2-week Bartender Course

Are you a hospitality professional looking to brush up on your bar skills? Or, are you a beginner looking to get your foot in the door?
Our bartender course will teach you everything you need to know to work confidently behind the bar.

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2-week Bartender Course

Welcome to the world of bartending! This two-week bartending course has been designed to equip our students with the skills needed to thrive in the bar industry. What do we offer? You’ll learn how to pull a pint, change a keg, the principles of mixology, how to make classic cocktails with unique twists, and so much more. We have a purpose built bar to train you on how to confidently work within a team in a bar setting. Our unique bar training workflow replicates real bar and restaurant operations. This allows you to get a feel for the pace of the job in real time. We will also help you with references and finding that first job after the course. 

At the end of the course, you will complete an exam on all you have learnt during the previous two weeks. You will then receive a certificate and become a graduate of Dublin Bar Academy. 

Course is run from Monday to Friday (9:30am – 4:30pm)

Deposit: €300

Course: €950

  • Currently working in the Irish hospitality industry? Get in touch as you are eligible for a subsidy

    • Final payment of €650 required 1 week prior to start

    *Attendee full name

Currently working in the Irish hospitality industry?

Get in touch as you are eligible for a subsidy for yourself or your staff through our partnership with Restaurant & Hospitality Skillnet.

‘Work hard for us and we will work hard for you’ If you show great commitment to the course we will help you to arrange interviews/trials in some of Ireland's best bars as well as the opportunity to bartend at some of the biggest festivals in the country.

You’ll get the equivalent of months of real-life experience in just a few weeks with an intensive and authentic bartender course

2-week introduction to bartending

This 2-week introduction to bartending course is designed to give you all the skills you need to work successfully in a bar and integrate quickly and effectively into your bar’s team and flow. From tools to tills, pouring beer to changing kegs, cocktails to spirits. We have created the most relevant curriculum to help start your career in the hospitality industry.

The 2-Week Modules:

  • Tools and Equipment
  • Glassware & Glass Handling
  • Tills & Cash/Card handling
  • Tray Handling Skills
  • Customer Service Principles
  • Responsible Service of Alcohol
  • Shift Preparation
  • Stock Handling
  • Introduction to Beer
  • Draught Beer & Cellar Management
  • Introduction to Wine
  • Barista Training
  • Classic Cocktails
  • Light Spirits Overview
  • Aged Spirits Overview
  • Tastings

Mixology

  • Introduction to the Mixology Philosophy
  • Understanding flavour and flavour combinations
  • Product creation
  • Product design
  • How to elevate the classics
  • How to design a cocktail
  • Cocktail tasting
  • Cocktail creation

Special Events

  • Private Jameson Distillery Tour with Whiskey Tasting
  • Brewery tour & masterclass
  • Brand Ambassador masterclass

With over a decade of drinks education experience behind us, our Dublin Academy is a  great place to learn the foundations of bartending.

Cost €950 – We take a €300 deposit to confirm your space. Final payment will need to be paid in full 1 week prior to the course start.

The Art of Craft Cocktails

Classic cocktails are the foundation of cocktail culture but craft cocktails are where the creativity comes to life. By taking all you learnt from the mixology part of the course, we’ll start making them into craft cocktails, bespoke drinks that allow new and exciting flavours to shine. 

We’ll go from twists of the classics, to elevated to twists to signature cocktails. Through this process you’ll begin to understand how to design your own cocktails that express your personality through flavour.

Get real practice and the experience you need to smash your first trial shift behind the bar. Gain knowledge that can take months or years to learn through experience.

3 Benefits

1
Find a job easily with our recommendations and references after the course
2
Learn how to make all sorts of mixology products and recipes like syrups, shrubs, foams and more
3
Create all sorts of exciting drinks, from elevated twists on the classics to craft cocktails

What you’ll learn

The Theory of Bartending

The Bartender’s Role and Responsibilities

The Bartender is so much more than someone who makes drinks. They are an artist, a friend, an actor, a chef, an entertainer and much more. We’ll guide you through what it takes to become a great bartender, from personal presentation to teamwork, behaviour to attitude. You’ll also learn how to handle difficult situations and serve responsibly to make sure everything runs smoothly in your bar.

