Joe
This is the kind of course I’m kicking myself I didn’t take years ago when I was a young man. Whether you’re thinking about working as a bartender, or just interested in how the drinks are made, I highly recommend this course. If you’re at least 21 years old, and drink more than a couple of drinks a year, and have the time/money, you should probably take this course. All you need is a couple of weekends to attend class. The first weekend is listening, taking notes, and asking questions. The second weekend is listening again, reviewing what you’ve done, and practicing making the drinks yourself. This is one of the most interesting, and fun courses I ever took my whole life. Erik is an incredibly interesting, professional, helpful, and practiced instructor/professor of mixology. His years of experience and knowledge of bartending is encyclopedic. He creates a very engaging, informal, but professional atmosphere and conveys the main information quickly, clearly, and with a great deal of wit and humor, which is greatly appreciated. Much of his class/lecture felt like a stand-up comedy routine. Depending on how much you know about various alcohol drinks, and how familiar you already are with various alcohols, and how quick a learner you are, you’ll probably have to spend 50 to 100 hours outside of class reading the 93 page, single-spaced book, taking notes, making flash cards to memorize the approximately 150 drinks you’ll have to memorize, and practicing pouring various drinks to build proficiency. There’s many other things to learn as well, and this course really is just a boot camp for bartenders, but it’s a great start, and I’m so glad I took it. A weekend is not enough time to convey everything in the book, but the lectures hit the highlights and fill-in the missing info. Also, Erik is available for any questions you might have either in class or after. I give Erik and ABC Bartending School my very highest recommendation.
