Professional Bartending Schools of America

Took this class a while ago and it was very steep in price. The class itself was amusing enough but what really bothered me was the «job placement» spiel. After I completed and passed the class, I walked out of the door never to hear from them again. I tried to get a job bartending but everywhere I went on my own was thoroughly unimpressed with «bartending school» being on my resume and told me I had wasted my money. I tried going through the school for job placement and all of my phone calls were ignored, my voicemails never returned, my emails unanswered and my stopping by always seemed to be when they were «too busy», «about to start a class», having a meeting”, etc. I completely feel like they took my money, gave bare-​minimum instruction (a beer video? Really?) And then give you a big «f-​you».

Despite these negative reviews, I had an awesome time at my Saturday class! Nolan was a great instructor and very informative. The classroom is so cool. It was a real life bar set up. Practice days are available!!! Nolan went over some basics, after that we were behind the bar for an hr. Repetition is key. We repeated this throughout the day, and in my first day I learned how to make 14 drinks. 7 just based off memory. After the course they help you find a job in your desired atmosphere. I can’t wait till I become a Real bartender!!!

So i went here in 2011. The class was fine and I learned a vast amount of drinks and speed. I was assisted in job placement and found a job within a few weeks. BUT when I called back a year later to find a new job they couldn’t fund my file and said they would pull it from the back and call me the next day. This went on for about two months! I found a job by myself but how can you advertise lifetime job placement when you can’t even call someone back? I have my certification and my reciept but they wouldn’t help me with finding a job because they couldn’t find my file. Ridiculous. I wish I had tried a different school that wouldn’t just take my money and not follow through on their «lifetime job placement». Disappointing in how it is ran after you graduate.

The teacher Jerry was very Professional and Accurate with his lessons. The classroom setting was like working in a real bar. The atmosphere, the vibe was genuine and up beat. Big Shout Out! To my girl Asia Levingston the Job Placement Coordinator for her support. She had me in interviews the week following my Graduation. By the 2^nd week I had 2 jobs to choose from. Which was Awesome!
Totally recommend this school if your looking to be in this profession and want to do it right, give them a call. Go take a tour and tell them I sent Ya!

The director, Jeannie, is extremely rude. Do NOT go here because it
is the worst management and I regret having completed my certification
here. This elderly woman loves to say athat she has been working
there for the «past 30 years» in order to sway you of her opinion. I
simply called to ask if I could get information about my speed test
(practical test) to see how many drinks I had made within a specific
time frame when I attended school there. This was the 2^nd time I
called and both times, she was unable to provide me the information
saying that she would call me back when she found out, but she never
does. However, this time, she hung up on me after questioning me why
I needed this information if I’m not currently working as a bartender.
Well duh! Because I am looking for a bartending job in Washington, DC
where she can’t help me find a job here so what’s wrong with providing
me with my information?

I had a very disappointing experience at the Atlanta campus this morning. The administrator was 40 minutes late and did not have the class materials ready. I informed her that I wanted to withdraw from the class due to those reasons… she told me to go to hell, said I would be a bitch to get a job for, and said that she was sure that my check would bounce. I informed her that I am retired military and that my money was good. She was not nice, helpful or polite.
I was excited about attending this school. I am just happy that there is another school here in Atlanta. I am lodging a complaint about this with the BBB. No one, and especially retired military, should be treated this way. I am getting a full refund, as I was within the 3 days as allowed in my contract, and my fiancé is withdrawing as well.
She is not a good representative for this business. Being told to go to hell, being called a bitch, and then being told that I would write a bad check… calling my integrity into question…
I am going to elevate this as far as I can; Oh, and as she was making a copy of my withdrawal explanation letter, at 9:00, the instructor walked in… for a class that was supposed to start at 8:30
I so do not recommend

Is bartending school worthwhile? Generally, no. They tend to substitute plastic fruit for actual garnishes, colored water for booze and teach outdated recipes while charging a fairly large amount of money. Professional Bartending School is no different.
However, if you’re looking to make extra cash as a bartender in a night club or a college bar, Professional Bartending School will give you the right, though dated, recipe collection for those environs and some experience behind a bar using common equipment.
It seems that most people can make at least 20 cocktails in 7 minutes after taking the class. The do use only colored water, so I don’t know that’d I trust graduates can make a good drink, but they are fast. They pretty much emphasize speed solely at this school and therefore free-​pouring over measuring.
The quality of the school is that of and old dive bar and the people who work there remind me of some of my favourite people I used to encounter in my bartending days 20 years ago. Space is kind of cramped & the equipment is not in the best condition. Students are told what a proper set up would be and the bar is close to a complete set up, but one does rely on a quite a bit of ‘make-​believe’.
The curriculum covers Cream drinks, Up Cocktails, Shooters, Tall & Highball drinks, Short drinks, Cordial & After Dinner Drinks, Sours and Wine Cocktails. The focus is mainly on shooters and syrupy sweet juvenile concoctions, though. Class covers a set of ‘must-​know’ essential recipes in that range and the other areas mentioned, but completely ignores ‘must-​know’ essential Classic, current, and modern cocktails, and ignores current trends and ingredients. Also absent is significant historical context, which is essential to understanding the cocktail & the expectations of certain drinkers.
In an era where the likes of Ted Haigh, Dale DeGroff, David Wondrich, and Gary Regan reign supreme as experts of cocktail history, technique and recipe orthodoxy, Roger Oldham, the author of the text, is an unknown, perhaps a regional Ohio figure, who peaked in skill and knowledge at the cocktail’s lowest point, twenty years ago. His book reflects this and seems to focus on a youthful mid-​western and Fort Lauderdale drink-​as-​much-​as-​you-​can-​as-​fast-​as-​you-​can crowd of decades back.
Nonetheless, there is some useful information in there. The organization of the book is pretty darn good. It is, however, a cheaply bound publication one could have done at any Kinko’s. Some liquor information is a bit lacking, and the instructor did err himself a bit on liquor information as well.
The recipes taught are a bit odd at times, straying far from the standard occasionally. Martini & Manhattan recipe’s, for example, are extremely far from the USBG and IBA standards. Fortunately, one can use the text as a guide & find better versions of recipes from established & well-​regarded bartenders online.
Aside from cocktails, Professional Bartending School covers Beer and Wine service and spends some time on proper presentation of cordials.
Beer service is unfortunately ineffectively taught though a Budweiser DVD from Anheuser-​Busch and a Guinness DVD from Diageo.
Wine service instruction is presented in the text book.
Service of cordials is demonstrated and is practiced in the same make-​believe atmosphere of the rest of the course.
They claim to provide placement assistance, but only provide publicly-​available job postings and do not in fact provide any real placement assistance. They do, however give excellent advice on how to interview land a bartending job.
Beware highly positive reviews posted elsewhere online. Most appear to be by employees of the school. Sometimes they even use their real names.
If you really just need to learn the basics (not fundamentals) of bartending for a nightclub or college crowd really fast, Professional Bartending School will have you up to speed within two weeks. The classes are steep in price, about $ 600-​$ 700 for 40 hrs of class time. Students may get a discount on tuition. I’d say don’t do it; The Joy of Mixology by Gary Regan covers all you need to know & is a lot cheaper.