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Visit a stylish cocktail bar or attend a cocktail blending session at a chic creative space in your city and you would often hear two terms used to describe your host or master instructor: bartender and mixologist. But do the two words mean the same thing? 
Or are there subtle distinctions between a bartender and a mixologist? While many end up using one instead of the other, can that be the case each time? This World Bartender Day, break down the two terms to explore what sets them apart, when they can perhaps overlap, and which one is the best word to use to describe the artist blending your drinks according to the location, occasion and blending approach.
Who Is A Bartender?
Put simply, a bartender is a hospitality professional. This is a person who stands behind the bar at your local watering hole, at a bar in a chic restaurant and even at parties or events that have a spirit and mocktail station. A bartender will mix both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks for you. The bartender will also pour and serve other alcoholic beverages like beer or wine which require little to no blending.
In the hospitality world, bartenders also manage inventory and stock at the backend and offer an interesting cocktail or mocktail experience to guests. They can be instrumental in curating and driving the vibe of a place. Quick, dynamic and efficient, a good bartender is the central element of the bar experience. With hospitality at the core, a good bartender takes your preferences into consideration while blending drinks and serves your favoured, signature blends to make your experience as smooth and welcoming as possible.
Who Is A Mixologist?
For its part, the term mixologist has got more to do with the art of blending drinks than the art of tending the bar. A mixologist is a master craftsman, an artist deeply invested in inventing and curating interesting cocktails and mocktails. The science of cocktail creation is what interests a mixologist who is immersed in reimagining old classics or coming up with new flavour and ingredient combinations.
The history of the art of blending has been instrumental in making the term ‘mixologist’ widely popular across the globe. It appears in several seminal works on cocktail cultures such as the Jerry Thomas’ The Bartender’s Guide. It is this mixologist who comes up with original in-house recipes, studies flavour pairings and balance, experiments with housemade ingredients like shrubs and bitters and dives deep into the science, stories and presentation of cocktails. A mixologist is focused on elevating cocktails from being drinks to becoming an experience.
So What’s The Difference?
Very simply, the distinction between bartender and mixologist has got everything to do with the approach towards blending drinks. Bartenders are many times guided by guest preferences, driven by speed and efficiency and work that takes them across versatile bartending spaces.
Can They Be Used Interchangeably?
Whether a bartender and a mixologist are the same greatly depends on how a professional approaches the job. For those who place technique and creativity at the core, along with hospitality, both terms come together to epitomise their art of blending. This is often the case in the modern bartending landscape because many skilled bartenders do clarify cocktails, create seasonal menus and craft in-house blends that become crowd favourites. The distinctions have blurred, and bartender and mixologist are terms that go hand in hand, as long as the focus remains two-fold – on a premium, craft-forward experience undergirded by strong hospitality and good service.
