Are you planning a wedding reception? A cocktail party? An office party? Maybe an art gallery showing?
If you are, you’ve probably got lots on your plate, and hiring a bartender for your event is one of those many items on your “to-do” list.
“But how can I find the right bartender for my event?” you may be asking yourself. After all, you want your event to be a hit. Most of us, who aren’t professional event planners, can easily find ourselves at a loss on this.
We’ve all got that friend who “knows a guy,” and maybe that friend is pressuring you to hire him. But what if that guy barely knows what he’s doing? Questions like this ought to be asked before the party, rather than during.
If you want to rest assured knowing that your bartender knows exactly what he or she is doing, here are a few simple questions to ask while you’re looking.
Is this bartender experienced?
“I know a guy,” your well-meaning friend told you.
“Great!” you replied. It was one less detail to worry about, right?
The big day arrives. That “bartender” that your friend knew doesn’t even know that he’s supposed to tip the glass while pouring a beer, so that the top half of each glass is foam. On top of that, he has to look through one of his drink recipe books each time a cocktail gets ordered, because he doesn’t have the experience, so that it takes several minutes for each of your guests to get just one drink, and those drinks still taste like something’s a little bit off.
“Wait,” you suddenly realize, “is this the bartender’s first time doing this?”
This is not the situation you want to find yourself in. Always be sure to validate your potential bartender’s experience whenever you host an event which provides bartending services. That is, unless you want to be left wondering if your guests even had a good time despite the bar service.
Is this bartender certified?
If you go to your local bar, it’s very likely that the bartender there isn’t certified. They may be perfectly friendly, and very familiar with what goes into the commonly ordered mixed drinks at that particular bar. However, that doesn’t mean that he or she has the depth of knowledge that a professional mixologist has.
Imagine that the bartending service is going extremely well at your event…that is until, one of your guests finds himself in the mood for a tasty Old Fashioned. That’s when you find out that the experienced, yet uncertified, bartender doesn’t know how to make one, because the bar that he or she works at simply never had bitters. That would put a real sour taste on your event.
Unless you have a very fixed drink menu, be sure that any bartender you hire is certified, so that you’ll know that he or she will be prepared to make any drink.
Is the bartender insured?
It’s never pleasant to ask yourself “what if something unthinkable happens?” But asking that is always the responsible thing to do. There are all kinds of insurance available on the market, for “just in case” of a rare event. An even with alcohol is no different. Nobody wants to be having a classy event. Then someone is injured and they try to come after the host of the party. On top of that they drive home and an even worse follow up happens. This is a worst case scenario we hope never happens.
However, it is important to make sure that when you have alcohol involved you’re covered. Not only at the event, but more so, after the event when your guests are heading home.
Make sure your bartending service has insurance coverage when you are looking around.
Final Thoughts
By making sure you’re able to answer “yes” to all three of these questions. It will take some time to make sure you find the right bartending service, but, when you do. You will have one less reason to agonize over the question “will my event be a hit?”
Although if you’re looking to save yourself the time. At Cardinal Mixology our mobile bartending services have all the bases covered and more. All of our bartenders are thoroughly experienced and certified. Our bartending services are covered by insurance not only during the event but, also afterward, from the moment your guests leave until when they arrive home.
Cardinal Mixology is the Best Mobile Bartending Service in Grand Rapids and the surrounding West Michigan area.
If you’re looking for a bar for hire, contact us today and get your free event consultation.
