Long before they moved in, the house was already something of a legend among Ventura tiki enthusiasts.

The property had sat on the real estate market for several years, and the listing photos spread through the local tiki community. They showed lava-rock seating surrounding a dramatic indoor fire pit, Polynesian-inspired details, and the bones of what looked like an incredible home tiki lounge. A friend of mine who toured the house reported that it needed significant restoration.

Me, Josh and Duane all fantasized about how cool it would be if we owned it and hosted private events there.

When word spread that someone had finally purchased the property, we wondered whether the new owners would preserve the Polynesian-inspired design or tear it all out.

Fortunately, the rumors turned out to be very good news!

I met Leilani, probably at Ventiki. We connected over our shared interest in home tiki bars. I invited her to visit both Tapu Tiki and Lo-Ke Tiki with our group Tiki Tura.
Leilani was already discovering Southern California’s Tiki community and had invited several well-known members of the scene to visit Hale Kani Kapila.

While attending Tiki Oasis, my friend Tal asked me a question I’ll never forget.

“Would you like to bartend Sven Kirsten’s birthday party?”

If you’re new to tiki, Sven Kirsten is one of the people most responsible for documenting and preserving tiki culture. His books introduced thousands of people—including me—to the history, artwork, architecture, and stories behind America’s mid-century Polynesian Pop movement.

Ha! Not only would I bartend the party, I’d provide the booze and work the event for free! That’s how excited I was!

My first visit to Hale Kani Kapila happened while Leilani was preparing the space for Sven’s birthday get together.

Walking into that room was unforgettable.

You enter by crossing a bamboo bridge over a pond beside a real waterfall. In tiki space design, water at the entrance symbolizes leaving the outside world behind before entering another place. Once you start noticing it, you’ll see this idea repeated in many great tiki bars.

Subscribe now

Read more

I was determined to work at a tiki bar long before I ever got hired by one.

The first time I visited Trader Sam’s at the Disneyland Hotel, I fell in love with immersive tiki bars. Not long after, I applied for a bartending position at Ventiki in Ventura. I didn’t get the job.

Four years later, I applied again. This time, with a little help from the senior bartender, Josh, I was hired.

I wasn’t about to waste the opportunity.

Before Ventiki, I had spent nine years bartending at a small pub inside a AAA Five Diamond resort. The bar had four seats, the restaurant held around fifty guests, and while service standards were incredibly high, the pace was manageable.

Subscribe now

Ventiki was a completely different world.

When I started, the menu featured 38 tiki cocktails. Today it’s closer to 60. Many drinks contain seven or more ingredients, and some, like the Zombie, require more than ten separate steps to prepare correctly.

On a busy night, making more than 200 cocktails wasn’t unusual.

The drinks themselves weren’t even the hardest part.

While making cocktails, I also had to greet new guests, answer questions, entertain people sitting at the bar, wash glassware, refill juices, restock ingredients, cash out checks, and keep up with a constant stream of drink tickets. Then, without warning, something unexpected would happen—a broken glass in the ice well, a lost credit card, or an intoxicated guest demanding attention.

My ticket times were terrible. Guests sometimes waited thirty minutes for a cocktail.

After nine years behind another bar, I honestly thought I was an expert bartender.

Ventiki quickly humbled me.

In this business, there isn’t much room for someone who can’t keep up. It’s sink or swim. If your performance doesn’t improve, someone else will eventually take your place.

Then one day another bartender said something that stuck with me.

“I have a photographic memory. If you don’t, you’re probably not going to be able to do this.”

I understood what she meant. But I refused to believe that great bartenders were simply born with brains the rest of us didn’t have.

So how can I improve my memory?

At first, I searched for memory games online, thinking that memorization was my biggest weakness. I eventually found an app called Lumosity and started playing two games every day.

One was Train of Thought, a game where you constantly switch railroad tracks to guide trains to the correct stations. The other was Trouble Brewing, where you’re a barista trying to complete multiple coffee orders before time runs out.

Both games train divided attention—the ability to monitor several things at once while deciding what deserves your attention next.

It took months before I became good at them.

One day I reached a level in Trouble Brewing that I couldn’t beat.

I played it over and over, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t pass it. I really enjoyed playing the game up to that point, then I would stop.

Once we become comfortable with a routine, we naturally want to stick with it. Learning a new approach takes effort, and it’s tempting to keep repeating what’s familiar, hoping it will eventually work.

To move forward, I had to step outside my comfort zone and find a completely different strategy. That’s when I stopped focusing on effort and started focusing on the system.

