Chapter 2: DISPENSE BAR

No of session Topic covered

1 A. Introduction and definition
B. Bar layout – physical layout of bar
2 C. Bar stock – alcoholic & non alcoholic beverages
D. Bar equipment

Introduction

A bar (also known as a saloon or a tavern or sometimes a pub or club, referring to the actual
establishment, as in pub bar or savage club etc.) is a retail business establishment that
serves alcoholic beverages, such as beer, wine, liquor, cocktails, and other beverages such
as mineral water and soft drinks and often sell snack foods such as crisps (potato chips)
or peanuts, for consumption on premises. Some types of bars, such as pubs, may also serve food
from a restaurant menu. The term “bar” also refers to the countertop and area where drinks are
served.

Bar is a licensed place selling all kinds of alcoholic beverages to the customers. Bars are found in
hotels, resorts, clubs, casinos, and many such establishments and they can also be operated as
independent units. Bar is one of the key revenue generating areas of the food and beverage
(F&B) department of the hotel industry. The main function of the bar is to serve the alcoholic
drinks in the appropriate glassware according to the customers ‘preferences.

Definition
Bar is a licensed establishment serving alcoholic and non alcoholic beverage to walk-in and
room guests.

Types of Bar:
Bars are classified by their functions and set up. The operations are defined by the purpose.
Mainly bars can be of two types. One of Dispense & Cocktail Bars. Hotel Operations them is
called ‘cocktail bar’ and other one is ‘dispense bar’. Although they are different by their
functions, the controlling procedures are very much similar in both types of bars. In star hotels
one or more cocktail bars and at least one dispense bar should be in operation, but the individual
or standalone bars may not require any dispense bar as all the drinks are served from one
counter. The following points would help you describe and differentiate both bars:

1. Cocktail Bar/ Public Bar/American Bar

Cocktail bars are full-service bars serving an entire range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic
beverages but specializing in wide range of cocktails and mixed drinks – both classical and
innovative. Here, the focus is on the cocktail range featured on the menu and the skills &
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proficiency of the bartender. Cocktail bars are upmarket beverage outlets, commonly found in
luxury hotels and are luxuriously furnished and lavishly equipped. It carries a complete range of
liquors, garnish, glassware and equipment in order to prepare and serve different cocktails and
other drinks. Such bars can be thematic and sometimes open only in the evenings offering
professional and elegant tray and bar service. Being a high class and refined bar, standing crowds
and congested layouts are unlikely.

Cocktail bar
• This is also known as public bar, main bar, and guest bar.
• The drinks are served on the bar counter and also on guest tables.
• It has large display of liquor to attract and give choice to the guest.
• This bar directly caters to the guest and it has a service design.
• Décor and ambience are integral parts of the cocktail bar.
• It is itself an food and beverage outlet.
• Budgets are made and targets are set for this type of bar as it is a point of sale.
• It has seating arrangements for guests to sit and have their drinks.
• Mixed drinks or cocktails are prepared on the bar counter which is visible to the guest.
• Staff working in cocktail bars must have selling skills and should posses showmanship.

2. Dispense Bar (aka Service Bar)

Here, bartenders do not serve the public directly but pour drinks that are picked up by servers
and delivered to customers at different locations like the guestroom, a table in the restaurant or a
poolside deck chair. In short, it fills drink orders brought by waiters and waitresses only.
Generally, in such bars, a single pouring station is enough to handle the volume. Also, guests
have no access to service bars and hence are characterized by the absence of barman-guest
interaction. However, service bars need the same forethought in its planning, has the same
functions. Uses the same types of equipment and performs the same tasks of recording and
controlling the pouring & selling of drinks as any other bar. It is of two basic types:

a) Back-of-the-house service/dispense bars: As the name suggests these are located behind the
scenes and hence hidden from guest view. They are smaller and simpler in design. Backbar of
such bars have a room for bulk supplies of beer, mixes, liquor stock, etc and has no display.
These bars do not require hiding of ugly an equipment and mechanical dispensing systems are
often used to increase speed and reduce liquor loss. These bars act as centralized bar dispensing
drinks in various guest service areas like various kinds of outlets, guest- rooms, poolside etc. and
thus centrally located in a hotel. It does away with the problem of having separate bars thus
maximizing the service area of various outlets.

b) Front-of-the-house service/dispense bars: As the name suggests these bars are in full view
of the guests but used only for dispensing beverages to the servers against guest’s orders. These
bars are less usual, are generally found in conjunction with food service and are a part of the
dining room. These bars must harmonize well with the overall ambience and due thought should

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 be given to its layout, design and decor for efficiency and economy of service. The emphasis is
more on functional ambience and is not lavishly equipped as a full-scale public or cocktail bar.

