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Course Syllabus

Industry-Leading Bartender Training Program

Our 7-day program covers spirits, technique, service, and 100 cocktails. A trusted training program Vancouver bars have hired from since 1981. It's all captured in the Commercial Bartending Manual, included with your course and yours to keep. Flip through a few real pages.

Industry Overview Bar Tools & Glassware Garnishes How Alcohol is Made Vodka Gin Rum Tequila & Whisky Liqueurs & Cordials Cocktail Ratios & Families Build Shake & Stir Methods Wine & Beer 100-Cocktail Index

Enroll as a Student

Learn a new skill in just 7 days

The Full Curriculum

What Each Day Covers.

Each day builds on the last and ends one step closer to the practical exam on Day 7. Here's the real lesson plan, in student terms.

Day 1

3.5 hours

Pour, Build & Shake — Vodka & Liqueurs

Tour the bar, learn every tool, and set up your own station like a working bartender
Grip, cuts, free-pouring on a 4-second count, and jigger accuracy down to the quarter ounce
The science of ice: why it chills, how it dilutes, and why we fill the glass
How alcohol is made, vodka styles and brands, liquor vs liqueur, and what "premium" really means
Your first built cocktails, then the two-point shake and your first shaken drinks

Highball Caesar Moscow Mule Aperol Spritz Sex on the Beach Lemon Drop Cosmopolitan Espresso Martini

By the end of class: you'll free-pour accurately and have made 8 cocktails, more than most people make in a lifetime.

Day 2

3.5 hours

Gin, the Ratio Code & the Mixology Lab

The ratio system: learn how sours and daisies are built and you can make almost any cocktail without memorising it
Gin styles, botanicals and brands, plus egg-white cocktails and the dry shake
Shots done properly: straight up, layered (B52), bombs, and shaken shots
The Mixology Lab: cut garnishes, taste fresh vs bottled juice, express and flame citrus oils, torch herbs, and build a fresh mocktail from scratch

Gimlet Bee's Knees Tom Collins Gin Smash French 75 Amaretto Sour + layered shots

By the end of class: you'll understand how cocktails are constructed, the skill that separates bartenders from recipe-followers.

★ Signature: The Mixology Lab

Day 3

3.5 hours

Stirring, Service & "The Weeds"

Stirred classics: chill and dilute without aeration, using a proper mixing glass
Hospitality and responsible service: taking orders, upselling, building regulars, and when to cut someone off
Service tickets: the priority system real bars use, demonstrated live, then drilled with printed tickets at your station
"The Weeds": a live rush simulation with ticket timers and customer swaps, designed to push you past your comfort zone

Martini Negroni Manhattan Old Fashioned

By the end of class: you'll stir the spirit-forward classics and know how to keep your head when the tickets pile up.

★ Signature: "The Weeds" rush sim

Day 4

3.5 hours

Rum, Tequila & Getting Hired

How rum is made, rum styles and brands, then tequila, mezcal and agave age types
Brand drills on the POS so top-shelf spirits become second nature
Job-hunting real talk: how to get hired without experience, interview tips, and what a "stage" shift is
Eight of the most-ordered cocktails on any menu, drilled with memory rounds

Daiquiri Mojito Dark & Stormy Piña Colada Margarita Paloma Tequila Sunrise Long Island

By the end of class: you'll have the summer-patio canon down and a plan for landing your first bartending job.

Day 5

3.5 hours

Whisky & Working the Guest

Whisky types, grains and brands, from bourbon to rye to Scotch
The customer service exercise: take orders and read guests while you keep pouring, graded by your peers
Comp tabs, spill reports, and the hospitality habits that grow your tips
A verbal practice test, three timed rounds, so you know exactly where you stand before exam day

Boulevardier Whisky Sour Gold Rush French 95

By the end of class: you'll pour whisky cocktails while holding a conversation, the skill that turns customers into regulars.

Day 6

3.5 hours

Beer, Wine, POS & the Restaurant Simulation

Wine production, styles and professional wine service, plus brandy and Asian spirits
Beer styles, tap systems, changing kegs, and pouring the perfect pint
Point-of-sale training on a real POS system
The Restaurant Simulation: rotate through bartender, server and bar-back roles to feel how a real venue runs
Focused exam review, your instructor works with you on whatever needs sharpening

By the end of class: you can pour a proper pint, serve wine tableside, and run orders through a POS, the full toolkit venues expect.

★ Signature: The Restaurant Simulation

Day 7

2 hours

Speed Trials & the Practical Exam

Aggressive speed rounds the moment class starts, then elimination-style speed trials
The practical exam: three rounds of four cocktails, four minutes per round, 75% to pass
Certificates handed out on the spot, and free exam retakes if you need another shot
We end on a high: flair bartending tricks and graduation photos with your class

By the end of class: you walk out a certified Commercial Bartender, ready to apply.

★ Graduation day: your certificate

What You'll Walk Away With

Master essential bartending skills

Every skill below is taught hands-on behind the bar, then drilled until it's muscle memory.

🍸

Make 100+ cocktails

Built, shaken and stirred, from a clean Highball to a perfect Old Fashioned.

🧮

Crack the ratio code

Stop memorising. Learn the ratio system and you can build almost any drink on any menu.