I realized I had been playing with only my thumbs. I switched to using four fingers, like typing on a keyboard and suddenly I could select ingredients much faster. Then I started grouping ingredients together and giving them nicknames so I could identify the drink with just a quick glance. I built a system and soon after I maxed out the game.

Without realizing it, I carried that lesson into bartending.

One problem I constantly faced was remembering which cocktails were sitting inside our four identical stainless-steel shaker tins.

Instead of relying on memory, I began building cocktails directly into the serving glasses before shaking them. Suddenly, I could organize nearly twenty drinks at once instead of only four. I identified cocktails by their glassware, color, and, in a few cases, a swizzle stick marker instead of trying to remember which shaker contained what.

The managers and the other bartenders were not fans of the idea of building so many drinks at once. They said flies would contaminate the drinks, or someone might sneeze on them. I constantly had to justify why was doing it differently .

I was simply trying to build a system that worked for me. And it did.

As the restaurants capacity grew after the COVID-19 pandemic, The increased volume required new systems. I eventually found a used milkshake mixer on Craigslist that allowed me to blend cocktails directly in the serving glass, eliminating using shakers all together. At first, I carried it home after every shift because some of the bartenders disliked it. And I get it. We are bartenders right? Shaking drinks is what we do! I would tell them there is nothing stopping anyone from shaking the drinks. Eventually, my performance improved and I earned a full schedule on the busiest shifts. Using the mixer is now the standard procedure for making cocktails at Ventiki.

Another lesson from the games was that sometimes the solution isn’t to work faster—it’s to redesign the process.

I created a system that allowed two bartenders to work together in our small well. It worked like an assembly line. Rather than competing for the same space, each bartender had a defined role, passing drinks and ingredients between them. That simple change dramatically improved our efficiency during the busiest rushes. So far this has been the best system for dual bartending at Ventiki. 🌴

I’m not affiliated with Lumosity, and nobody is paying me to recommend the app.

But if you’re struggling with high-volume service, divided attention, or keeping track of everything happening around you, These games can help.

Here’s a couple other Luminosity games that helped me:

Need Practice switching from making a drink to closing out a bill without getting flustered? Ebb and Flo and Disillusion deal with task switching.

Do you wish you were better at remembering people’s' names? Try Familiar Faces: Challenges your face-name recall by asking you to match newly introduced names to AI-generated faces

To improve keeping track of customers and even some cash handling play Splitting Seeds: This game exercises your processing speed and subitizing—the ability to recognize quantities at a glance.

I was hired as a bartender at Ventiki Lounge & Lanai in 2018. While training for the position, I had the pleasure of working in the Ventiki gift shop. It was a large tiki consignment store filled with hundreds of pieces from artists like Tiki tOny, Sheryl Schroder, Kymm Bang, and Big Toe. There were vintage treasures from Ron Ferrell’s Rincon Room collection, along with fine art and ceramics by Ray Harris Casso.

Working there was incredibly inspiring. It was a retail store, so my job was simple: greet customers as they came in, answer questions, and ring up purchases. The rest of the time I spent discovering tiki. There were shelves full of tiki mugs and glassware, swizzles, coasters, and menus from other Tiki bars. Racks of vintage aloha shirts, displays of handcrafted pendants, paintings and prints covered nearly every inch of the walls.

I’ve always been somewhat creative. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve wanted to illustrate and sculpt, but I never took the time to learn. I’ve let 30 years go by. It’s one of those mistakes people make in life—you promise yourself you’ll pursue something you truly love, then suppress the urge because of fear. But I found something in the Ventiki gift shop that allowed me to sidestep that fear just long enough to begin.

It was a wooden frame surrounding an exotica record album. It was made in the beachcomber style, like it just washed up on the shore.

The wood looked weathered, and a very crude Oceanic design had been routed into the frame—simple lines and squares with X’s carved into them. It didn’t look like much care had gone into the construction; the screws were plainly visible. I remember thinking, “Shoot, I could do that. I want to do that!” I signed a consignment agreement with Ventiki and created my own framed exotica record albums.

Subscribe now

Nine years later, that simple discovery has led to far more than I ever imagined. Since 2018, I’ve created and sold a wide variety of tiki-inspired art. I’ve carved wooden frames, signs, pendants, and tikis. I created the Zombeekees and Luau Bongo tiki Torches made from pool noodles. I even developed my own canvas painting style and have illustrated artwork for tiki glassware.

