying each word aloud,  giving the host the chance to absorb what he or she has ordered and to approve it.

Opening the Bottle of Wine

Open either at a nearby station in full view of the guest, in a ice bucket, on the table, on a coaster, or if your establishment is casual or prefers, in the air.

Trim the foil below the neck in two movements, both towards you, without spinning the bottle. Wipe the top of the cork before and after extracting it. This applies to screw caps as well. Present the closure on a coaster or underliner to the host/taster's right. After all guest are served, return to the host and remove the closure, ask simply  "may I take this out of your way", placing the underliner and closure in your pocket in one motion.

Leave the bottle on the table on a coaster if this is ok with the guest, or on ice, after determining wich temperature is to their liking.

Serving

All beverages are served from the right. Exceptions are when guests are leaning into each other, or when space limitations make this impossible.
After the host has tasted and approved the wine, pour 1/3 to 1/2 glass for each guest, moving clockwise around the table, women first, men second, host last.

For larger parties, pour clockwise, women and men in the same revolution. Wipe the bottle after each pour, but do this behind, not in front of the guest, not in their line of vision. What helps with this is a slight gentle twist to catch the drip. Keep the glasses 1/3 to 1/2 full, unless the guests have different preferences. For practical purposes, the large parties pouring is slightly higher.  

Conclusion

You're a pro. If you weren't, you wouldn't be reading this. Take charge of your destiny by mastering these few simple techniques. Remember to be smooth on the floor no matter how frazzled you are in the back. Be prepared well before service. Focus your language to serve you and your guests better. Think about the temperature of wine in relation to what the guests wants, not to "the rules". Remember to treat wine with the same respect as the food you are serving, and most of all, keep in mind that no matter what your title, your primary focus is to serve the guest.

Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.

The Shaker Talks...

Please, feel free to participate with your comments, any questions or suggestions.

by Lusitano

   

sergiolusitano@live.com