In the 1988 film ‘Cocktail’ Tom Cruise showed off his cocktail making skills, which gave bartenders all over the world a credibility boost and set a new challenge.
Bar tending schools sprung up all over the place and the European Bartender School in Carrer Joan Maragall in Palma is doing a roaring trade.
It's part of a network of franchises with centres in 15 countries and every year it attracts young people from all over Europe who are keen to hone their cocktail making skills.
European Bartender School owner, Mimi moved from France to Mallorca in March 2019 and worked as an instructor in Calvia before opening her own school last July.
"In addition to training future professionals we want to expand and share the bartending industry,” she says. “Mallorca is a fantastic place, with incredible people and great distilleries.”
"Smile!" Shake it! Smile!” shouts one of the teachers as the students shake their agitators while music plays at full blast, which apparently helps them to become accustomed to the frantic pace of nightclubs.
The course lasts for a month and during that time the students learn how to make more than 60 cocktails.
“That's enough, I don't think we could put all of them on the menu," says Samuel Muzo, who’s family own Ramon's Bar in Puerto d'Alcudia. “More and more people are asking for cocktails and we want to provide a professional service.”
Every morning, the students are taught theory and the measures, ingredients and secrets of each drink, then they’re divided into groups and that’s when the fun starts.
They learn how to juggle bottles, stirrers and other utensils and the bottles smash on the floor time and again, but hopefully practice makes perfect!
They also practice free pouring the exact quantity of each drink without measuring tools.
Then they have to make the 6 cocktails they learned that morning.
The students are staying in an apartment in Calle de l’Argenteria in the centre of town and on the weekend they visit tourist attractions and some of the many bars in Palma, for research purposes of course!
"I wanted to go to Pukhet, but it was closed because of the pandemic,” explains the Danish Camila Dirks. “People said good things about Mallorca, so I decided to come here instead. I'm learning a lot and it’s a profession that allows you to travel all over the world.”
"My goal is to open a bar in Switzerland and I want to learn the basics of cocktail making because I think it's a booming business, says Arthur Morand who’s Swiss.
"I work in an ice cream parlour and I really want to do something different," adds Noelia.
“I like people, the party atmosphere and nightlife and I would love to work on this business in the future,” explains Barce Severin, who’s a carpenter from Marseille.