I’ve also composed several short exotica jingles, including one that serves as the theme song for Scott Steepleton’s Rum Soaked Radio. I’ve designed elaborate room parties for Tiki Caliente, and this year I’m hosting the second annual Son of the Big Tiki Woo-Woo!, Ventura County’s largest tiki gathering. I now have two storage units packed with props, décor, and projects I’ve built for the event.

Looking back, it’s amazing to think that so much of it can be traced back to one simple, handmade frame I discovered in the Ventiki gift shop.

It wasn’t long before all of my gift shop shifts were replaced with bartending shifts. The gift shop continued to operate until Ventiki converted the space into restaurant seating during the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, there is still a small retail nook where Ventiki sells shirts, tiki mugs, books, and glassware, and the original wood carved Ventiki Gift Shop sign still hangs above the door on Main Street.

If you never had the chance to wander through the old Ventiki gift shop, Ventura is still fortunate to have a place that captures much of that same spirit. Just a few doors away, Aloha on Main has become the city’s dedicated tiki gift shop, filled with local artwork, vintage aloha shirts, tiki mugs, signed books, sculptures, and all sorts of treasures for collectors and enthusiasts.

Every once in a while, I stop in—not because I’m looking for anything in particular, but because I know what can happen when you surround yourself with creative people and handmade art. You never know when you’ll stumble across that one simple object that changes the direction of your life.🌴

Subscribe now

This book came out during my first year working at Ventiki, and because of that, I had the pleasure of meeting all three of the creators during a book signing on the lanai: Trader Brandon, Tiki tOny, and Typhoon Tommy. At the time, I was brand new to the tiki scene, so I had no idea who they were or how influential they would become in my own appreciation of tiki art and design.

Trader Brandon is best known as the Imagineer and curator behind Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar at Disneyland and Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto at Walt Disney World. Before becoming a Disney Imagineer, he logged more than 21,000 trips through the Jungle Cruise as a skipper, an experience that helped shape his love of immersive storytelling.

Tiki tOny is one of my biggest inspirations. A Ventura County artist, tiki carver, and mug designer, his colorful artwork has appeared at Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Club 33, and tiki bars across the country. For more than 25 years, he has created carvings, paintings, illustrations, and limited-edition tiki mugs, becoming one of the most recognizable artists in the modern tiki revival.

Typhoon Tommy is a scenic artist and themed-environment designer best known for serving as the creative director of the meticulous restoration of the legendary Mai-Kai in Fort Lauderdale. His expertise in scenic painting, prop aging, and immersive design has made him one of the most respected craftsmen in the modern tiki community.

The Field Guide to Tiki Decorating is a small, pocket-sized guide filled with simple advice on themed design and easy, step-by-step projects for aging props. It’s more of a collectible than a comprehensive guide, but that’s part of its charm.

One of my favorite things about the book is how practical it is. It includes shopping lists, decorating tips, weathering techniques, and even recommends the exact brands of paint to use when aging props.

If you ever come across a copy at a bookstore, a tiki marketplace, or online... buy it. It’s a must-have for any serious tiki collector or home tiki bar enthusiast.🌴

The Shipwreck Cove, located at a private home somewhere in Camarillo, CA started out as a small nautical themed bar in the garage. Imagine the vibe of Strong water, Anaheim and the Pirates ride at Disneyland. As the Shipwreck Cove continues to grow, it feels well on its way to joining the ranks of legendary home tiki bars like The Headhunter in San Diego, and The Rincon Room in Camarillo.

“The Captain’s Quarters” is where you find the bar and a pub height table that seats six. The room is decorated with rich dark wood illuminated by soft blue and green hues that create the feeling of an ancient shipwreck reclaimed by the sea.

Bill and Trish are not Disney Imagineers. They do not have a background in art, prop making, or fantasy concepts. But, they have a really unique gift where they can look at an item at a thrift store and envision it in their lounge setup.

They created these “windows” with views of the sea floor. They used leaded glass that they got from front doors, and placed them in front of LED monitors. The glass bends the light from the monitors making the scenery more natural looking in the bar.

In the driveway, they created “The Deck”, the weathered remains of the ship’s topside. They made good use from an antique table for the base of their ships steering wheel. There are carved wood planks on the walls, sails, and rigging. Some barrels containing rum and gunpowder sit in the background. Most impressive is the concrete floor, painted to look like wood planks. Working side by side with Bobby Doran who is a prolific artist, sculptor, tiki mug designer and professional prop /set engineer transformed ordinary concrete into a feature that seamlessly reinforces the illusion of walking across the deck of an old ship.

