While it may seem pretty simple, bartending is actually a fairly complex skill that requires a lot of knowledge, etiquette, and experience.
However, that doesn’t stop millions of people over the world from becoming or wanting to become a bartender.
Leading to a wonderful career and lifestyle, there is never a dull moment in bartending career.
Whether it be shaking up an exciting cocktail or entertaining guests, bartending is a very rewarding job.
However, how are we supposed to learn if we are short of time and can’t attend school? The answer is an online bartending school.
The Best online bartending schools teach students how to mix and serve alcohol from the comfort of their own homes.
Through lectures and video instruction, most schools are self-paced and include quizzes that test your knowledge.
In the end, students are left with the skills and knowledge they need to start working in the industry.
The fact you’ve landed here would suggest you want to learn how to become a professional bartender.
If so, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’re going to show you five of the online bartending school classes. Let’s begin, shall we?
Ananas Academy
The first online bartending school on our list is Ananas Academy. Ananas is a hugely popular online learning platform that is specifically geared toward the hospitality industry.
The platform has an incredibly large selection of courses to choose from, all of which aim to improve your hosting best online bartending experience.
Aside from teaching you how to mix and serve a drink, the courses available on Ananas also focus on important topics such as hospitality professionals and hospitality fundamentals.
During each course, you’ll learn the fundamentals behind bartending. You’ll be able to develop your bar and cocktail service management essential skills and learn more about wine, beers, and spirits.
The platform even has a professional section where you’ll dive deeper into the history of individual drinks and cocktails.
There’s a lot we love about the courses this school offers but the best might be how professional the courses are and how well-priced they are.
The affordable courses are delivered by industry experts and combine reading, video training, and slide presentations to ensure you can easily develop your knowledge and skill set.
Pros
- Detailed – Every program run by Ananas Academy will tell you everything you need to know about the industry.
- Affordable – Compared to other schools, Ananas has a wide range of extremely well-priced programs.
- Led by professionals – Learn the fundamentals of bartending career and high-level skills from the industry’s very best.
Cons
- Time commitment not clear – The only downside to these courses is that the time commitment you have to make isn’t clear until after you’ve purchased the course.
BarSmarts
Another excellent option for anyone looking to learn the bartending skills required to become a bartender is BarSmarts.
Developed by liquor company Pernod Ricard, BarSmarts is widely known as one of the very best high-end training hubs for those that seek to develop their knowledge and skills regarding the bar and restaurant industry.
Primarily exploring the history behind cocktails, BarSmarts is best suited to those that want to be the best cocktail drink makers.
The programs this online school offers show you the best cocktail practices from following the best practices to mixing drinks, before then serving it to the customer.
Aside from this cocktail knowledge, beginners are taught the basics a bartender needs to know.
This includes bar etiquette, drinks knowledge, and basic pouring techniques.
One thing we truly love about the programs BarSmarts offers is the hands-on approach they use.
To ensure you put your skills to the test, students are asked to complete practical exams.
This includes a task that gets you to make four cocktails. Overall, this is one of the most detailed, high-quality online bartending schools you will find.
In total, you have 60 days to complete the course.
Pros
- Make cocktails like a pro – BarSmarts will teach you how to make awesome cocktails just like the pros.
- Practical – This school gets you to make drinks at home.
- Programs that suit everyone – There are modules designed for beginners and more experienced bartenders.
Cons
- Can be failed – The programs on offer can be failed if the exam isn’t passed after two attempts.
Masterclass – Lynnette Marrero & Ryan Chetiyawardana
The next online school on our list is better suited to those of you that want an affordable way to improve your knowledge about the industry.
This school is also a great place to improve your craft if you’re already a bartender.
Available on
Better still, the course shows you how to do this in a fun and approachable way.
The course is delivered by International Bartender of the year Ryan Chetiyawardana and experienced bartender Lynnette Marrero.
Together, the two experts make learning easy and exciting. When we took a closer look at this course, we found it to be smooth, clear, and concise.
The content is short, yet detailed and the two mixologists transfer their skills and knowledge to students brilliantly.
Taking it in turns, each expert covers a variety of different topics and hands-on subjects.
You’ll learn everything from the history behind cocktail making and how to mix drinks to more complex things like making cocktails and curating a drinks menu.
If you want to learn more about bartending in a fun and laid-back way, this is the online school for you.
Pros
- Easy to follow – Content is clear, accurate, and presented in a way that makes it very easy to follow.
- Delivered by two experts – Lynnette and Ryan are two of the best online mixology experts in the world.
- Affordable – The course is available at a very fair price.
Cons
- Subscription required – You can only take part in the course if you have a
Masterclass subscription.
A Bar Above
A Bar Above has a course that suits those who already work in the bartending industry.
If you already have a decent skill level and knowledge base when it comes to bartending, this school could be perfect for you.
Once you understand the basics of mixing skills of a cocktail, you require deeper knowledge and understanding of the science and art behind the ingredients.
This course helps improve your knowledge and understanding by telling you everything you need to know about flavors, combinations, and how to balance them.
The program covers two different courses. One covers ingredients and cocktail components, while the other helps students master flavors and balance.
You’ll appreciate how the course uses videos, slides, reading, and interactive quizzes to help you learn, while the final exam will ensure you’re ready to become a better bartender.
Completed at your own pace, this course is also super flexible, making it a solid choice for anyone that doesn’t have much time to spare.
Finally, we also love how this course teaches you how to combine flavors to create your very own signature modern cocktails. This is something every mixologist will appreciate.
Pros
- Make unique classic cocktails – The free course teaches you how to make your own cocktails.
