Pre-Event Preparation and Setup
Administer Setup
After reviewing, verifying, and organizing equipment and conducting a bar staff meeting, the bar captain must administer setup of the bar.
Generally, in every setup of the bar, the bar captain should:
Ensure there are rags or cloths, garbage cans, garbage bags, lexans and bussing pans (with strainers), spillage or water pans, a disposable broken glass box, a skewer bottle, trays, and drying racks accessible to maintain bar cleanliness
Determine the proper schedule for setting up both built-in and temporary bars (if on a staggered schedule) and ensure bar staff is aware of this schedule
Identify beverages that need to be brought up to temperature (if served hot) or down to temperature (if served chilled), beginning the heating or chilling process
Set up the built-in bar or temporary bar
First, set up the equipment used to structure the bar, which may include:
The bar and bartop (or table and linen), grated rails or spill rails, drip tray troughs or drip trays, the workspace, the speed rail, the ice bin, and cold containers (refrigerators or ice bath bins)
Second, set up the equipment used to build and serve beverages and to prepare and present garnishes, which may include:
Mixing glasses or stirring glasses, shaking tins, jiggers, barspoons, muddlers, strainers, speed pours, corkscrews (wine keys) or bottle openers, y-peelers or citrus peelers, microplanes or zesters, hand juicers, ice scoops, and ice picks
Third, ensure glassware is organized, accessible, and (if applicable) chilling. This may include:
Goblet glasses, wine glasses, beer glasses, rocks glasses, collins or highball glasses, coupe glasses, nick and nora glasses, and martini glasses
Next, organize the beverage offerings
First, organize beverages in crates, bins, or refrigerators
Second, ice beverages as needed and stock ice bins
Finally, prepare and organize garnishes
In this process, be attentive to:
The instructions of the event captain and any stakeholders (e.g., clients, sommeliers, brand ambassadors)
The time it takes to bring beverages up to temperature (if served hot) or down to temperature (if served chilled)
The time it will be necessary to ice beverages and stock ice bins
The setup, usage, and breakdown requirements of specialty equipment
The handling, preparation, and serving of specialty inventory and/or cocktails, noting
The inventory quantities
The cocktail specifications (”specs”)
The quantity and availability of cocktail ingredients
The need to pre-batch cocktails