A resume tells you where a bartender has worked. A bartending test tells you what they know. This is the 40 question written test we would give a candidate before a working interview, or a trainee before their first solo shift. It covers pours and measures, classic cocktails, product knowledge, responsible alcohol service and bar math, with an answer key for each part and a short practical test for behind the bar.
How to use this bartending test
For hiring. Give it to every candidate for the same role, under the same conditions, after the first interview. Allow 25 minutes, with no phone.
For training. Use it on day one to find the gaps, and again at 30 days to confirm they are closed.
For your current team. Run it once a year. The results tell you what to cover in pre shift.
Make it yours. Swap in your own house specs, your pour sizes and your state's alcohol rules before you use it. The law questions below reflect general US practice.
Print the test and answer key
The button prints the 40 questions with space to write, followed by the answer key on separate pages.
How many ounces does the large side of a standard jigger hold?
About how many 1.5 ounce pours are in a 750 ml bottle?
About how many 1.5 ounce pours are in a one liter bottle?
About how many milliliters are in one ounce?
What is a standard pour of wine by the glass, and how many do you get from a 750 ml bottle?
How many 16 ounce pints are in a half barrel keg, before waste?
What is the difference between neat, up and on the rocks?
In the United States, one standard drink is how much beer, how much wine and how much 80 proof spirit?
Answer key: Part 1
1.5 ounces. The small side is usually 0.75 or 1 ounce, so check the jiggers at your bar.
About 17. A 750 ml bottle holds 25.4 ounces.
About 22. A liter holds 33.8 ounces.
About 30.
5 ounces, which gives five glasses per bottle.
124. A half barrel holds 15.5 gallons, or 1,984 ounces.
Neat is poured straight from the bottle at room temperature with no ice. Up is chilled with ice, then strained into a stemmed glass with no ice. On the rocks is served over ice.
12 ounces of 5 percent beer, 5 ounces of 12 percent wine, and 1.5 ounces of 80 proof spirit.
Part 2: Classic cocktails
For questions 9 to 17, list the ingredients and say whether the drink is shaken, stirred or built in the glass.
Old Fashioned
Margarita
Manhattan
Classic Martini
Negroni
Daiquiri
Mojito
Whiskey Sour
Moscow Mule
What is the general rule for when to shake a drink and when to stir it?
Answer key: Part 2
Bourbon or rye, sugar or simple syrup, Angostura bitters. Stirred, served over ice with an orange peel.
Tequila, orange liqueur, fresh lime juice. Shaken, with a salt rim if the guest wants one.
Rye or bourbon, sweet vermouth, Angostura bitters. Stirred, served up with a cherry.
Gin and dry vermouth. Stirred, served up with an olive or a lemon twist.
Equal parts gin, Campari and sweet vermouth. Stirred, served over ice with an orange peel.
Rum, fresh lime juice, simple syrup. Shaken, served up.
Rum, lime, sugar or simple syrup, mint, soda water. Built in the glass, with the mint gently muddled.
Whiskey, fresh lemon juice, simple syrup, with egg white optional. Shaken.
Vodka, lime juice, ginger beer. Built over ice, traditionally in a copper mug.
Shake drinks that contain citrus, juice, cream or egg. Stir drinks made only of spirits, vermouth and bitters.
Part 3: Product knowledge
Name the six base spirits.
Name three things that make a whiskey a bourbon.
What plant is tequila made from?
What is the difference between an ale and a lager?
What does proof mean, and what is the alcohol by volume of an 80 proof spirit?
What is the difference between a well drink, a call drink and a top shelf drink?
What is vermouth, what is the difference between dry and sweet, and how should an open bottle be stored?
What makes a whisky a Scotch?
Answer key: Part 3
Vodka, gin, rum, tequila, whiskey and brandy.
It is made in the United States, from a mash of at least 51 percent corn, and aged in new charred oak containers.
Blue Weber agave.
The yeast and the temperature. Ales use top fermenting yeast at warmer temperatures. Lagers use bottom fermenting yeast at colder temperatures and are conditioned longer.
In the US, proof is twice the alcohol by volume. 80 proof is 40 percent.
A well drink uses the house brand when the guest does not name one. A call drink is made with a brand the guest asks for by name. Top shelf means the premium, higher priced brands.
Vermouth is a fortified wine flavored with herbs and botanicals. Dry vermouth is pale and less sweet, used in Martinis. Sweet vermouth is red and sweeter, used in Manhattans and Negronis. Keep open bottles in the refrigerator.
It is made in Scotland and aged in oak casks for at least three years.
Part 4: Responsible service
What is the legal drinking age in the United States?
Name three forms of ID that are generally accepted as proof of age.
Name four signs that a guest may be intoxicated.
A guest is showing clear signs of intoxication and orders another round. What do you do?
What is the blood alcohol limit for driving in most US states?
Does coffee, food or a cold shower sober a person up?