- Bartender Certification included – You will be given a bartending certificate at the end of the course.
- Great for professional bartenders – This course is great for anyone that is already a bartender.
Cons
- Not suited to beginners – This course doesn’t suit those that don’t already have bartending prior experience.
Diageo Bar Academy
The final online bartending school on our list is Diageo Bar Academy.
Founded by one of the leading global spirits manufacturers, Diageo Bar Academy is an important source for anyone that works in the hospitality and beverage industry.
Teaching students everything they need to know about the industry, the academy is most appreciated for its affordable courses and detailed programs.
To give you an idea as to how detailed each course is, Diageo even teaches students the ins and out of starting their own bar.
Modules also include details in regards to communicating in a bar setting and what has to be focused on.
By far one of the best things about the Academy is how affordable most of the courses are.
In fact, the academy even has a wide range of free resources and materials that you can make the most of.
First started as a way to improve the quality of bar staff, this is also one of the best courses to give your staff liaccess to if you own a bar.
They will be able to improve their skill set and develop their knowledge, whilst also learning more about bar products and service skills.
The hub also doubles as an awesome networking hub that gives you the chance to connect with other bartenders.
Pros
- Free resources – This bartending school has a variety of free resources.
- Content rich – The programs are packed with valuable information.
- Networking opportunities – Diageo Bar Academy gives you the chance to connect with other bartenders.
Cons
- Too much material – If anything, this program has too much material to get through.
Best Online Bartending School Buyer’s Guide
Before making a decision in regards to the bartending school you want to attend, there are a number of key things that you need to take into account.
If you don’t, you could quite easily choose a program that doesn’t suit your needs and requirements.
To help you make a positive decision, we’ve put together this buyer’s guide.
In this buyer’s guide, you’ll find everything you need to think about when it comes to making a solid decision.
Your Current Experience
Before you think about anything else, you should take some time to consider the experience you already have.
Not all bartending schools are designed for the same people.
Some are designed specifically with beginners in mind, whilst others are primarily aimed at professionals looking to further their knowledge.
With that in mind, you first need to work out how much experience you already have. Only then can you identify whether or not a course suits you or not.
For example, if you’ve never bartended before, never pick a course that looks at technical bar skills. Instead, pick one that starts with the basics.
Price
Another crucially important factor to consider is the price a course costs. The price you have to pay to take part in a course could greatly impact whether you can take part or not.
Some courses might only cost $20, while others could cost thousands of dollars.
Therefore, thinking about how much money you have to spend and how much you need to spend is important.
Aside from checking you can afford the course, you also need to decide if it’s worth the money.
It doesn’t make sense to pay thousands of dollars for a course if you won’t get that much out of it.
Flexibility
One of the main reasons people choose to take part in online schooling is that it offers more flexibility.
As a result, you need to make sure that the course you choose fits into your busy schedule. If it doesn’t, you won’t be able to find time to finish the program.
Ideally, you will choose a course that offers unlimited flexibility, making it much easier for you to complete the course in your spare time.
Aside from helping you develop in your spare time, this will also give you time to find working opportunities.
Time-Frame
You should also take into account how long the course will take to complete. This is important for a couple of reasons.
For starters, you don’t want to choose a course that takes 1 year to complete if you need to improve your knowledge as quick as possible.
Secondly, you don’t want to be rushed into finishing the course if it has a deadline. Thankfully this problem can be avoided by looking for specific details.
One of these is the pace of the course. The best online courses are self-paced. A self-paced course gives you the time you need to complete the course in your own time.
Courses that aren’t self-paced must be completed by a certain date. That date could be after just 60 days, which might not be long enough for busy individuals.
With all of this in mind, take your time to find an online school that offers the right time frame for you.
It could be worth taking exams and quizzes into account when considering this.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Online Bartending School Is The Best?
All of the online bartending schools on our list are great in their own ways. However, some are better than others.
When it comes to the very best online bartending school, we’d have to say that BarSmarts is probably the best.
The programs this school offers and the way in which the modules are delivered are second to none.
Modules are clear, yet detailed, easy to follow, and packed with all the key information any student would need to know about the hospitality industry.
Is A Bartender Course Worth It?
If you’re keen to learn more about becoming a bartender or are a bartender looking to improve your skills and knowledge, bartending courses are definitely worth it.
Bartending courses help students learn the basics, master difficult techniques, and learn more about the industry as a whole.
For beginners, you can learn how to mix, pour and making drinks and how to use the best practices.
For more experienced bartenders, you can learn how to curate your own drinks menu and how to come up with your very own classic cocktails by balancing new flavors.
Is Bartending A Hard Job?
If you’re thinking about becoming a bartender, you must first know that it is a seriously hard job.
Despite being an enjoyable and quite entertaining job, bartending also requires a lot of skill, communication, and hard work.
Every shift is different, but every single one is tiring, demanding you to work with customers for 10 to 12 hours at a time.
When the bar gets busier, so does the job. Therefore, bartenders have to be highly skilled and capable of multitasking.
Final Thoughts
That concludes our article looking at best online bartending schools.
While finding the right school may seem daunting at first when you know what to look for, things become a lot easier.
As you can see from our list, there are a variety of excellent options to choose from. In all honesty, our list could quite easily have gone on with more and more options.
Having said that, we firmly believe that we have given you a list of the very online bartending schools.
Whether you dream of becoming a professional bartender or simply want to improve your current knowledge and skill set, there’s a course on our list for you.
Now all you have to do is take your time to narrow down our list and pick the right school for you. With help from our buyer’s guide, this shouldn’t be too difficult.
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