Authentic Bartending School

Where should I begin? Well for starters,I think that all of the bartending schools in this city do two things: #1-teach you bartending skills to help you become a bartender.#2- tell you anything that you want to hear to make their school attractive enough for you to invest your money,and attend their classes.In all fairness,after several weeks of shopping for a good school,I will say that I was not dissatisfied about attending Authentic.The teachers are pretty cool.Like most schools,some teachers are better than others.I can honestly say that when I completed my classes,I felt well equipped to go out and find a job.I did find a job as a bartender,but must say that I did so on my own.As all bartending schools promise you job placement help until your ears bleed from hearing them profess this,as I learned you will pretty much be on your own finding work.Also,don't think that you will find work right away.This will not happen.It took me almost four months to find work.As far as the atmosphere in the school,I must admit,I had a nice time,and it was overall,fun.The two things that I found to be down sides,#1- it seemed like there was not a whole lot of teacher student interaction.It was not an uncommon thing to find the instructors spending lots of time hanging out in the offices with the admissions people.(again,when the teachers did teach,it was enjoyable) #2-the classroom itself was a bit dingy.I think part of the problem is the so called,"clean-up time".Some students obviously took this more serious than others,but many were busy goofing off.A couple of instructors would try and discipline those responsible,but others seemed to care less.I guess as far as recommending this school to others on a scale of 1-10,I would say that I would probably give them a 6.Not saying because the school totally deserves this average for being so good.I just think that the other schools that teach these claases in NY,and just that bad.Out of all the questionable sales pitches,and lack of totally honest answers that I had gotten from numerous schools when I was searching where I should go,Authentic seemed to have the fewest of the obvious liars! LOL Would I do it all over again by attending their school? probably,but for no more than $400 bucks.Nothing personal,but none of the bartending schools is worth a penny more. more

LOVED It!!!!! i had so much fun attending this school. it was a bite price but well worth is....cant wait to go back for my refresher course. The teachers were great and i loved how if we needed any extra reviews on something, even if they didnt teach it, they would stay a little longer and help out. The people were down to earth and the class was energetic. And as a college student it was one of the best experiences i have ever had, and i dont regret going at all. if you are looking for a good school thats worth the money this is the school. enjoy=) more

I can not be any happier with how authentic bartending school has turned my life around. With the economy being in bad shape for quite some time now i had trouble finding work. I graduated 4 months ago and they were able to help me get a new job in 2 and a half weeks!! i have been working as a bartender ever since and i have to say the money is great. Even though i went to bartending school in new york they were able to get me my job in southern new jersey where i was moving. I recommend this bartending school for everyone of all ages. I had so much fun learning how to make just about any drink imaginable. The instructors were so nice and they were very good at making it easy to learn new things. i went into this school not knowing much at all about the business and graduated feeling as confident as can be with my abilities. i never thought it would be possible to enjoy working so much. I love everything about bartending and i certainly loved and enjoyed everything about the school!! just awesome more

hey, slow down ppl, the first time i attended Bartending school what oct 2010. I still go back for my refresher course. I lik this school, hate the smell of the bottles, if they would put A LITTLE CLOROX IN THE WATER, just a cap full in all those refill containers it would stop the smell, i work in a restuarant so i know....anyway, i became Bar and Lounge Manager and needed bar tenders, called them, they sent an open call and the next day i had 2 girls ready to be interviewed. it does suck you have to pay all that money, but in the long run its worth it. P.S. Im a real person, I work for a night club, promote a bar and lounge and was a manager of a bar/lounge before i quit (dont need the unnecessary drama).... i love this school, in fact im up this early getting ready for my pour test A++ and i love being from NYC, because any state i visit on vacation, i work in any bar, they love Hot, New York City Girls!!!! its not about the school. YOU WILL MAKE MONEY, tell em' Whitney Nova told you!! more

With the economy in a mess I figured I'd better pick up some job skills that could develop into a job. A couple of my friends have been bartenders over the last few years and have done pretty well so I thought I'd look into bartending school. I signed up to Authentic Bartending School and things just took off from there. The instructors are great to work with and they do an awesome job of teaching you all the "how to's" of bartending. The bartending course is spot on because it's not old school stuff...it's based on what works well in today's bartending environment. They really set you up to succeed and what makes the package even better is that they provide lifetime personalized job placement. No joke. This school has connections nationwide. If you're looking for something that's going to give your income a push then I recommend signing up for Authentic Bartending School here in Manhattan. more