A guest who is 21 orders two drinks and you believe one is for an underage friend. What do you do?
What is dram shop liability?
Answer key: Part 4
21.
A valid, unexpired government issued photo ID: a driver's license, a state ID card, a passport or a military ID. Accepted forms vary by state.
Any four of: slurred speech, stumbling or poor coordination, loud or changed behavior, slow reactions, glassy or red eyes, drinking quickly, spilling drinks, repeating themselves.
Stop serving alcohol politely and without argument, tell the manager, offer water, food or a drink without alcohol, and make sure the guest has a safe way home.
0.08 percent. Utah's limit is 0.05 percent.
No. Only time does. The body clears roughly one standard drink an hour.
Refuse the second drink and tell the manager. Serving alcohol you believe is going to a minor is illegal.
Laws in many states that hold a bar, and sometimes the server, responsible for harm caused by a guest who was served while visibly intoxicated or underage.
Part 5: Bar operations and math
Why do you never scoop ice with a glass, and what do you do if a glass breaks near the ice well?
A 750 ml bottle costs $25.40. What does a 1.5 ounce pour cost, and what is the pour cost percent if the drink sells for $10?
What does FIFO stand for and why does it matter behind the bar?
What do you do with cut fruit garnishes at the end of the night?
A guest's tab is $36.50 and they hand you a $50 bill. How much change do you give back?
Name four times a bartender must wash their hands during a shift.
Answer key: Part 5
The glass can chip or break in the ice where nobody can see it. If a glass breaks near the well, empty the well completely, melt the remaining ice with hot water, wipe the well out and refill it with fresh ice.
The bottle holds 25.4 ounces, so it costs $1.00 an ounce. A 1.5 ounce pour costs $1.50. $1.50 divided by $10 is a 15 percent pour cost.
First in, first out. Older stock is used before newer stock, so juice, garnishes, kegs and open wine do not go off.
Follow the house standard: either discard them, or cover, label, date and refrigerate them. Never leave cut fruit out at room temperature overnight.
$13.50.
Any four of: at the start of the shift, after using the restroom, after touching the face, hair or phone, after handling trash or dirty glassware, after eating, drinking or smoking, and before cutting garnishes.
Scoring
One point for each question. Give the point when the answer is right in substance, even if the wording differs. For the cocktails, the candidate needs the main ingredients and the correct method.
Score
What it means
Next step
36 to 40
Strong working knowledge
Move to the practical test and a working interview
30 to 35
Solid, with gaps
Worth hiring for the right attitude. Train on the parts they missed.
24 to 29
Has worked a bar but needs structure
Barback or service bar first, with a training plan
Below 24
Beginner
Hire only into a full training program
Any wrong answer in Part 4 deserves a conversation, whatever the total. A bartender who makes a great Negroni and serves a minor is still a liability.
The practical test
The written test shows knowledge. Ten minutes behind the bar shows skill.
1. Pour test. Using a bottle of water with a pour spout, free pour 1.5 ounces, 1 ounce and 0.75 ounces, three times each, into separate glasses. Measure each one with a jigger or a scale. Pass: seven of the nine within an eighth of an ounce. If your bar uses jiggers for every pour, test speed and accuracy with the jigger.
2. Build a round. One Old Fashioned, one Margarita, one draft beer and one glass of wine, in under four minutes. Check the specs, the glassware, the garnish and how clean the station is afterwards.
3. Ring it in. Enter the round in the POS, split it across two cards, and count back change on a cash payment.
The Bartender Training Manual is a 136 page manual that gets a new bartender floor ready in 90 days, trained to one standard with the paperwork to prove it. The Cocktail Spec Book Template puts every house recipe on a card.
A good bartending test covers pours and measures, classic cocktail recipes, product knowledge for spirits, beer and wine, responsible alcohol service, and bar operations such as sanitation, cash handling and pour cost. Most also include a practical test of pouring accuracy and speed.
What is a passing score on a bartending test?
On this 40 question test, 36 or more shows strong working knowledge and 30 to 35 is a solid candidate with gaps to train. Set your own pass mark, and treat any wrong answer on responsible service as something to discuss.
How do you test a bartender's pour?
Have them free pour set amounts of water (1.5, 1 and 0.75 ounces) several times each, then measure every pour with a jigger or a scale. A trained bartender should land most pours within an eighth of an ounce.
What drinks should every bartender know?
At a minimum: Old Fashioned, Manhattan, Martini, Negroni, Margarita, Daiquiri, Mojito, Whiskey Sour, Moscow Mule and Cosmopolitan, plus your own house cocktails and the common highballs.
Do bartenders need a license or certification?
It depends on the state and sometimes the city. Many require an alcohol server permit or an approved training course, and many employers require one even where the law does not. Check with your state alcohol authority.
Can I use a written test when hiring bartenders?
Yes, as long as the questions relate to the job and every candidate for the role takes the same test under the same conditions. Keep the completed tests with your other hiring records.