There lots of clues in the bar that hint at stories being told. Cannons are a recurring motif at “The Wreck.” There are Small cannons on the bar top. You’ll find cannon ball damage on the walls. A ships 'cannon is aimed right at you when you walk in the door. And it smokes and glows like it was just fired. The boom of a cannon implies the sudden effects of a strong overproof rum kicking in.

Rather than simply re-creating a traditional tiki bar, Bill and Trish drew inspiration from their own lives and experiences. Bill’s family’s maritime history in Maine, a shared love of travel, and visits to tiki bars and museums all helped shape the vision for The Shipwreck Cove, while Trish’s passion for antiquing and talent for uncovering hidden treasures filled it with authentic character. Together, they created an immersive world where every artifact contributes to the story of a legendary shipwreck and the adventures that brought it there.

Beware of the monsters! Lots of skeletons, tentacles and most notably the creature of the Black Lagoon or some sort of Lovecraftian fish person. There are portraits of this “Gill man” on the walls. There is an opening where this creature is coming right down through the ceiling, maybe to pull you up and suck your brains out. Was there a monster on the island that you Shipwrecked on? Or is it some sort of curse or virus that mutated the survivors? Could the rums on the shelf be the antidote? We’ll have to try them all and see which one works!

They have an extensive rum and spirit collection. Plenty of Lemonhart & Sons Demerara, Falernum, funky Jamaican rum and Martinique Agricole to make a variety of classic exotic cocktails. There’s also some good gins, and whiskeys on the shelves.

The bar set up is organized and heavily themed. Garnishes are kept in clam shaped glass bowls. They keep homemade syrups and fresh squeezed juices in corked glass bottles with old world labels on them. They have custom coasters, bar mats, shakers, swizzles, jiggers, and spoons.

It’s easy to find what you need to make good drinks here.

Bill and Trish’s tiki mug collection is equally impressive. About 80 or so mugs displayed on the rails and in the cabinets. Chad Kelly’s Broken Rum Bottle tiki mug is displayed in a place of honor among the fine spirits on the shelf.

They have almost completed “The Lounge” This is the outdoor seating patio area that overlooks the Lagoon (pool). It is adorned with Tapa cloth, bamboo, vintage tiles and wood tiki carvings.

The lagoon pool includes a rockwork waterfall that Bill & Trish intend to theme as a lava volcano.

Their latest addition, still under construction, is called The Landing. It features the fuselage of a vintage airplane they named Hells Belle. Inspired by Bill’s family history, this immersive space honors both of his grandfathers, who proudly served during World War II, extending Shipwreck Cove’s story with another chapter of courage, sacrifice, and adventure.

If you’re ever fortunate enough to receive an invitation to Shipwreck Cove, accept it. Experiences like this are rare, and even rarer are homeowners willing to share years of passion and craftsmanship with others.🌴

Subscribe now

When I was a new bartender, I would say something like, “I think you’ve had enough to drink,” or, “I could lose my job.” Those lines came straight out of the intervention procedures textbook. These one-liners will get you into an argument. It’s better to point to observable behavior, not your opinion.

When I decide to cut a person off, I tell them directly that I’m doing it and why.

I point out exactly what I am seeing them do. If they are slurring, I’ll tell them, “You’re slurring.” They could be leaning, falling asleep, or swaying back and forth. If I see slow reactions, I’ll say, “When I ask you a question, you’re very slow to respond.” Whatever it is they are doing, that’s what I point out when I’m cutting them off. The logic is simple: if they weren’t doing that particular thing, I wouldn’t be cutting them off.

Cutting people off means that, from that point on, you will no longer serve them any alcohol. This is the most uncomfortable task a bartender has to do. Personally, I’d rather clean up after someone who puked in the urinal than cut someone off. But maybe I wouldn’t have had to clean up after them if I had cut them off sooner!

I’ve worked with bartenders who would pour a non-alcoholic drink and try to pass it off as an alcoholic one. The reason is simple—they don’t want to deal with the stress of cutting someone off.

Don’t do this.

Let’s say that person leaves your bar and someone gets hurt. Now picture yourself in court trying to explain why you served that person twelve gin and tonics. I don’t think trying to convince the judge that you secretly weren’t putting alcohol in the drinks—without any proof is going to help your case.

It’s better to tell them the truth, no matter how uncomfortable it is. Sometimes I’ll just hand them the check and not say anything. Maybe they’ll pay it and leave.