I did the bartending school and found it to be very helpful. I learned how to make a lot of cool drinks, a little about how to come up with my own recipes, and thought the instructor was very knowledgeable. I did end up finding a job tending bar (with the help of the job-placement program!) so all in all it was a very positive experience. I'll say too that it is much easier to learn how to make and pour specialty drinks if you can practice without wasting all your expensive liquor! more

the school does suck it smells its a mess and I havent met one kid that has gotten a job from there. also they hound and hound you for your money and tell you theres a special goin on for 460 if you sign up before the new year I just met kids that signed up this week for that price. I was in class today and just walked out lost 180 dollars but thats life. Check out other bartending schools or just get a book and learn yourself you dont even need a bartending license in nyc. more

This school is nasty. The office looks like a train wreck. They've had a "please pardon our look while we renovate" sign up there for lord knows how long even though no changes have even been made. Garnish materials and coasters that are used in class are old and soggy, absolutely disgusting. You would think that getting $600 from every student would allow them to replace these 10,000 year old materials. Half of the students in my class got sick due to the uncleanliness. Some instructors are good, but a lot are unprofessional as well. The only reason this has a high rating on the website is because the directors try to regulate the board. They make up 5 star reviews and then try to have the negative ones deleted. PS: Don't count on job placement, it doesn't exist! more

As a student at Authentic Bartending School I started to feel uncomfortable by the negative reviews. I attended Bar Night this week and was disgusted by what I had experienced. The instructor there was Troy as others have stated in previous reviews. He served alcohol to some of my friends, who are not even 21! I was surprised to find out that he was married since he was practically stuffing his tongue down one student bartender's throat and giving random chicks body shots, gross!! The last thing anyone wants to see is a married 40 year old, fat and rusty bartender giving body shots and kissing young girls. And the pyramid scheme is true. The day after bar night I was asked to into the office by the director after class. He tried to recruit me into the ambit energy company. Just another pyramid scheme, and just another guy trying to hustle. He claimed that he's a retired cop, independent consultant for the energy company (oops i mean independent scammer), bartender, and bartender director. He claims that he's making so much money from the energy company. I laughed at him because if he's becoming so rich from ambit energy, why does he have 3 jobs? He asked me to get onto the computer so that he could get my payment information, he wanted me to pay some ridiculous amount. He left the office so that he could give me time to fill it out. Instead of filling out the online form I went to the internet history just to verify that the school is posting fake reviews on this website (i'm a computer geek). Through the history I learned that several fake reviews have been posted from that particular computer. I just walked out of Troy's office without saying anything because I was disappointed that I wasted $600 on this school. more

I graduated bartending school 3 weeks ago and was invited to guest bartend at Glen Roy's Sports Bar & Tavern. I made an appointment with Troy the school instructor at the sports bar for the job placement process. I felt like I went to "energy school" instead of bartending school. This guy was trying to get me to join Ambit Energy as a consultant. I left the meeting with Troy early and was disappointed. I went to bartending school to get a bartending job, not be part of someone else's plan to make money off of me. more

I Just got out of college in May.My folks had been trying to get me to work part-time with my brother in his catering business.I would get up at 5:30 in the morning every day Monday thru Friday and not return home until almost 8 o'clock at night.To me this was torture! I really wanted to do something that was fun,and easy.At the same time I wanted to make a lot of money.I wen to the school and took the weekend classes.I really enjoyed the instructors there,and liked the fact that there was a lot of hands-on,one on one training.It was the ideal place for me to attend.I started interviewing within one week,(wasn't crazy about having to get my resume approved.That took a while.)Overall,it was no big deal,but I'm glad I did.I didn't know that bartending resumes were so different from traditional corporate resumes.I even enjoyed the mock interview that Authentic's job placement services set-up.I work 3 days a week now,instead of 5.I love the fact that I don't have to get up super early in the morning any more.Thank God ! I have since recommended this school to my cousin,and best friend. more

I first off must say that I would have thought to be the last person to even consider bartending schools.I have a background in marketing and worked for 12 years in this field.I was recently laid off and to my amaze,it took me 6 months of relentless interviews,and sending out resumes to get the idea that maybe it was time for a change.I made an appointment with Authentic,and after cancelling twice,(I was just a little scared),decided to finally go in and be scene.I felt a bit nervous at first but then after talking with the job placement couselor there,and then the person who interviewed me,I was head-strong on doing this.Within 2 weeks of completing the classes I went out and got a job working in Soho at a very sleek bar and grill.I started out with only 2 shifts,and know am working there 4 days a week.I would recommend this school to ANYONE.Thanks guys! more

