Bols unveils bartending academy in Amsterdam
Liqueur brand Bols has launched a purpose-built bartending academy in its home city of Amsterdam.
The Bols Bartender Academy is housed in the House of Bols, a new HQ and visitor centre. The Academy is a unique facility and the largest bar school in Europe, according to distributor Maxxium UK, and will form a key part of its training and profile in the UK.
It has been created to develop the professional skills of bartenders in bar management and serving a full range of drinks. The Academy offers a range of training sessions for bar workers with all levels of experience. It comprises 12 fully equipped state-of-the-art work stations which encourage participation.
Maxxium UK brand manager Nikki Morrison said: "Bartenders can attend short crash courses on cocktail making or spend four days at the academy learning the industry inside out as part of the basic training course. There's a course at the academy for everyone, whether you're a bartender who's just starting out or a skilled mixologist who wants to brush up on bar management."
Bols global brand ambassador Philip Duff added that it was a "bartending school, not a cocktail school or a branding exercise. Anyone who goes through this will be qualified to be a junior bartender in any bar."
A flavour of the Bols Academy - Nick Yates tests out the new Academy
I had managed to slightly spill my espresso martini transferring it to the bar top, but it was nevertheless a good looking drink. Sitting there with an attractive, frothy head in its iconic glass, it was a product of my morning spent sampling the training on offer at the Bols Academy in Amsterdam.
I had dabbed and slurped my way through a module that presents the student with samples of basic flavour elements, such as glucose and citric acids, which create sweet or sour tastes. This is a grounding for beer, spirits and wine tastings later in the training. I had also learned how to set out a bar in a logical way and the basics of using a cocktail shaker.
The result was the Martini, just one of several profitable drinks which students will be taught to replicate on the course - an experience which strips back bartending to its bare essentials with improved efficiency as a result.