Cutting people off doesn’t always go smoothly. If the person is a regular and I know their name, it’s about a 90% positive outcome. They accept it, pay, and leave with no drama. If they’re a new customer, it’s usually about a 50/50 chance. They may argue, call me names, threaten violence, or, on very rare occasions, commit battery. That’s only happened to me twice in my entire career, and in hindsight, I believe both situations could have been avoided if I had handled them better.

If they’re with friends, talk to the friends. Just tell them straight out, “Hey, this guy’s slurring a lot. You guys need to take him home.” Give them the bill and close them out.

Sometimes you cut someone off and they refuse to leave. When that happens, this is what you do: observe and report. Get your phone. Watch them and take notes. Also document what you’re doing. What steps are you taking to help this guest? Maybe you got them food and water or helped arrange a ride. If there’s an incident later, you need to cover your ass.

I work at a tiki bar, so I came up with a creative way to cut people off. I bought some coconuts and painted them white with a red cross on them. When I cut someone off, I fill one with soda and bitters and serve it with the check. Some people play along and see it as a badge of honor. Other people aren’t thrilled, but it smooths the interaction a bit. If there’s any debate, I just tell them what I see.

Another situation is when somebody comes in and tries to order three or four drinks within an hour. I don’t let that happen. If it’s somebody I don’t know, I’ll give them their check after serving the last drink I’m comfortable serving. If they protest being closed out, I’ll tell them I’ll have to get to know them better before I’m comfortable serving that much alcohol. That works about 99% of the time.

If it’s a regular or someone I know, I can ask, “If I serve you this fourth drink, you’re going to be s***-faced drunk. Is that your plan tonight? Did you plan for a ride home? Don’t you have to work in the morning?”

What if you realize someone is drunk five minutes after you served them a strong drink like a Zombie? Whatever they drank thirty minutes ago at another bar is finally kicking in, and suddenly you realize they’re hammered. Now you’re in a bind because you have to take away the drink you just served.

Just tell them what you see.

“When you came in, you seemed fine, but now you can barely keep your eyes open.”

When you take their drink away, replace it with water or a soda.

What if you work at an upscale whiskey bar? You have twelve corporate CEOs at the bar, and their tab is already up to $2,200. One of them is clearly intoxicated and just ordered another round for everyone—and the intoxicated guest is the one paying the bill.

Now what?

Because of your service standards, whatever you say cannot come across as rude. You’re in a bind because you don’t want to overserve the host, but you also don’t want to embarrass them in front of everyone. These guests have already spent a lot of money, and the last thing you want to do is ruin their evening.

Like before, you and your coworkers should be watching the guest. Keep notes. Track every drink and every plate of food the host has had. Interact with them often. Say their name. Keep handing them water and snacks.

Discreetly say, “Mr. Underhill, I noticed you lost your balance a few minutes ago. Are you feeling okay? I’m here for you.”

Hand them a soda with bitters while you say it.

You just checked the guest. You haven’t cut them off yet, but now they know you’re watching them.

Ask yourself some questions and weigh your options.

What signs of intoxication am I seeing?

How intoxicated are they?

Are they blackout drunk or just tipsy?

How fast are they drinking?

Are their actions negatively affecting other guests?

Where is their energy level? Are they getting tired, or did they just do a bump of cocaine and now they’re slurring a hundred words a minute?

Do I absolutely need to cut them off right now, or will this thing just fizzle out on it’s own?

This is the gray area bartenders find themselves in. It’s a realistic situation where the details matter. I believe that once you have enough information, you can steer things toward the best possible outcome.

I became interested in bartending in my early twenties.

A friend of mine worked behind the bar at a nightclub at The Warner Center Marriott in the San Fernando Valley. I’d hang out with him after work, and he and the bar manager would tell stories about the job. It sounded like the most fun you could have while getting paid.

At the time I was working as a soda jerk at Mel’s Drive-In. They suggested I get hired at the hotel as a busser and work my way into a bartending position.

I took their advice. I quit Mel’s and got a job at the Marriot. My friend Kyle helped me get the job.

Every morning I showed up at 5:00 a.m. to set up the breakfast buffet in the hotel’s main restaurant. I worked hard, learned the operation, and waited for an opportunity.

A few months later I finally asked one of the managers what it would take to become a bartender.

Her answer was simple.

“We only hire experienced bartenders.”

How was I supposed to get experience if I don’t have a job?

I worked as a bar gopher for free

A friend of my mom’s, who bartended at a dive bar in Reseda, offered to let me help out for free in exchange for a reference. I wasn’t mixing drinks. I polished mirrors, hauled ice, stocked supplies, and even set up the crock pot of chili for the regulars. It wasn’t glamorous, but it was my first glimpse behind the scenes of a working bar.