I graduated from Authentic Bartending School in May and was lucky enough to find a job in the upper east side through CONTACTS (not their stupid job placement). I have been monitoring the reviews on this website for awhile because I could not understand how it got such positive reviews. Ng218 could not have said it any better in his review. I had a similar and unpleasant experience from Troy Minor. His bar night is run unprofessionally and he wanted me to pay $450 to join Ambit Energy, which is a pyramid marketing scheme. I found it weird how this board gets one or two reviews in a month or two. But when ng218 finally put a REAL truthful review, all of a sudden 4 new reviews from 4 NEW accounts popped up. This tells me that someone is trying to cover himself. It turns out its true. Troy, one of the directors of Authentic Bartending School, wrote those last 4 oh so positive reviews. One of the reviews even mentions that they got help with energy bills. What a horrible liar this guy is. After looking more further into this I found something strange but not surprising. A lot of these users wrote 2 reviews in total: 1 review for Authentic Bartending School and 1 review for Ambit Energy. Check out reviews by: Truman4yah01, Motesir, and truman4ya. Mind you, these reviews are only in the first two pages of this business profile alone. Imagine how many other fake reviews for this school are on here. I mean come on seriously. Truman4ya and Truman4ya01? Couldn't the guy have been a little more original? Truman4ya wrote a review on 4/29/10 about how he had an awesome experience at ABS. On 10/29/10 Truman4ya01 wrote a review about how he was skeptical at first but now is happy he went there. Congratulations Troy, you have earned your company a BBB complaint. Not a true man for ya after all huh? Oh and for the record, there are 57 reviews now. Won't be surprised if that number decreases by 3. more

So here we go...... I first had a bartending school experience almost 5 years ago. It was a place that charged me almost 300 dollars.I went thru a one week class and was in school for only 3 days.I never heard back from their program once I completed the classes. I also found out a few months later that they were not even licensed by the Board of Education.I tried contacting the school later and found out that they had gone out of business.I then waited this long xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx. Before deciding to try the bartending thing again. I went to 3 licensed schools here in the city and found Authentic to be the most reasonable priced and also the most attentive on the phones.Within 2 weeks of graduating I got a job bartending near city hall. This is how long I will be a dedicated fan of Authentic xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxcxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Thanks. more

I had been out of work for about six months and could not spend any money into a program without seriously being well prepared before I made a decision as to if I felt bartending was going to be for me or not.I am currently in my early 30's and have not had to look for work since I was 23.I had been at my last job for 7 years,working for the city of White Plains as an investigator.I never expected to get laid off,but I did.Rather than sitting around,I decided to do something about it.It was the best decision that I made in a while.I really enjoyed the staff at Authentic.I have not been in school for a while,so it was a treat to have people spend time working with all of us students,one on one.The only thing that I do regret is that I didn't do this 7 years sooner.Since then I pay more attention to bars and clubs when I go out,and it is an eye-opener when I notice the things that others in my profession do that are incorrect.LOL My favorite instructor was Chyrs.All were good,but I enjoyed her class the most.I also like the fact that all of the instructors seem to have lots of experience and years in the field as bartenders.We also learned practical things as well.Just for the record I am one of those people who does not make decisions quickly,and I made this decision to attend this school within,about 2 weeks.I went to every bartending school that I could find that was here in Manhattan.Some seemed more interested in getting their hands in my pocket.There was even one school that refused to tell me their price over the phone.(there was no way I was falling for that).Another school looked really nice inside,but they seemed more interested in having me check out their fancy website then anything else.When I started asking questions I felt that they almost demanded me to look for the answers to the questions that I had online.How absurd was this? By far I am pleased with the whole process at Authentic.I have recommended 2 of my friends to attend their school.I also just landed a job 2 weeks ago working as a bartender in a bar and grill in the Riverdale section of The Bronx.Thanks to you all,at AUTHENTIC! more

Well first off let me say,I am very pleased at the training that I got with Authentic.I have never bartended before and this was a new experience for me.I did not know what to expect from the moment that I came in for my appointment.The staff was very professional and seemed really interested in what I was looking for.I was introduced to several people and had a lot of my questions answered.I also had a chance to meet with the job placement counselor who asked me questions to where I thought I would be most interested in working.The classes were on point.We were also involved in a lot of role playing scenarios.The thing that I like most about Authentic is the fact that they didn't sugar-coat anything about what to expect in the world of bartending.I did not believe that I would find a job in a day or two.I was well prepped on how to satisfactorily pass a job interview during a job lecture that I got on my last day of class.The school also has connections with flair bartending classes,and also allows you to train in an internship in a real bar that is willing to allow us to get experience.I would recommend this program to anyone who is seriously interested in bartending. more

