between 200 and 400 for mix em up, roughly the same for authentic, sometimes cheaper if a graduate hooks you up with a referral coupon. stay clear of ABC bartending in the newspaper, total scam.

i went to mix em up in linden. they have a facebook account too......basically when i left there i had several hundred cocktails memorized and knew everything i needed to know to work behind a real bar and made back the money i paid for the course in my first 2 days of working behind a dive bar out in belleville. after the first few jobs i had enough experience that i didn't need to tell anyone i went to a school. the hands on training was great because you get the feel of everything, work with fake liquors/mixers, real bar equipement, and do speed drills and memorization drills. i recommend it if you really want to learn a lot of drinks and the chemistry involved in making good drinks...

you'll at least learn the facts about that lonely galliano bottle.

Does anyone know the real cost of attending a school like American Bartending in the city? Worth it? Tx

the bartending schools use food colored water to emulate the real liquor, so it's just water and colored soda water for everything. they even make fake milk, it's interesting though, because you learn the colors and consistancy that things should be without having to taste them. when i nailed my first job through them i got free reign of tasting everything through buying people random shots. mix em up was a lot of fun and 3 years later and i haven't been jobless since.

Thanks for the info guys - really appreciate it.

Checked out the mixemup site and it looks really good - plus it means a lot that someone can recommend the program from personal experience.

Possibly silly question - do you end up drinking/tasting the cocktails you make - i.e. should I have somebody drive me to the program?

i was a server at applebee's in clifton for 4 years and they still would not put me on their bar. i went to the school, and transferred to a different applebee's a few months later. they threw me on the bar immediately.

there are far too many bartenders, but if you can stand out, you will get hired. think of it like an acting job, because you really need to have a personality to work in some places. you also need to be fast if it's a dining establishment because the service bar can be demanding and take away from your bar guests experience.

there are some bars that run ads every week on craigslist. i've been called in for interviews and have been hired, asking that i serve for 6 months prior to learn their restaurant's menu, after coming in for a bartending position. be weary of these types. why not advertise servers wanted if you need servers?

pick up the book bartending for dummies also, it's got a lot of great information in it, aside from drink recipes. it covers the history of all of your basic liquors, beers, and even non alcoholic beverages.

if anything, i've always been able to find a job. try to show up in person to apply, or make an appointment to do that. sending email resumes doesn't work well in the bartending world apparently.

I know many people who have gone to bartending school and from their experiences I have found that there are far more bartenders than there are bartending jobs, especially in this area. And in many chain restaurants they require that you be a server first, regardless of your bartending experience.

ok, i am going to try to help you out here.... everyone i know that has gone to authentic, abc, the scam at exchange place etc, has given up on their job search no more than 2 years out of the schools. i am not sure if any of them give placement or not. a lot of jobs will frown upon bartending schools in general because these employers are using the preconceived notion that these schools do not teach you how to be a good bartender, and only teach you recipes.

i'll be honest here. i went to mix em up in linden, nj. they also have one in verona and another in flemington. it was 375 for the course (395, but i got a coupon from a graduate) and in two weeks, five weeks(saturdays only), or one week (as long as you complete 40 hours) you get access to their job bank. it is recommended that you use the job bank immediately after in order to get experience. at least the jobs in the bank know that you are a recent student, and are still trainable.

my experience with it was terrific. i did the two week program. our instructor's name was braxton, and he had a lot of experience in california and new york as a bartender. each class starts and ends with opening the bar, practicing drinks, filling ice sinks, having people call random drinks at you, then you get an hour to two of liquor information and history, lessons on dealing with drunk guests, underage, abc, cash handling, etc. you end by speed drills (helps tremendously for service bar!) and then breaking down the bar.

honestly, i always find that i set up and break down a bar a lot cleaner than most people who were not bar school and in house trained. i have about all 105 drinks they taught me still memorized, and i've learned far many more along the way.

after mix em up, i nailed a few jobs out of their job bank to get some experience. once i had some experience behind me i started working all over. i worked at the corkscrew, applebee's east hanover, caruso's cafe bar, a few private party gigs (always buy a party kit, you never know!) and now beret's simple cafe.

i hope this reply was of some help, feel free to ask anything you want to know about it. i went way back in 2005 or 2006, but i've been bartending since then. the more motivated you are, the better you will do and the more fun you will have with it.

also, with mix em up, they let you go back to practice and refresh anytime, so even if you stop bartending for a period of time and need to refresh your memory or just practice handing the bottles and glassware, you can call up before a class and ask to sit in and/or practice at the end of the bar.

anyhow, their site is www.mixemup.com

and here is a link to my jersey journal article 2 weeks ago

http://www.nj.com/jjournal/stories/in ... 10227932141470.xml&coll=3

Wondering if anyone has any experience with any particular bartending program in the area - Google shows things like the American Bartenders School in NYC / LIttle Falls NJ, but I'm looking for input from anyone who has travelled this path already...

Is 1 weeks training really enough to train for a new career?