Our seventh annual USBG National Education Week is in the works! Each year, the USBG Education Committee asks chapters to provide a multi-day seminar (or ‘Academy Days’ as they were previously called) for its members as part of a collected organization-wide initiative to highlight and focus on ongoing education offerings for USBG members. Education Week events are promoted with the common hashtag #USBGedweek.
This year, be on the lookout for some of our most promising educational opportunities such as:
USBG Atlanta
Mindful Monday
Zero-proof cocktail competition with Seedlip incorporating ingredients from the garden. Host: Sip of Paradise Garden
What Does Education Look Like?
Kaleb Cribb passed away one year ago. Remembering him as an inspirational educator and mentor, a panel discussion will focus on different ways to gather information and a library in Kaleb’s name will be dedicated offering books for the bartending community to access and borrow. Host: Ticonderoga Club
Whiskies of the World 202
Category intensive with a blind tasting across eight different styles including take-away course packets with current TTB rules, a whisk(e)y flavor wheel, industry guide on how to talk about each spirit’s profile to guests, and a breakdown of each style’s production methods. Lunch provided. Host: Blue Ridge Marketing and Red Phone Booth
Career Development Strategies for Bartenders
Practical tools for career advancement and compensation growth. Host: Wicked Wolf Sports Pub & Club
Branding Yourself
Panel discussion and tattooing activity. Host: Westside Motor Lounge
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USBG Charlotte
Muddy River Distillery Tour with Bitters Education by Crude Bitters
Come out to Muddy River Distillery with Robbie, owner of the distillery to get some rum education, as well as learning about the first legal rum distillery in NC! Then, stay to learn about the history of bitters with Craig, from Crude Bitters
Borghetti Launch Event
Sabrina and Eduardo from Fernet Branca will be in town teaching us about the history and the story behind Borghetti
Fitness with ISI
Come sweat with ISI Elite Training and learn the importance of balance and going out and working out
Financial Planning with David Neeley
Money issues? Come learn about how to set yourself up for financial success
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USBG Denver
Cigar and Cognac Class
Spirit tasting and pairing with cigar education component sponsored and hosted by Team Enterprises
Wilderness Trail Tasting and Education
Exploration and education on the sweet mash process and intro to the new Wilderness Trail brand line
Seminar with Anne Louise Marquis of Campari
Event at Podium Racing hosted by Campari, followed by hands-on educational seminar from brand ambassador, Anne Louise Marquis
Scotch Blending
Scotch blending workshop and seminar with DIAGEO
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USBG Minneapolis St. Paul
The Carmer Spirits Tasting Enhancement Method
Experience a new way to taste higher ABV spirits.
How to Buy a House with a Service Industry Income
Ins and outs of purchasing a home for people in the service industry.
Creating a Bar Menu - Cocktails, Wines and Beers
Creating a bar menu beyond cocktails can be a challenge. In this session you will learn how to create a bar menu that considers seasonal ingredients, food pairings, trends and economics.
Brand Sponsored Tasting
Spirits tasting based on whatever our main sponsors want to highlight.
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USBG Oregon
Sustainability/Bar Techniques
A seminar focused on products that use sustainable practices such as Novo Fogo with a Super Juice training
Building Your Back Bar/Brand Relationships
We will have a speaker from the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission to explain how the state-controlled liquor program works and how to get allocated bottles. There will also be a speaker on how building relationships with brands helps to navigate this system
DIAGEO’s Agave Workshop
Our local DIAGEO Rep will give an agave training and tasting featuring agave spirits in their portfolio
The Path to Leadership
This seminar will be about how to become and be successful in beverage management, as well as discuss the path to bar ownership
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USBG Palm Beach
Breaking Down IBA Cocktail Competitions for a Winning Strategy
Paul Posillico will share his insight and secrets with a hands-on approach on IBA techniques and competing with this informative seminar you will be better prepared for qualifying in future USBG United States Bartenders’ Guild IBA World Cocktail Championship & IBA Pan-American Games USBG Qualifiers…. you won’t want to miss this!
Step Up Your Garnish Game
Learn how garnishes can be the first impression of your cocktail from a guest's point of view and how impactful a quality garnish can help with cocktail ordering. Philip Khandehrish & Greta Buccellato will teach new techniques from garnish creation, molecular aspects to digital garnishes.
Molecular Mixology: Marriage of Art & Science
In this class you will learn the basis for Molecular Mixology and how it blurs the lines of Art & Science. Get the blue prints to tried and true techniques as well as some insights as where the future of Molecular Mixology is going. Taught by Chase Moore from Conniption Gin and Isaac Scott Grillo.
Crafting Your Future Using AI & Technology
Bartending can be a fun and very lucrative career for many of us. The more you put into it, the more you get out of it. In this inspiring seminar, we will teach you how to start to market yourself as a brand with some marketing insights and tips while showing you how to utilize AI Artificial Intelligence to help make some of these tasks easier. Then from there we will show you how to utilize your unique skills and talents to market and learn how to help others while continuing to build your career and realize... BARTENDING IS MY REAL JOB!
Flair Bartending Competition
Join us for the “Bartenders’ Shakedown 2023” & “Mixology Matters Cocktail Conference” October 8-11, 2023.