🥃

Pour like a pro

Free-pour by count and measure with a jigger, fast, accurate, and consistent.

🔥

Garnish, fire & fresh juice

Cut garnishes, express and flame citrus oils, torch herbs, and work with fresh ingredients.

⚡

Work a rush

Take orders, set priorities and stay calm when the tickets pile up and the bar is slammed.

💼

Run the whole bar

POS, opening & closing, responsible service, upselling, everything a venue expects on day one.

Is This For Me?

Bartending Student Experience

Our graduates come from all walks of life. What they have in common: they wanted a real skill, flexible income, and a school that would actually help them get hired.

💼

The Side Hustler

You have a day job or full-time studies, and you want evenings and weekends to earn instead of just spend. Bartending fits around your life, and pays better than almost any other part-time work.

→ Earning $300+ per shift on weekends

Simon

"Now I feel confident applying to bartending jobs"

🍸

The Passionate

You love cocktails, hospitality, and the craft behind the bar. You've been the one making drinks at every party, now you want real technique, real spirits knowledge, and a way to turn passion into a career.

→ Home enthusiast hosting cocktail nights

Liyauri

"Now I can make delicious cocktails for my girls"

📈

The Server Ready for the Bar

You're already in the industry, taking tables and watching the bartenders earn more for the same hours. The only thing between you and the promotion is the training your venue doesn't have time to give you.

→ Promoted from serving to bartending

Naimah

"The hiring manager loves that I took initiative to take this course"

Tuition & Payment

$799, all-in. No surprises.

Everything's included, textbook, certificate, job-search support and unlimited free retakes.

$799

Total tuition, everything included

$300+

Typical weekend shift with tips

≈3

Shifts to earn back your tuition

Earnings vary by venue, shift and experience; figures reflect typical Vancouver hospitality wages plus tips.

Pay in Full

$799

One payment, everything included. No hidden fees, no upsells, ever.

Textbook & all materials
Commercial Bartender Certificate
Resume review + job board access
Unlimited free retakes for life

Choose Dates & Enrol

Reserve With a Deposit

$199

Lock in your seat with a $199 deposit, then pay the remaining $600 any time before your first day of class.

Secures your spot in the cohort
Balance of $600 due before Day 1
Pay by Interac, Visa, Mastercard, Amex or PayPal

Reserve Your Seat

the experience

Grow with Our Program

Our instructors teach to get you from 0 to confident in 7 days.

30+

Cocktails you'll master

7

Days, start to certified

22 ft

Real working bar

Live

POS & ticket training

1

Practical exam

∞

Free retakes for life

Who Teaches You

Taught by working Vancouver bartenders.

Not lecturers, people who still pull shifts and bring real-world tricks to every class.

Reagan

Manager

Handles the day-to-day operations to make sure the students' needs are being served in the classroom.

Grant

Day Instructor

A career bartender who teaches the systems that hold up on a busy night. Patient with total beginners and loves to play behind the bar.

Dana

Weekend Instructor

Bartends out of a love of creativity and connection, from casual restaurants to fine dining. His signature is a Boulevardier.

Drew

Evening Instructor

Learned to bartend at Fine Art and has worked mainly in UK cocktail bars. His favourite drink to make is the Tom Collins.

Before You Enrol

Questions about the course.

Still deciding? Here are the things students most often ask before they sign up.

Do I need any experience?

None at all. The course is built for complete beginners, most students walk in having never made a cocktail. By Day 1 you're already pouring and building drinks behind the bar.

Do I have to memorise every recipe?

No, that's what the 7 days are for. Once you learn the ratio system on Day 2, you understand how drinks are built instead of memorising each one. By the exam, the key recipes are second nature.

What if I don't pass the exam on Day 7?

Unlimited free retakes are included in your $799, for life. There's no fee and no expiration. Plenty of students retake to sharpen up; it's a normal part of learning.

Do you use real alcohol in class?

No. We practise with coloured water so you can make 50+ drinks per class and focus on technique, recipes and speed, without anyone drinking on the job.

Will this actually help me get a job?

That's the goal. You finish with a recognised Commercial Bartender Certificate, a reviewed resume, interview prep, and access to our Vancouver Bartender Job Board where employers post openings.

Do I need Serving It Right (SIR) too?

SIR is a separate ~$35 BC government certificate to serve alcohol on the job. It's not part of our course (and isn't needed to attend, since we don't use real alcohol), but we recommend completing it before you start applying.

Commercial Bartender Certificate · Vancouver

Get Certified as a Commercial Bartender in 7 Days.

A hands-on program behind a real 22-foot bar. Walk out with an industry-recognized certificate, the skills employers hire for, and job-search support to land your first shift.

Enrol Now Upcoming Class Calendar

★ 5.0 · 1,000+ Google reviews

Upcoming Start Dates

Next class starts Tue, Aug 4

Day Classes

10:00 AM – 1:30 PM

Tue · Aug 4

Evening Classes

6:00 PM – 9:30 PM

Mon · Aug 17

Weekend Classes

9:00 AM – 12:30 PM

Sat · Aug 8

📍 319 W Pender St, Vancouver, BC

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Prefer to reach us directly? Text 236-200-0584 · info@fineartbartending.ca