F & B Services - Beverage Service

Beverages play an important role in accompanying food. Beverages also enhance flavor of main dish and help to cleanse the taste buds in between bites, and complement the dish.

Hot beverages such as hot tea or coffee, and hot chocolate are prepared in the kitchen and generally served from the kitchen pantry. Cold beverages such as mocktails and alcoholic beverages such as spirits, liquors, and cocktails come to the guests’ tables from bars.

Types of Bars

A bar is a place where non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages are served. It is equipped with a back bar with necessary equipment such as bar tools, and glassware to serve the beverages. The customers sit on tall push-down chairs around the counter. The barmen or barmaids commonly known as bartenders prepare drinks and serve them to the customers. There are some typical types of bars −

• Public − It is a bar in a public house which is open for public and not exclusive.
• Service Bar − It is for the staff.
• Portable − They are compact bars easy to set up for off-premise catering.
• Mini − It is a private bar located in VIP rooms, suites, or penthouses of the hotel.

Bar Tools

The following tools are necessary to serve beverages from bar −

• Bar Linen and Cocktail Napkins − They are used to save work area from any mess while pouring the beverage.
• Pouring Spouts − They make smooth serving of beverage apportioned equally into the glasses.
• Juice Containers − They are useful to save bartending time by keeping most demanded juices handy.
• Cocktail Shaker Tins − They are suitable for mixing the ingredients of cocktails and martinis well.
• Short Shaker Tins − They are used to shake small amount of drinks efficiently.
• Cocktail Strainer − It is used to sieve cocktails before serving.
• Corkscrew or Wine Opener − They are used to open corks of wine bottles.
• Bottle Opener − They are used to open caps of bottled beverages.
• Jigger − It is an alcohol measuring two-sided cup.

• Lemon Zester − It is used for cutting lemon zest.
• Bar Spoon − Also called muddler, is used for mixing beverages briefly.
• Masher − It is used to mash ingredients to help release oils and flavors effectively.

Dram Shop Liability

The Dram Shop Liability in US is the body of law that governs the liability of alcohol stores and the commercial establishments where alcohol is served. This body endeavors to protect the society from the unpleasant outcomes of serving alcohol to minors and intoxicated people.

Verifying Legal Drinking Age

The legal age of drinking alcohol is different in different countries. The minimum age to purchase and consume alcohol ranges from 16 years to 25 years. In some countries, this age limit varies according to strength of the alcohol, premises of consumption, or whether the young customer is accompanied by an adult.

When the customer looks underage, the beverage serving staff is compelled to ask for the customer’s driving license or any reliable identity card from a well-recognized institution as a proof of age before serving the alcohol.

Monitoring Alcohol Intake

It is up to the serving staff who has had enough drink as the drunk persons themselves often fail to be composed and know their own state. To keep the account of how much the customers are drinking, the bartenders must use standard measures for pouring drinks.

Cutting off Alcohol Service

The bartending staff needs to cut off alcohol service if the customer is on the way of binge drinking and seems not able to handle it. Refusal of alcohol service should be −

• Executed professionally by speaking firmly and clearly with the drunk/under-aged customers.
• Denied quietly without notifying other customers.