The Bartender’s Equipment

Bartender’s need to know how to handle all sorts of tools, equipment and glassware with finesse. You’ll be introduced to the wealth of different tools of the trade and learn to use each one properly behind the bar. We’ll also cover knife technique, handling glassware properly and the importance of cleaning and hygiene. 

Plus you’ll get to practice with all the important equipment and begin to master using them, with sessions on things like free pour practice and jigger techniques, so you can show off your skills when you get behind a working bar.

The Theory of Spirits

Ever wondered what exactly the difference is between Scotch and Irish whiskey? Wonder no more! We’ll cover every major spirit in great depth on the course, with insights into their long and fascinating histories, how and what they’re made from and all the different styles that you can find across the world. A great bartender has a good knowledge of everything they serve in their bars and so these spirit masterclasses are an essential part of the course.

Every masterclass is accompanied by a spirit tasting where you will not only learn what each spirit and style tastes like, but also how to taste spirits and identify the flavours within, to train and improve your palate.

Wine Knowledge

You can’t rely on your sommelier to know about the wines in your bar, you have to have a good grasp on them as well. Our sommeliers will guide you through the weird and wonderful world of wine, from the important regions, grapes and styles of both New and Old World, so that you are comfortable with describing and upselling the wines you serve. 

You’ll also get a foundation of knowledge that will allow you to start exploring wine yourself and tasting techniques so that you can begin to train your palate to the nuances within the different grapes, vintages and regions.

The Principles of Mixology

There is a vast difference between using a pre-bottled product and making your own from scratch. This is the basic principle of Mixology, the culinary art that separates an everyday cocktail from the craft cocktail. 

In our mixologist training we’ll guide you through how to properly cook and create mixology recipes, with insights into measurements and scaling, how to handle different products and what flavours work well together. You’ll create your own products, such as purees, foams, syrups and cordials and learn how to extract the most flavour out of your ingredients. Then you’ll see how we can use these delicious products in delicious cocktails!

The Practice of Bartending

How to Mix Drinks

Learn to mix drinks like a true professional. You’ll have a great amount of time behind our practice bar mastering the classic techniques like shaking and stirring, as well as more advanced techniques like rolling and double shaking. You’ll also learn which techniques suit which types of drinks and how different styles of shaking and stirring can affect the quality and taste of drinks.

Practice expertly pouring, garnishing and serving drinks, as well as learning how the appearance of the drinks you serve is so important to the customer experience, how garnishes can affect look, flavour and aroma of drinks.

Classic Cocktails

They’re called the Classics for a reason! Learning the cocktails that make up the foundation of cocktail culture is essential for anyone that wants to join the ranks of modern bartenders. You’ll learn many of the ‘principle’ cocktails, the drinks that a majority of modern cocktails are based on. This will allow you to always respond well to customers looking for the classic drinks, as well as give you the base knowledge to begin to expand your repertoire of not only classics, but modern and craft cocktails. 

Understanding not just how to make the classics but where they came from and the stories behind them is one of the best things a new bartender can do to get ahead in the world of cocktails.

Barista Essentials

You can’t become a well rounded bartender without barista skills! With our expert barista instructors, you’ll explore the world of coffee from bean to cup, learning all about coffee theory and the different methods of production, as well as practising on our three authentic Italian espresso machines. 

You’ll practice pouring the perfect espresso, as well as milk foaming and latte art so that you can be reliable not only for the evening bar service, but the morning and afternoon coffee services as well!

Pouring the Perfect Pint

What’s the point of knowing loads about cocktails in Ireland if you can’t pour the perfect pint? Beer handling is absolutely crucial for any new bartender to learn. That’s you’ll learn all about every step of the beer process, from how it’s made to pouring practice. 

We make sure you know how to change a keg like a professional, understand how to maintain your beer lines and taps, as well as manage your beer cellar and gas containers. Plus our practice bar has practice beer taps so you can work pouring pints into your cocktail orders to get an authentic idea of how service will run when you’re working in the real thing.

