-aims to help young Guyanese find their true potential in the bartending craft

FOR Colin Campbell, bartending is much more than ‘mixing drinks’. Sure, the pay is great, but for this young and vibrant entrepreneur, it is all about customer satisfaction.

The Guyanese-born ‘drink master’ who operates a bartending school in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), ‘Riddim Up Bartending,’ recently teamed up with an associate in the United States of America, 1-800 BARTEND Bartending School to share his expertise with budding bartenders in Guyana.

“Well, every great thing starts at home,” Campbell told this week’s Buzz as he explained how bringing his services back home was a definite “must”.

He recently held an extensive training course at the Altitude Bar, in Georgetown where he engaged several young enthusiasts like himself.

The one-week course was composed of two parts, theory and practical. Campbell, in his teaching, emphasized that before one could even think about trying to compose potions, one must learn about the industry.

“Mostly what I’m focusing on is the younger people; to actually provide jobs for them,” Campbell said.

“You could actually be trained within a week… and then you could actually use that material to go out and get yourself a job. It’s not about bartending; it’s about customer service,” he added.

Explaining further that it is the service that transforms the experience, he said: “Making customers want to come back to your location… that is what we [bartenders] drive the interest in”.

Additionally, during the bartending course, Campbell taught his students how to make their own liqueurs.

“Guyana is a melting pot full of fresh fruits and fresh ingredients,” he remarked while pointing out that because of Guyana’s diversity, bartenders are well-supplied and can make their own cocktails in addition to their own liqueurs.

Bartending, he said, is one of those prospective careers, as not everyone wants a regular “white-collar” job; some individuals prefer something they can start in a few months.

Attempting to dispel the myth that bartending is a low-class profession, he said it requires more than shaking and pouring drinks and it is a true craft requiring meticulous attention to detail and excellent interpersonal skills.

In a tribute to the Guyana Chronicle’s Buzz, Campbell prepared “The Chronicle,” a brand-new cocktail which he will feature on his menu to demonstrate what a ‘real drink’ should taste like.

He stated that a ‘real drink’ is not blasted with ‘booze’ but features an array of flavors to spark taste buds.

The bartending course has received tremendous support from Altitude Bar’s owner, and the pioneer of Guyana’s rum festival Yannick David.

Campbell, who grew up in a typical Guyanese household, noted that he had obstacles growing up when it came to deciding what he wanted to do with his life. Given his parents’ abrupt relocation to the BVI, he said at first, it was tricky because he was so used to Guyanese culture—from the cuisine to the people and everything else. But the young bartender remarked that because the island is both small and family-oriented, he rapidly adjusted and learned to love his new home.

Campbell has been working behind the bar for the past 18 years and what began as a simple “gig” to earn an income in the BVI, gradually evolved into a passionate craft which he hopes to share with the entire Caribbean region.