Bar and drinks services
Most of what I know came from running bars.
I've managed bars across independent venues, luxury hotels and major event operations, and was named Scottish Hotel Awards Bar Manager of the Year in 2019. I work with hospitality businesses to improve bar performance, develop drinks offerings and build capable teams.
Cocktail menu development
A drinks list should reflect your customers, the type of venue you're running and what your team can deliver consistently. It should also make financial sense. I provide cocktail and drinks development, product selection, supplier reviews and practical bar setup, with specifications your team can follow every night.
Years of building cocktail menusEvery list has had a different job. At two country house hotels we built bespoke cocktails around ingredients from the gardens. At other venues it was purely about GP. At the busiest, it was speed and simplicity, so a team could make every drink well at volume.
Bar pricing reviews
Good commercial decisions start with understanding what you're selling and what you're making from it. I review your drinks pricing against your costs, your sales data and what comparable venues charge, product by product.
Identified in one reviewAt a wedding venue, a detailed spirit pricing review identified an estimated £18,500 in potential additional annual revenue.
Bar staff training
Training starts with a plan for your team and your list. First the basics: tools, technique, measures, ice and glassware. Then your own recipes, written up as specs with photos, and practice under service conditions until they hold at the rush. Alongside that, product knowledge in spirits, wine and whisky, so your team can recommend with confidence. The specs and the plan stay with you, so every new starter learns the same way.
A training plan, not a one off demoWritten specs, a plan for new starters and practice under service conditions. I was a workplace mentor and internal verifier for hospitality apprenticeships, and Scottish Hotel Awards Bar Manager of the Year 2019.
Barista training
Coffee should be as good as the rest of the menu. Whether you want basic coffee making for a new team, full machine and grinder maintenance training, or written training materials your team can keep using, it is built around your equipment, your beans and your busiest hour: dialling in, espresso, milk texture, your drinks as recipe cards, and the daily cleaning routine that keeps the kit working.
Coffee was the backbone of my own businessI owned and ran a café and restaurant, trained every barista from scratch and kept the machines and grinders running myself.
Hosted tastings and cocktail classes
Whisky is my strongest subject: my sessions combine an introduction to production with the people, places and stories gathered over around 20 years working with it. I also host tastings across gin, rum, wider spirits and wine, and cocktail classes, for hotels, private groups and corporate events. Each one is built around the venue, the audience and the occasion.
Guests at a five whisky hotel tastingGuided hotel tastings for guests, groups and corporate events.
Large scale event bars
Running a large event bar takes careful planning and confident management. I can take responsibility for bar planning, stock requirements, staffing, layout, cash and card arrangements, and operational management on the day. For galas, fetes and outdoor events, I can either lead the bar operation or establish the structure and systems for your own team to deliver it.
Staff on the largest bars managedWith sales reaching £200,000 in a day.
Try it on your own bottles
Pour cost & yield
- Cost per serve
- Pour cost
- Real GP with over pour
Qualifications and experience
- Award
- Scottish Hotel Awards Bar Manager of the Year 2019
- Wine
- WSET Level 2 Award in Wines
- Whisky
- Whisky Ambassador certification, around 20 years working with whisky
- Licensing
- Scottish Personal Licence holder
- Experience
- Bar management across hotels, independent venues and large scale events
What particularly distinguished Aaron was his approach to leadership and people development. He has a natural ability to motivate, mentor and empower those around him.
Make more of your bar.
Whether you're developing a new offering, reviewing your margins, training a team or planning a major event, get in touch to discuss what you need.