Bartending school

Next, I enrolled in bartending school. It was only a two-week course, but I learned the fundamentals: setting up and breaking down a bar, free pouring, the basic spirits and mixers, and classic cocktail recipes. I studied hard and passed the school’s speed test.

Remember the movie Cocktail? Remember TGI Fridays?

If you were around in the mid 1990s, you probably remember both. Long before craft cocktail bars became popular, TGI Fridays was one of the most influential bar chains in America. Their bartenders were famous for energetic service and flashy bottle-flipping routines. The movie Cocktail (1988) made flair bartending even more popular.

The TGI Fridays in the West Valley was one of the hottest bars around. It wasn’t unusual to see celebrities there. Every time I visited, the bartenders were flipping bottles, tossing shakers, and entertaining the guests. The bartenders were at the top of the social hierarchy. I was a total nerd, and I wanted to be one of them.

As a brand-new bartender, I assumed flair bartending was simply another basic skill every bartender was expected to know. So I bought a set of instructional VHS tapes and practiced every day. I spent hours learning bottle flips, stalls, and tricks because I thought every bartender needed to know them.

It wasn’t until much later that I realized most bartenders didn’t flair at all. Flair bartending wasn’t a basic bartending skill—it was part of TGI Fridays’ identity and one of the things that made them famous.

Busser to bartender

Fifteen months after I started as a busser, I finally landed my first bartending job at the Marriott’s lobby bar. I had too beg them to give me a shot. It was one shift a week and I still had to work as a busser on my other days. Eventually I was became the full time day lobby bartender.

I stayed there for four years.

I thought getting experience would solve everything.

It didn’t.

Finding my second bartending job was almost as difficult as finding my first!

Today, though, I think there’s a much better way to break into the industry.

A quick note about Luck and Charisma

Before you read on, I have something to say on the topic of luck and charisma. You could just walk in and apply at the closest bar to your home. It’s possible you could be hired on the spot with zero experience. That would be good luck! It happens all time.

Then there’s charisma. There is a common point of view that exists in the bar industry. Beautiful sexy women and handsome sexy men entice customers to buy more booze and return often. I believe you are more likely to land a job if you fit into this category no matter what your experience.

I’m old, bald, and I’m missing teeth so there must be other kinds of charisma!

Visit these different kinds of bars. Which one do you see yourself working at?

• Dive bar

• Neighborhood bar

• Restaurant

• Hotel

• Nightclub

• Tiki bar

• Craft cocktail bar

• Winery or tasting room

• Brewery

Each environment values different skills, but they all share the same foundation.

Every bartender should know how to:

• Communicate with guests

• Set up a bar station

• Practice proper bar etiquette

• Pour beer correctly

• Open and serve wine

• Handle cash and credit card transactions

• Understand basic spirits, mixers, and garnishes

• Be familiar with most common cocktails

Start Learning Today

You don’t need a job to begin learning.

One of the best books I’ve ever read is The Joy of Mixology by Gary Regan. Read the whole book including thee recipes. You don’t have to memorize every recipe but you want to be familiar with as many drinks as possible.

Learn how to make these recipes:

• Old Fashioned

• Manhattan

• Martini

• Margarita

• Mojito

• Moscow Mule

• Whiskey Sour

• Negroni

• Bloody Mary

• Piña Colada

Get Your Certifications

Requirements vary by state.

In California you’ll need:

• Food Handler Card

• Responsible Beverage Service (RBS) Certification

Having these completed before you apply shows employers you’re serious.

Build a Public Bartending Portfolio

This is the advice I wish someone had given me.

Create a dedicated Instagram, TikTok, Facebook page, or YouTube channel focused entirely on bartending.

Film yourself making classic cocktails.

Practice free pours.

Review spirits, wine, or beer.

Talk about bar tools.

Share what you’re learning.

This accomplishes two important things.

First, you’ll improve because you’re constantly practicing.

Second, you’ll create something most applicants don’t have: a public portfolio.

When a hiring manager looks you up, they won’t find someone who simply says they want to be a bartender. They’ll find someone who’s already acting like one.

Create Your Own Experience

Don’t wait for someone to hand you experience.

Volunteer to bartend family parties, birthdays, backyard barbecues, fundraisers, or weddings.

Keep track of everything.

How many guests attended?

What cocktails did you serve?

How did you organize your shopping list?

How did you set up your bar?