Dispenser bar
• This is also known as support bar.
• Dispense bars are mostly located in black are (off-guest view).
• Main function of this bar is to provide mixed drinks and liquor to food and beverage
outlets.
• This bar should have large storing capacity to store enough liquor match banquet
requirements.
• Establishments are not required to focus on dispense bars decore and ambience.
• Usual staffing in this is one bartender per shift with a helper.
• This is not a point of sale. It only provides drinks against beverage order ticket from
different outlets.

BAR
Parts Of Bar
• Front Bar
• Under Bar
• Back Bar

Front bar consists of

• Bar counter- Formica, wood, granite and heat resistant glass is used for the counter top.
• Leg rail
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• Ladies hand bag rail
• Arm rest (rounded off for comfort)
• Height of the front bar is 4 feet.
• Width of the bar counter is 16- 18 inches.
• The height of the bar stools are ranging from 2 feet – 3 feet.
• Counter mounted uncorking device and service bar rail can be installed on the counter of the bar.

Under bar
• Under bar is the work station (work area) of the bartender.
• Under bar consists of the following equipments.
sinks, under bar and back bar refrigerators, pop door chillers ,beer engine with draught beer tap,
fountain bar mixers ,cobra for dispensing premixers, mechanical liquor dispensing system, drip
trays, blenders, electric glass washers,& bar mats
• Other equipments –cash register (EPOS)

Back bar
• The area between the front bar and back bar is 3 feet access aisle for the bartender.
• The back bar liquor display constitutes the back bar.
• Often mirrors are placed in the back bar counter in order to increase the virtual space.
• Cowboys often used to sit in the bar and spot their enemies with the help of the mirror placed in
the back bar.

Bar die
• Separates the front bar acts as partition.

Planning the bar

When planning a bar, whether a fixed bar or a temporary bar for a function, there are certain
factors that must be given prime consideration and these are described below.

• Siting: A major factor is the siting of the bar. The position should ensure the bar achieves the
greatest possible number of sales.

• Area: The bar staff must be given sufficient area or space in which to work and move about.
There should be a minimum of 1 m (3 ft 3 in) from the back of the bar counter to the storage
shelves and display cabinets at the rear of the bar.

• Layout: During initial planning, careful consideration must be given to the layout of the bar.
Adequate storage for the stock and equipment listed above must be provided in the form of
shelves, cupboards and racks. Everything should be easily to hand so that bar staff does not have
to move about more than necessary to provide a quick and efficient service.

• Plumbing and power: It is essential to have hot and cold running water for glass washing.
Power is necessary for the cooling trays, refrigerators and ice making machines.

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• Safety and hygiene: Great care must be observed to ensure that the materials used in the make-
up of the bar are hygienic and safe. Flooring must be non-slip. The bar top should be of a
material suited to the general decor that is hard wearing, easily wiped down and has no sharp
edges. The bar top should be of average working height – approximately 1 m (3 ft 3 in) – and a
depth (across the top from the bar to the service side) of about 0.6 m (20 in).

Bar stock- alcohol & non alcohol beverages

The stock that we maintain in the bar will set image for the establishment. Ideal stock should
include popular brands, premium brands, regular brands, and poring brands. It should balanced
in such a way that guest should get variety and at the same time it should not be very expensive
to hold the stock. The quality and mix of the stock influences both the ‘bar menu’ and bar
‘display’.
Bar Stock Alcohol While selecting the stock, the following points should be considered
• Class of the guest
• Local popularity
• Suppliers and easy of purchasing
• Storing capacity
• Continuity in supply
• Variety and menu balance
While setting the bar stock level for both alcoholic and non alcoholic beverages, one should
consider the popularity and movement of a particular brand. The fast-moving brand s should
have higher par stock level then the slow-moving brands, but one must make sure that all the
brands on the menu are available all the time.

Bar Equipment
To provide an efficient service of the different types of drinks requested by customers, the bar
must have available all the equipment required for making cocktails, decanting wine, serving
wine correctly, making non-alcoholic fruit cocktails and so on. Being well equipped is one of the
basic steps to running a successful bar. As well as having the right tools for the job, your
equipment should be good quality and durable.

