Onboarding Day 4: Cocktail menu deep dive

onboarding #day-4 #week-1 #beverage

Goal: The trainee can describe every Lancey cocktail and 6 classics. Internal vs menu names known. Pocket Spice introduced.

Pre-shift

Bartender lead walks the trainee through the back bar before family meal. Show every bottle. Show every batch container. Show the Pill freezer.

Read before shift — the 6 essentials

À la minute:

Lancey Old Fashioned (internal: Before the Verdict)
Bourbon Sour (internal: The Weight of Light)
Smoke Show (internal: Every Beautiful Ruin)
Last Light
The Long Way Down
Grown Spritz
Downtown Daiquiri
HiFi Margarita (internal: Tommy FU)
The Darkroom

Draft:

Before the Flood
Lancey Martini 'Quiet Hours'
Lancey Negroni (internal: The Uninvited Guest)
The Manuscript
Borrowed Light

Batch/bottle:

North Garden (internal: The Inheritance)

Spirit-free / Low-ABV:

Coco Daq (internal: The Still Life)
The Jitters (internal: Understory)
White Space
Lo Pro Martini
Lancey Cola

Read before shift — Pocket Spice and Pill

Pocket Spice (guest-facing) — guest-facing language: "house spice blend." NEVER list ingredients to guests.
The Pill program overview
Pill: Painkiller
Pill: Eastside
Pill: Penicillin
Pill: Martini
Pill: Old Fashioned
Pill: Margarita

Bar staff only: Pocket Spice deep — restricted-ops. Read on signed agreement.

During shift

Lead bartender builds 6 essentials + 5 Lancey menu drinks in front of the trainee. Trainee tastes a sip of each (1/4 oz tastes). Trainee notes the differences in spec between menu drinks and classics they reference.

If the trainee is a server: they observe and learn the descriptions. If the trainee is a bartender: they begin practicing the build (water-and-ice drills, no spirits).

End-of-shift quiz: coach picks 5 random menu drinks. Trainee describes each: glass, garnish, primary spirit, one-sentence story.

What the coach watches for

Can the trainee describe each Lancey drink without notes?
Does the trainee know the menu name AND internal/batch name (so they can communicate to the bar)?
Does the trainee know Pocket Spice is restricted guest-side?

End of shift

20-minute debrief. 5-drink quiz.

Coach sign-off: Trainee describes 5 random menu drinks accurately. Trainee can explain Pocket Spice guest-facing only.

Tomorrow

Day 5: Wine, beer, NA.