What challenges came up?

Ask the host for a written testimonial afterward.

Those experiences belong on your résumé.

If you get the opportunity to guest bartend anywhere—even for a single event—take it.

Consider Bartending School

A lot of people look down on bartending school. Ignore them. I love it. I recommend it for anyone seeking a job in the industry. Here you will learn:

100 or so essential recipes

Bartender techniques

Bar set up

Names of the glassware and tools

Bartender etiquette (really important)

How to work with a sense of urgency.

Final Thoughts

The biggest mistake aspiring bartenders make is waiting for someone else to give them experience.

Don’t wait.

Start studying.

Practice every week.

Build a public portfolio.

Volunteer whenever you can.

Document everything.

By the time you walk into an interview, you won’t be asking an employer to take a chance on someone with no experience.

You’ll already have experience—you just created it yourself.

Serving batched cocktails at the wrong time is a quick way to ruin your reputation. Used in the right situation, however, batching is one of the most valuable tools a bartender can have.

The key isn’t whether you batch cocktails—it’s knowing when and how to serve them.

Imagine you’ve been looking forward to visiting a famous tiki bar for weeks. You made a reservation, took time off work, booked a hotel, paid for a Lyft, and finally found a seat at the bar. This is the moment you’ve been anticipating.

The bartender grabs a gallon jug labeled “Mai Tai” fills a glass with ice, pours the mix, gives it a lazy stir, adds a straw, and slides it in front of you.

Um…what the actual F

No matter what, this drink is not going to taste good.

That’s because the cocktail isn’t the only product being served. The experience is.

The best bartenders aren’t just mixing drinks—they’re fulfilling an expectation that may have been building for days or even weeks. Long before the guest is served, they’ve imagined the atmosphere, the presentation, and the first sip of their cocktail. Every detail, both seen and unseen, should reward that anticipation and make the final reveal feel worth the wait.

Think of a bartender the same way you would think of a magician on stage. Every movement is intentional. Just as important as what the audience sees is what they don’t see. The audience doesn’t pay to watch the magician set up the trick—they come for the performance and the reveal.

Bartending is no different.

When guests are seated at the bar, they don’t simply want a drink. They enjoy watching cocktails come to life. The sound of ice hitting the shaker, the aroma of fresh citrus, the careful garnish, and the bartender’s interaction all become part of the experience. In this setting, the perception of quality often outweighs speed. Guests are usually willing to wait a little longer because the preparation itself is entertaining.

When Batching Makes Sense

Now imagine a completely different situation.

You’re the only bartender at a wedding reception serving 200 guests.

The ceremony ends, the emcee announces that the bar is open, and suddenly everyone is standing in front of you.

Or you’re pouring samples at a tiki festival, and 300 hundred people are in line waiting to meet you and taste your drink.

Or your tiki bar goes from empty to fifty cocktail tickets in five minutes.

In these moments, the priorities change.

Guests aren’t sitting at the bar to watch every cocktail being built. They’re waiting in line so they can get back to their friends, the music, or the event. Here, prompt service becomes more important than the theater of preparing each drink from scratch.

Unless you have a 6 person beverage team preparing the drinks, you can serve batched drinks to tackle the rush.

A well-made batch allows every guest to receive a consistent cocktail while dramatically reducing wait times. The overall experience of the event improves because guests spend less time standing in line and more time enjoying themselves.

How I Maintain the Perception of Quality

If I serve batched cocktails behind the bar, I treat them differently than I would at a large event.

I only use batches during a critical rush, and I never make the batch the center of attention.

I don’t place a gallon jug on the bar for everyone to see. Instead, I transfer the batch into liquor bottles that fit naturally into my station. Before service, I make sure the batch is thoroughly mixed, and because citrus, sugar, and spirits separate over time, I shake the bottle before every pour.

Even though the ingredients are already combined, I still measure the cocktail. Measuring adds to the guest perception of quality. I also don’t want to overserve the guest.

I polish the glass. I measure water or dilution separately when appropriate. I shake or mix the drink with confidence. Sometimes I’ll even invite a guest to shake the tin themselves. Finally, I spend extra time on the garnish. Fresh mint, expressed citrus oils, crushed ice, and careful presentation transform a fast cocktail into one that feels handcrafted.

Whether you batch or build every drink from scratch, remember that you're serving more than a cocktail. Don’t let any air out of your guests balloon!

After working with and training dozens of new tiki bartenders, I noticed a clear pattern: the bartenders who succeed are the ones who learn the cocktail recipes quickly. Most bartenders I’ve worked with still don’t know the recipes after three months.