• Cocktail shaker: the ideal utensil for mixing ingredients that will not normally blend together
well by stirring. A three-part utensil. Cocktail Shaker Essential for blending ingredients in
cocktails and mixed drinks. Use a short, sharp and snappy shaking technique unless otherwise
stated. There are many cocktail shakers available mostly all get the job done. Choose one that’s
right for you. Always pour the least expensive ingredient into the cocktail shaker first, and then if
you find you’ve made a mistake, you’ve not wasted the expensive liquors.
• Boston shaker: consists of two cones, one of which overlaps the other to seal in the mix. Made of
stainless steel, glass or plated silver. The mix is strained using a Hawthorn strainer.
• Mixing glass: like a glass jug without a handle, but has a lip. Used for mixing clear drinks, which
do not contain juices or cream.
• Strainer: there are many types, the most popular being the Hawthorn. This is a flat spoonshaped

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 utensil with a spring coiled round its edge. It is used in conjunction with the cocktail shaker and
mixing glass to hold back the ice after the drink is prepared. A special design is available for use
with liquidisers and blenders.
• Bar spoon: for use with the mixing glass when stirring cocktails. The flat ‘muddler’ end is used
for crushing sugar and mint in certain drinks.
• Bar liquidiser or blender: used for making drinks that require pureed fruit.
• Drink mixer: used for drinks that do not need liquidising, especially those containing cream or
ice cream. If ice is required, use only crushed ice.
• Can Opener Useful for opening cans of fruit and syrup.
• Corkscrew For opening wine and champagne bottles.
• Cloths For wiping surfaces and equipment. These should be damp and not wet.
• Cutting Board For slicing fruit and other garnishes. This should be heavy and laminated.
• Bar Towels These are 100% cotton and have sewn edges for durability. Use these along with
cloths to keep things clean. Make good use of times where you have no guests to clean bottles
and wipe surfaces.
• Bottle Opener For opening screw top bottles.
• Bottle Sealers For keeping liquors and other bottle contents fresh.
• Electric Blender Many cocktails require a blender to blend the ingredients smoothly together
useful for drinks with fruit pieces or ice cream etc.
• Grater to grate spices like nutmeg and others.
• Ice Bucket A metal or insulated ice bucket keeps your ice cold and clean.
• Ice Tongs and Scoops Use these to add ice to drinks. Never handle ice with your hands, it’s not
only unhygienic, but the heat from your hand will begin to melt the ice. Don’t use glassware as a
scoop it’ll break or chip at best, then you’ll have blood and glass in your ice.
• Measuring Cups Normally glass or chrome with incremented measurements imprinted up the
side. These are needed for accurate measurements. They usually come with a set of measuring
spoons which are needed for the smaller quantities.
• Mixing Glass Useful for long drinks where it is required to mix the ingredients without shaking.
• Sharp Knife For cutting fruit and garnishes.
• Strainer Removes the ice and fruit pulp from juices. This may come with a cocktail shaker.

Other items :
• assorted glasses
• ice buckets and stands
• wine baskets
• water jugs
• cutting board and knife
• coasters
• cork extractor
• ice pick
• smal ice buckets and tongs
• ice crushing machine
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• drinking straws • refrigerator
• cocktail sticks • ice making machine
• carafes • glass washing machine
• wine and cocktail/drinks • optics/spirit measures
lists • wine measures
• coloured sugars • cooling trays
• glass cloths, napkins and • bottle opener
service cloths • muslin and funnel
• mini whisk • lemon squeezing machine
• sink unit • swizzle sticks
6
 • strainer and funnel • legislation allows • juice press.
• service salvers smoking)
• wine knife and cigar cutter • bin
(where • hot beverage maker

Other bar equipments

o glass rail
o speed rail
o bottle trough or bottle well

Terms
• Bar : A facility that dispenses alcoholic beverages, refreshing drinks and cocktails.
• Bar die : It is the vertical structure supporting the top of the front bar which separates the customer’s
side from the bar tender’s work area.
• BOT : Bar Order Token
• Frappe : Crushed ice
• Mixes : In the bar operation, it refers to soda, tonic water, juices, and other effervescence drinks that are
added to the drink.
• Par stock : It is the stock level of each liquor, wine, and beer to be maintained at the bar at all times

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