Below is a list of the most popular bartending quotes ever said. We handpicked 29 bartending quotes out of the thousands from the wise minds of physicists, famous actors and authors, and various pop culture personalities.
Our Virtual Mixology Classes are fully interactive, feature our top tier instructors and include some of our famous custom cocktails along with revered classics! Class is fully customizable for private bookings. Please inquire through our contact form for our virtual mixology. Jeremiah 'Jerry' P. Thomas (October 30, 1830 – December 15, 1885) was an American bartender who owned and operated saloons in New York City. Because of his pioneering work in popularizing cocktails across the United States as well, he is considered 'the father of American mixology'. In addition to writing the seminal work on cocktails, Bar-Tender. Dale DeGroff, also known as the King of Cocktails or King Cocktail, is an American bartender, mixologist, and author. The New York Times in 2015 called DeGroff 'one of the world’s foremost cocktail experts', and wrote that his book 'The Craft of the Cocktail' is considered an essential bartending reference. Mixologist History Dale DeGroff – King of Cocktails. As perhaps the most famous mixologist of all time, Dale DeGroff wears his title of. Dick Bradsell – Friendly, Fresh Ideas. Dick Bradsell was one of the most prolific creators of cocktails the world has.
Feel free to use these bartending quotes while working behind the bar or during any bartending interview. And have fun memorizing these bartender quotes to charm others you work with, make customers laugh, and to show off your literary knowledge.
Enjoy!
Bartending Quotes
“A bartender is just a pharmacist with a limited inventory…” – Albert Einstein
“Only one way to cover a story like this, and make that a double, bartender, please…” – P.J. O’Rourke
“You know you have a drinking problem when the bartender knows your name — and you’ve never been to that bar before…” – Zach Galifianakis
“The greatest accomplishment of a bartender lies in his ability to exactly suit his customer…” – Harry Gordon Johnson
“Will there be any bartenders up there in Heaven, will the pubs never close?…” – Richard Thompson
“Whiskey is, by far, the most popular of all remedies that will not cure a cold…” – Jerry Vale
“I feel sorry for people who don’t drink. When they wake up in the morning, that’s as good as they’re going to feel all day…” – Frank Sinatra
“Basically, I’m for anything that gets you through the night—be it prayer, tranquilizers or a bottle of Jack Daniel’s…” – Frank Sinatra
“Lady bartenders live a tougher life than anybody knows…” – James Crumley
“Always do sober what you said you’d do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut…” – Ernest Hemingway
“A professional bartender is someone who can do his or her best work when he or she doesn’t feel like it…” – Bruce Tomlinson
“The problem with the world is that everyone is a few drinks behind…” – Humphrey Bogart
“A theory that you can’t explain to a bartender is probably no damn good…” – Ernest Rutherford
“I’m a bartender. I like recipes. They’re concretes. Was the drink recipe for seduction one shot charm and two shots self-deception, shaken, not stirred?…” – Karen Marie Moning
“You know you’re in trouble, when the bartender cries…” – Michael Peterson
“Work is the curse of the drinking classes…” – Oscar Wilde
“A good writer is not, per se, a good book critic. No more so than a good drunk is automatically a good bartender…” – Jim Bishop
“I drink only to make my friends seem interesting…” – Don Marquis
“By the time a bartender knows what drink a man will have before he orders, there is little else about him worth knowing…” – Don Marquis
“I think everyone should go to college and get a degree and then spend six months as a bartender and six months as a cabdriver. Then they would really be educated…” – Al McGuire
“I believe that in your heart you already know something is profoundly wrong. When bartenders are responsible for drunk drivers’ acts, and gunmakers are responsible for criminals’ acts, and nobody is responsible for O. J. Simpson’s acts, something is wrong…” – Charlton Heston
“I was a bartender for a long time, so I know how to make drinks, but I’m more likely to offer them than to have them. I think this is one of the reasons why I get to live longer than my great-grandmother did, and why I get to produce more writing than she did, and why my marriage isn’t in dire straits…” – Elizabeth Gilbert
“From 1965 to 1974, I served the best possible apprenticeship for an actor. I learned firsthand how a truck driver lives, what a bartender does, how a salesman thinks. I had to make a life inside those jobs, not just pretend…” – Brian Dennehy
“I was an amazing bartender and a great waiter. I think, in a way, that was my acting school…” – Nick Frost
“If Jesus was a bartender, He would still only be half as cool as Carlos…” – Richard Kadrey
“If you drink, don’t drive. Don’t even putt…” – Dean Martin
“You’re not drunk if you can lie on the floor without holding on…” – Dean Martin
“Oh, you hate your job? Why didn’t you say so? There’s a support group for that – it’s called everybody, and they meet regularly at the bar…” – Drew Carey
“The hard part about being a bartender is figuring out who is drunk and who is just stupid…” – Richard Braunstein
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The first known mention of a cocktail as an alcoholic drink appeared back in 1806. Since then, the hospitality industry was never the same. Countless bartenders and mixologists paved the way for creativity to assemble cocktails that we love and enjoy today. The peak of the mixology era was the 2000s when cocktail culture went on a rise with traditional cocktails being blended with various novel ingredients. Let‘s see past and present experts who left the biggest impact on the industry and the craft. Let‘s discover who are the best mixologists on the planet!
