The only time in history where more people wanted to get behind the bar than today was in 1988 when Tom Cruise had showy tricks and provided a Hollywood version of the life of a bartender in the movie “Cocktail”. Since then times have changed, professional and aspiring bartenders now need to know about staff management, house-made bitters, craft cocktails, and large ice cubes. Here are some bartending audio resources to help you with your plans whether you work in the industry, want to and/or daydream of moving to Jamaica, open your own bar, and fall in love with Elisabeth Shue.
1
Bartender Journey Podcast with Brian Weber
This influential Podcasts from Brian Weber and his team (Hazel Alvarado, Amin Benny, and Phillip Childers) is a great place to start if you are a professional bartender or just an enthusiast of drinks with huge ice cubes. Brian and his team of industry heavyweights focus on education, exploration, and the evolution of craft cocktails, and bartender culture through interviews and helpful stories with industry experts, owners, authors, and master distillers. The Bartender Journey also features a cocktail of the week usually inspired by a guest and an great TL;DR online summary to help you sort through the hundreds of shows available.
2
Bartender HQ
Host David Sangwell uses his 14 years of bartender experience and interviews with top bar owners and mixology professionals to help you improve your skills and learn about topics related to life behind the shaker. In addition to talking about industry news and cocktail trends, Bartender HQ has discussed creating more appealing cocktail menus, training new bartenders, and helping you improve your nightly income in his weekly “Tips for Tips” segment.
3
The Mixology Talk Podcast: Better Bartending and Making Great Drinks
Chris and Julia Tunstall are all about bartending, bar business, cocktails, and hospitality. The founders of ABarAbove offer tips, discuss tricks, techniques, and making the most of your career behind the bar. Not only do Chris and Julia produce a show that is great to listen to, no matter what side of the bar you are on, but they also have hundreds of articles, resources, and tools to help you improve your bar’s bottomline.
4
Bartender At Large
Bartender at Large by Hungry Bartender is definitely geared toward people who spend their days and nights behind the bar. This podcast features stories about craft cocktails told by the bartenders from around the world who make them. In addition to the history of gin and teaching you how to get your bar more press, episodes of this show shed light on ways to improve both your mental and physical health in an industry where that at time feels tough to do.
5
Tell the Bartender
Tell the Bartender is a bi-weekly storytelling podcast hosted by Katharine Heller. While this podcast does cover the business side of bartending, episodes are more about unique stories from everyday people. Tell the Bartender is like working a shift, except you don’t have to worry about your side work or closing up at the end of the night.
This compilation is a small sampling (and a work-in-progress!). If you'd like us to add one that you and/or your team use, please email us at [email protected]!