The skills needed to work behind a tiki bar aren’t difficult to learn, but they do require focused practice. Many new bartenders say, “I’ll just learn as I go.” In my experience, that rarely works. Bar shifts are usually given to the bartenders who perform the best. If you don’t know the recipes well enough to earn those shifts, you get fewer opportunities to practice—and your progress slows even more.

A typical bartender is expected to know around 100 cocktail recipes. A tiki bartender must know those classics plus an extensive collection of tiki drinks. On top of that, they’re expected to understand rum, the history behind the cocktails, and the stories that make tiki culture unique.

The fastest way I’ve found to learn tiki recipes is to say them out loud. It’s more effective than flash cards or silently quizzing yourself. Once you can recite a recipe from memory, review it once a day. It only takes about 10 minutes, and you can do it almost anywhere—while driving, waiting in line, or lying in bed. Those short daily reviews build long-term memory surprisingly fast.

This simple habit became the foundation of the memorization system I eventually developed—one that helped me learn hundreds of tiki cocktail recipes.

1. Step 1: Create Code Words

   Shorten your ingredients into code words that are fast and easy to say.

   • PASSION = Passion fruit syrup

   • SIMPLE = Simple syrup

   • D SYRUP = Demerara syrup

   • A RUM = Aged rum

   • D RUM = Dark rum

     • Or use the brand name instead (for example, Denizen).

   • LIME, LEMON, PINEAPPLE, OJ = Juices

   • BLUE = Blue Curaçao

   • ANGO = Angostura bitters

   • PG, LG, MINT = Pineapple garnish, lemon garnish, mint garnish

   The goal is to create words that are easy to recognize and quick to say.

   Step 2: Organize Your Ingredients

   Create a spreadsheet listing all of your ingredients.

   Arrange them in the same order as your mise en place—the physical layout of your bar. I organize mine clockwise, so the spreadsheet matches exactly where each ingredient is located.

   This makes it much easier for your brain to connect the spoken recipe with the movement of making the drink.

   1. 

      Step 3: Group Similar Recipes

      Look through your cocktail list and group recipes that share the most ingredients.

      Learning similar drinks together reduces the amount of new information your brain has to process and makes memorization much faster.

      Step 4: Create Measurement Codes

      Use simple words for each measurement.

      • Dash

      • Splash

      • 1/4 oz = Quarter

      • 1/2 oz = Half

      • 3/4 oz = Triple Quarter

      • 1 oz = Single

      • 1½ oz = Single Half

      • 1¾ oz = Single Triple

      • 2 oz = Double

      • 3 oz = Triple

      • 4 oz = Quad

      Again, the goal is speed. You want measurements that are easy to say without thinking.

      Step 5: Rewrite Every Recipe

      Convert each cocktail into your new shorthand.

      Example:

      Mai Tai
      Quarter Simple – Double Denizen – Single Lime – Quarter Orgeat – Half Curaçao

      Then add the glassware and garnish.

      Mai Tai
      Tumbler – Quarter Simple – Double Denizen – Single Lime – Quarter Orgeat – Half Curaçao – Mint

      Now every recipe follows the exact same format.

      Step 6: Record Yourself

      Record yourself reading every recipe out loud.

      You can also paste the recipes into a text-to-speech app and have it read them back to you.

      Listen actively. Say each recipe out loud along with the recording.

      You can practice while driving, doing chores, exercising, or anytime your hands are busy but your mind is free.

      After just a few days, you’ll be surprised how many recipes you can recite from memory.

      Step 7: Review Every Day

      Once you’ve memorized the recipes, don’t stop.

      Recite every recipe at least twice a day. Daily review keeps the information fresh and moves it into long-term memory.

      How Do You Know You’ve Mastered the Recipes?

      The goal isn’t simply to memorize ingredients—it’s to make the recipes automatic.

      You’ll know you’ve reached that point when:

      • You can stop in the middle of building a cocktail, do something else, then come back and finish the drink without losing your place.

      • You can carry on a conversation with a guest while making cocktails because the recipes no longer require conscious thought.

      That’s when the recipes have become second nature.

Many of the tiki mugs used and sold at Trader Vic's Waikiki were made by Polynesian Pottery, a ceramics studio based in Honolulu. Their distinctive "PP" mark has become one of the most recognized maker's marks among vintage tiki mug collectors.

The Mug is crude by todays standards and that’s why I love it! Here’s the Trader Vic’s menu from Hawaii.