This event is strictly 21 years of age and over and open to the public to attend and promises to be a fun and informative series of events!
More info on the Bartenders' Shakedown can be found using the link below... http://bartendbetternow.com/bartenders-shakedown-2023/
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USBG Pittsburgh
Making the Right Choices: Financial Responsibility & Balance in Running a Bar Program
Lisa Marthens, Area Bar Manager at Burgatory, will share her story in revamping the Burgatory bar program. Lisa will discuss the challenges she faced and the strategies she used to increase profitability and guest satisfaction, and how she successfully reinvigorated the program
History of Pittsburgh’s Cocktail Culture and its Modern Renaissance
Pittsburgh has a unique history with cocktails. From Speakeasy to prohibition to jazz age to disco to the modern cocktail revival, Sean Enright will delve into the different eras of Pittsburgh’s cocktail culture and explore how drinks molded this city, and vice versa
NA Spirits & Cocktails
Mel Babitz of the Open Road Non-Alcoholic Bar + Bottle Shop will lead us in a hands-on workshop exploring non-alcoholic spirits and cocktails
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USBG Buffalo NY
Distillery Tour
A look behind the curtains of one of Buffalo's finest spirit makers Tommy Rotter. A tour to see their production of their gin, whiskey, and bourbon.
Narcan Training with Frank + Drug Harm reduction with Esmay
Learn how to better help your community members when they are in need.
Whiskey Talk
All about whiskey with Lucky Day's very own Gavin Neaf. Lucky Day has Buffalo's largest section of whiskey and Gavin has tried them all!
Cracking the Nut; Making your own orgeat and other syrups
How to make your own syrups in a bar setting. How to maximize your bar's potential and your own creativity! Come learn from Brett Krebuszewski manager of one of Buffalo's longest and most celebrated cocktail program Mez Que!
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USBG Orlando
YOU are a Brand: Marketing in Social Media
Panel of speakers offering tips and advice on marketing and brand management. Town Hall style.
Up your Garnish Game
Q&A session with local pastry chefs
Rum Blending Class
Diplomatico Rum blending seminar
Coffee & Finances
Coffee & Finances
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USBG Central NJ
Beyond the Bar: Handmade Workshop with Maker's Mark
USBG will participate in a leather working workshop at Billykirk in Jersey City. Each attendee will hand-craft their own leather recipe notebook. Maker’s will provide tastings of their various expressions on site, and Jarred Weigand, Maker’s Mark diplomat for New Jersey, will lead a discussion on managing a work/life balance and embracing creative outlets. After the workshop we will walk to South House in Jersey City for a Maker’s Mark Happy Hour and small bites.
Gin-ius Bar and Beyond the Bar Career Panel with Gin Lane
USBG will participate in a gin workshop led by Nick Tango, of boost beverage exploring the nuances of gins from different geographical locations, with a special focus on Gin Lane. Following a brief break with small bites provided by Boost, there will be a round-table panel about different career paths in the industry which will delve, into options of life behind the bar and the question of whether it is for you. Participants of the round-table include Chris of Travel by Wine Education, Aleks of 3BR Distilling, Carlos of Cocktails By C), Diana of Nightowl Hospitality, and Nick of Boost Beverage.
Embracing Intuition: Battling Imposter Syndrome + Wine Tasting with Alexis Percival & Skurnik Wines
USBG will participate in an educational seminar with Alexis of Ruffian wine bar in NYC, breaking down the pretentious stigma attached to wine tasting and attacking the villain that is Imposter Syndrome. Following a short break with small bites, Alexis and Chris of Skurnik Wines will lead a conversation about building a wine list from both the buyer and supplier side.
Beyond the Bar Kick off - BHAKTA-GRISWOLD Experience: A USBG NJ Exclusive
UBSG will travel Poultney, Vermont, with Nick Tango of Boost Beverage and Sean O’-Rourke of BHAKTA Spirits, who will host us at the old Green Mountain College Campus that BHAKTA they has converted into an Aging and Education Facility. While there, we will be focusing on mindfulness, self-care, and a much-deserved break from work behind the bar. We will also participate in educational seminars on aging spirits and the brandy categories of, Calvados, and Armagnac. Transportation is being figured out. There are 14 spots to fill available, on a first-come, first-served basis.
We will go live for our virtual portions October 9th-11th at 2pm which will be focused on the discussion portions of our Beyond the Bar concepts.
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USBG Cleveland
Education Week in a Day
We are doing a one-day seminar in Downtown with 6 seminars throughout the day. We are starting with brunch across the street. We will move to the main seminar location for a seminar on wine and food pairing followed by a seminar on port and secondary finishing. We will have lunch brought in at that time. After lunch, we will be doing a seminar on ice selection and breakdown. We will follow that up with a seminar on ways to influence flavor beyond finishing. We will move across the street to a third venue to do dinner and an agave spirits seminar.
Ice Breakdown
We will be showing how to break down and select ice for cocktails.
History of Tiki
We will discuss the history of Tiki and Tiki culture.
For additional USBG Educational Resources, please click here.
#USBGedweek