Jerry Thomas
We simply must start with the most iconic figure in the cocktail industry and history. Jerry Thomas was one of the most famous and well-paid American bartenders with a $100 a week salary back in the 1800s.
Considered the father of modern mixology, Jerry Thomas wrote the very first official cocktail book in the world‘s history. The book is called „How to Mix Drinks“ and was released in 1862.
This book has many of the original classic recipes such as Sours, Tom Collins, The Cobbler, and more. Without this masterpiece, many of our beloved classics wouldn‘t exist, and it is worth mentioning that Mr Thomas also started flair bartending with his flashy equipment and juggling bottles!
Dale DeGroff
Dale DeGroff also referred to as 'King Cocktail“ is renowned as one of the best mixologists in the world. Dale‘s path to greatness has many accomplishments along the way.
His expertise began to blossom in the 80s when he started to mix classic ready to drink cocktails through the famous Rainbow Room in New York.
He‘s the winner of 2 James Beard Awards for Wine and Spirits Professional. Also a receiver of Life Achievement Award and an author of the books: The Essential Cocktail and The Craft of the Cocktail. If that is not enough to convince that he‘s one of the greatest out there, he also trains young bartenders and is a founder of the Museum of the American Cocktail.
Marian Beke
The Slovakian-born mixologist Marian Beke is considered one of the best in the world by many. His journey started in his home country Slovakia where he worked for a year as a bartender.
However, moving to London proved as a critical step in his upcoming career. Here he worked in numerous venues, including the famous speakeasy bar Nightjar where he took them to the next level with his cocktail menu.
Today, Marian Beke operates his bar „The Gibson Bar“. Innovative and tasty cocktails with a vibrant bar aesthetics gathered him hundreds of positive reviews and now the bar is considered as one of the „must visit“ places in London.
Monica Berg
The first female on our list is Monica Berg. A mixologist and a bartender that is known for innovative and well-crafted cocktails such as Breakfast Fizz, Vintage Vesper, and Rumbullion. All unique and delicious with ingredients that vary from praline walnut and yellow Chartreuse to Chase marmalade vodka and rosemary silverskin onions.
Monica’s other unique feature is that she combines food and drink as a chef and mixologist which gives her even more ability and skill to create something special.
Originally from Norway, she was the first woman to receive Altos Bartender’s Bartender Award at “The World’s 50 Best Bars”. She also received a Linie Honorary Award and is a liquor company owner, digital innovator, and still an influential bartender!
Ada Coleman
What about female bartenders from history? Ada Coleman was a female head bartender at the Savoy American Bar in London. She held this position for 23 years back in 1903-1926!
Ada Coleman was considered to be one of the best mixologists in London at the time. She is mostly famous for her “Hanky Panky” cocktail that she crafted for the actor Sir Charles Hawtrey. This cocktail was also one of the first documented drinks that used bitter amaro as the main ingredient.
