Refreshment beverage and alcohol vendors, business people and establishments keen to operate above board and do everything by the book can now make use of an online resource – Diageo Bar Academy – developed by beverage drinks manufacturer Diageo.
Launched on February 24, 2021 – to coincide with the World Bartender Day – the portal has since been recognized as an invaluable resource, offering online masterclasses and training materials for bartenders and liquor store managers.
Being a training portal, the site has a number of categories. These include: Training; Spirits, Beers; and Drinks; Recipes; Inspiration and Resources; Our Community; and Events.
Let’s take a deeper, though quick, look at the above categories and what they offer to the learner:
Training: On this tab, prospective trainees will access e-learning resources related to Bar Management (with tips and tools on how to increase profitability, minimise waste, sustainable menu creation, and exceptional customer service); Bartender Skills and Techniques; Careers, Leadership Skills and Wellbeing; and lastly, Customer Service.
The courses in this section are intended to ensure that learners (that is bartenders and bar managers) continuously update their skills and techniques to enable them stay on top off their game by keeping up with emerging trends and demands of the profession.
On Beer Essentials, a module within the ‘Bartender Skills and Techniques’ category for instance, one learns about the history of beer, with ultimate goal of helping them become a better bartender on completion of the 20-minute course. Included in the module are basics of production and brewing, styles and flavours, serving beer, as well as how to pair various beers with food. And of course all these is meant to enable the learner deliver the best beer experience to patrons.
Should you opt to take the course while working (which means balancing between serving customers while ta the same time updating your skills and techniques via the Diageo Bar Academy), remember that you’ve the option of pausing the training session, save your progress, then continue later at the appropriate time when you’re free and flexible.
Spirits, Beers, and Drinks: After getting an introductory course on beers from the previous category, this section now immerses the trainee on the various spirits brands and blends. Here, the learner is taken on a journey of the different alcohol categories including whiskies, vodka, gin, rum, liqueurs, tequila, and cognac, among others.
There’s also a mention of the (growing) low and no-alcohol beverages segment, projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 8% from 2020 to 2025 according to a study by GlobalData. It further provides a sneak preview of the notable brands in this category.
Recipes: This tab has compiled all the popular drink blends and bespoke cocktail combinations including non-alcoholic mixtures. It also has instructions and guidelines on how to mix and come up with flavours which excite our taste buds.
Digital Skills and Innovations: Away from customized recipes and bespoke drink combinations, there’s the Digital Skills and Innovations section under the ‘Inspirations and Resources’ category. On this tab, the learner is made to explore the key digital skills and innovations necessary to grow their business, and take their enterprise from one stage of growth and push it towards the peak, and ahead of the competition.
The section has materials (and video tutorials) on various themes including: How to use social media to grow revenues; How social media can benefit your bar; How to make your venue (or establishment) discoverable online; Making the most of online reservations to grow the business; and Social media basics for bar professions, among others.
In conclusion, the Diageo Bar Academy, which has been optimized for mobile devices to ensure that as many people as possible come on board and benefit from the portal, is without a doubt an important resource for bartenders and bar managers who are keen to grow in their profession and get better at their craft.
And to ensure the overall wellbeing of learners, it’s worth noting that the academy has a module on mental wellbeing and how to live balanced lifestyles in between shifts to guard against burnout. Then there’s the ‘Our Community’ tab for bartenders to connect, engage, and learn from and share experiences with each other.
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