Learning Environment: I found the learning experience to be overall great. I met excellent people in class and learned the basics on how to create drinks. I was surprised in the sense that remembering all of those drink and procedures was more challenging than I thought it would be, but it was fun. Bar Night: However upon graduating, I saw nothing but disappointment with job placement. I went to "bar night" to practice my skills. One of the directors, Troy Minor, runs "bar night" which enables you to practice bartending in a real bar in the Bronx. You don't get to keep the tips but you get the experience. He came 45 minutes late to the event and then waited an additional 15 minutes to get started. Not only that, I waited 3 hours to get behind the bar and by that time people were already starting to go home, so I got close to no experience. Unprofessional Resume Review: Troy called me the next day to say that I did an excellent job and that he wanted to look over my resume. I thought it was a great idea to have the director look over my resume before getting it approved by job placement. When I get there he puts my resume to the side and says "I am going to look at your resume, but what I really wanted to talk about was something else.". Ambit Energy: What was it that good old Troy wanted to talk to me about you ask? He wanted me to join some pyramid network marketing scheme for the Ambit Energy company, NOTHING to do with bartending!! He even went as far as to say as a bartender, you are not a real employee and you are limited to the amount of money that you can make. Yes I already know this, but its a bartending school, not an energy company. Why would you say this IN a bartending school after I paid $600? Troy showed me video after video after video trying to promote Ambit Energy, because if I join then he makes money, and if i get other people to join then he too makes money off of my people. If any manager or employee at ABS reads my review feel free to leave an email address if you don't believe me. I have tons of emails from the guy to prove that this is true. Instead of going over my resume, it turned into a 2 hour meeting about why i should join Ambit Energy, ending with him requesting me to sign a form asking for my credit card information to pay $400 to join Ambit along with my social security number. Seriously? FIRE THIS GUY!!! Incorrect Fax Number: Upon graduating I received a packet telling me how to go about job placement. One of the first steps is creating a resume and faxing it to a number to get it approved. Well I never got a call back to discuss my resume. After calling headquarters, I found out that the number was wrong on the packet. Nonexistant Job Placement: I called job placement again early this month to get the correct number to fax my resume to. On Nov 12, nearly 2 weeks of not receiving a phone call regarding my resume, I called to ask what the heck is going on. They told me that job placement personnel have gone home for the day but they will contact me on Nov 15th. "Surprisingly" enough I never received a phone call from job placement. I called today to ask what happened and now they're excuse that on Nov 15th job placement employees got sick and now today they are out sick. They claim I will get a call back tomorrow. Creating an Account online: While I wait for what seems like an eternity for job placement to call me back, the woman on the phone told me to create an account online so I can get instant access to job leads in the meantime. She said creating an account online is simple in an effort to rush me off the phone. Well I did all the necessary steps and now I get saying "You are not eligible for an Authentic Bartending School account". Don't waste your time and money at this school. more

I have to say that I really was nervous about checking out another bartending school.As this was my third.The first was a low budget school in the bronx,that I felt was a scam.I went because it seemed like the price was right.I don't believe they were licensed though.The second was a school in the city.All they kept telling me was I would have to come in and see a counselor first to discuss the program.They first told me over the phone that the price for the course was only 695.I then get to the school a few days later and by some miracle the price went up to 795!(I think they say that just to get you to show-up).I am sorry,with the economy the way that it is today,I find this to just be pure GREED!.I went to Authentic as a last resort,and was pleased that I did.They were not pushy,and explained their program completely.Their tuition was only 595,and seemed to have a clear understanding and access to the type of bartending job that I was interested in.I would recommend to all.Word of advice,seating seems to be very limited so book your appointments several weeks in advance before you are ready to start your classes. more

Before I spend my money on a bartending school, I wanted to go and visit the schools first. The first 2 on my list were American Bartending School and Authentic Bartending School. Went to American first and as entering the school the instructor was yelling out drinks for the students to make. It almost felt as though he was a drill sargent, this kind of intimidated me. There was no one in the front office and I had to sit a while before anyone can come and see me. I sat with someone and he was friendly at first but when I told him I wanted to see other schools before I made a decision he became rude, almost insulting because I wouldn't make a decision on the spot. At Authentic Bartending School a young lady gave me a business card and asked me to call their main office to get the school's information and then set an appointment for an interview. I found that weird and asked what was the purpose of the interview and she said it was to see if I would be qualified for their job placement. I called right away and I was able to get an interview the same day. During the interview, their representative gave me a detailed description of what was offered. I told the representative I was not going to make a decision that day. The Director introduced himself to me and after a brief talk about my options he recommended I see other schools before I make a decision, which made me feel comfortable. I still have not made a decision but Authentic is on the top of my list. more

I read this comment and I completely disagree with you. The staff at authentic is the plus of it. I was a student about 5 months ago on the weekends. My instructor was the same through out my time at authentic. My instructor was Mercedes too and she is a little tuff but she makes sure that I knew what I was doing. It was a pain in the ass to clean up the bar I admit that but I have been working at a restaurant in LIC and guess what...after every shift I have to clean. Everything Mercedes told us was real world senario come in late and get sent home just like at work. I wanna thank her for instilling the real world in me and know I make minimum $130 a shift how much are you making Decent? Pros: Instructors, Location, Scheduling Cons: Not enough supplies more