Ada's Coleman legacy doesn’t end here as she also trained Harry Craddock, another brilliant bartender that revealed many of her signature cocktail recipes in his cocktail book. Hanky Panky cocktail is now served worldwide and in 2016, Liqour.com listed her in the top 9 most important bartenders of all time.
Jason Williams
One of the youngest mixologists on our list is Jason Williams. However, a Sydney-based bartender is not an upcoming star in the bartending scene, he is already a world-renowned mixologist. In 2013, he was crowned Beefeater 24 Global Cocktail Competition champion.
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His signature cocktail “Werewolves of London” is what brought him his fame. A delicious and intriguing drink consisting of Beefeater 24 gin, orange and peach liquor, frankincense bitters, lemon juice, and green tea mist.
His other famous cocktails that are served are “Fear & Loathing” and “Smoke & Broadswords”. Some of the unique ingredients found in these drinks are jasmine tea smoke, orgeat, fino sherry, and ginger liqueur.
Tom Walker
Tom Walker’s experience as a bartender spans way over 10 years with many accolades under his belt. Within his career, he has worked in top venues across the world – from Edinburgh and London to New York while being mentioned in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and others.
He is also a consultant for drink strategies with iconic brands like Monkey Shoulder and Dewars and a teacher that conducted many workshops in cities like Mumbai, Moscow, and Singapore. His impact on cocktail craft and mixology is one of the strongest out there.
How did he get there? One of the big leaps that he took in his craft and career was winning the iconic Bacardi Legacy Global Cocktail Competition with his signature cocktail “Maid in Cuba”.
Ryan Chetiyawardana
Ryan Chetiyawardana also is known as Mr Lyan is easily one of the famous bartenders in the United Kingdom today. He worked in 69 Colebrook Row and Purl & Worship Street Whistling Shop before opening his cocktail bar “White Lyan” back in 2013.
His venue was heavily focused on a complete customer experience together with exploring new boundaries of craftsmanship and the industry. He used cocktails with no fruit or ice or any other perishables to take a sustainable approach and reduce massive waste produced by the hospitality industry.
He also received plenty of awards throughout his career. These include International Bartender of the Year by Tales of the Cocktail 2015, Top 1,000 Most Influential Londoners by Evening Standard 2014, 2015, and 2016, UK Bartender Of The Year, and more. He is also an author of multiple cocktail books.
Lynnette Marrero
Lynnette Marrero is a female bartender, mixologist, and philanthropist based in New York City. Her career has a lot of versatility and history. Her work with cocktails began with rum and later she was captivated by Latin culture and their signature spirits like pisco.
However, she is still regarded as a rum expert and became a mixology ambassador for Zacapa Rum as well as Perrier Sparkling Natural Mineral Water. Her rum cocktails are the art of taste and mixology and gave her a path to even more career highlights as one of the pioneer female cocktail-specific bartenders in the whole industry.
She also created the world’s first all-female speed bartending competition known as “Speed Rack”. Without a doubt, she is one of the best and most influential bartenders on the planet.
Hidetsugu Ueno
The list of the world’s top bartenders wouldn’t be complete without Tokyo’s beloved Hidetsugu Ueno. His career began back in 1992 and since then, he became a winner and could give any western mixologist a competition of their lifetime.
Hidetsugu Ueno won multiple times or at least placed as a finalist in various cocktail contests. His main strengths are rum, gin, and Suntory whisky. He worked in popular bars such as Star Bar before he opened “Bar High Five” that has countless praise and positive feedback. All thanks to him and his team as they try to go beyond the fixed menu and focus on the customer’s specific needs and wishes.
Today, Ueno is also a judge on these cocktail contests and is also teaching bartending workshops across the world in locations such as London, Paris, Moscow, New York City, and Taiwan.
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Conclusion
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There ya go! The list could go on and on as our world is full of talented and dedicated mixologists. These 10 mixologists are definitely at the top of the game and can inspire anyone interested in bartending and mixology.
Some of the other honourable mentions include Jacopo Rosito, Alexandria Bowler, Simone Caporale, Tim Philips, and Matthew Talbert.
Knowledge and inspiration are guaranteed. Good luck!