Till Handling

One of the most daunting things to new bartenders… the tills! We have a fully operating till and Point of Service system in the practice bar for you to get comfortable with handling orders professionally and realistically, following dockets and keeping track of everything you’re serving behind the bar.

By getting practice using a till and POS system before you jump behind a real bar can save you so much time and stress while you’re working, which will make you a more attractive hire for the bars you want to work in.

The Art of Craft Cocktails

Classic cocktails are the foundation of cocktail culture but craft cocktails are where the creativity comes to life. By taking all you learnt from the mixology part of the course, we’ll start making them into craft cocktails, bespoke drinks that allow new and exciting flavours to shine. 

We’ll go from twists of the classics, to elevated to twists to signature cocktails. Through this process you’ll begin to understand how to design your own cocktails that express your personality through flavour.

The Open and the Close

Being prepared and closing effectively are two skills that every bartender needs to have as muscle memory to be a reliable part of the team. You’ll work through how to open and prepare your bar for service so that you’re never behind or caught off guard by the shift, as well as learning effective closing procedures and how to clean properly and reset your bars for the next day. 

By getting into the good habits of opening and closing efficiently, you’ll be a valuable member of the team in whatever bar you end up in after the course.

The World of Mixology

The Principles of Mixology

There is a vast difference between using a pre-bottled product and making your own from scratch. This is the basic principle of Mixology, the culinary art that separates an everyday cocktail from the craft cocktail.

In our mixologist training we’ll guide you through how to properly cook and create mixology recipes, with insights into measurements and scaling, how to handle different products and what flavours work well together. You’ll create your own products, such as foams, syrups, tinctures and cordials and learn how to extract the most flavour out of your ingredients. Then you’ll see how we can use these delicious products in delicious cocktails!

Find Your Flavours

Flavour is a personal thing. To create the best cocktails you need to find your own flavours and learn to express yourself through them. The course is full of tasting opportunities for you to discover taste profiles, flavour combinations and textures that you haven’t experienced before and begin opening your mind to the world of possibilities within mixology.

By the end of the course you will have greater insight into the flavours that make you tick and that you’re best suited to experiment and work with.

Understand Your Palate

The key to success in mixologist training is understanding your own palate. The reason flavour is such a personal experience is because no two people taste things in the same way. By learning exactly what sort of palate you have will naturally lead you to finding your personal groove and importantly where you can train it to be more receptive or open.

You’ll taste a wide range of flavours and flavour combinations that will expand the horizons of what your palate can appreciate and what exciting combinations you can come up with yourself.

Elevate Your Drinks

Mixology is all about elevation of flavour. By creating homemade products instead of using store bought, generic products you can create far better depth of flavour, more natural expressions of the ingredients you use and mix and match flavours within a product to create new and exciting combinations.

By doing so you’ll learn how to turn the classic cocktail formulas and recipes into elevated twists that will outshine the cocktails they’re based on!

Elements of Mixology

Taking the scientific elements of mixology one step further. We’ll explore the cutting edge of mixology and craft cocktails by experimenting with the techniques and cocktail production methods like: fat washing, infusion, clarification, flavour extraction, sous-vide and many more.

This is where the magic of mixology really shines. By combining wonderful flavours with showstopping cocktail aesthetics, you’ll be making craft cocktails that can go head to head with drinks in top bars around the world.

Our Story

A genuine demand for higher standards in training and education

The Dublin Bar Academy was set up in 2012 to give young and aspiring bartenders the training they need to step behind any bar in the world with confidence. Since then we trained and brought thousands of students to become masters of their craft and brought knowledge to thousands of lovers of beverage.

We look forward to continuing the journey with thousands of students to come to Dublin Bar Academy. We look forward to welcoming you to our family and the journey of flavour.

Our students reviews

INSPIRING THE BARTENDERS OF TODAY
EDUCATING THE bARTENDERS OF tOMORROW

EMBARK ON YOUR JOURNEY OF FLAVOUR

In a city renowned for their bars,
we provide an education in drinks excellence.

141 North King Street
Dublin 7, Ireland

+353 (0) 1 561 7799
[email protected]