Consumption and responsible service of alcohol. It can be our best ally or worst enemy.
Although the majority of people make very responsible use of alcohol, the abuse of this interesting product, for a small minority of individuals, can cause physical harm with health risks, lead to illegal acts and provoke anti-social conduct. The professional bartender, in the context of his work can play a very important role -and must do it- in the service and intelligent promotion of alcohol. He will also have to be familiar with the laws that regulate consumption to apply them in the workplace.
Alcohol or ethanol is one of the main constituents of alcoholic drinks and characterizes its typology. Consumption is about people's private behavior but bartenders and waiters play an important role because their behavior can influence their consumption.
It is not indispensable for humans, it brings about7 calories per gram, slightly less than fat and almost double the sugar. It is important to know how much alcohol there is in a dose of drink served to the customer, how much is the acceptable dose of daily consumption and other notions.
Alcohol is metabolized almost entirely by the liver and our body can assimilate it without consequences only if certain quantities are not exceeded. The acceptable doseof daily consumption is 0,6 grams per Kg. of body weight while the limit from not exceedis about 1 gram per Kg. of body weight.
Normally a person of 70 kg can metabolize about 6 grams of alcohol every hour, it is therefore preferable to distribute the alcohol intake in the widest possible time.
Alcohol abuse is dangerous, the ingestion of considerable and continuous quantities, especially on an empty stomach and perhaps high-grade drinks can cause: injury to the digestive system, alterations to the central nervous system (coordination of movements, slow reflexes, visual disturbances etc.), sexual disorders, create addictive phenomena, increase the risk of serious diseases.
Consumption is instead indicated moderate like wine and beer that can bring benefits to the digestive and cardiovascular systems.
It is not recommended to take alcohol on an empty stomach. Better immediately before meals, during or immediately after.
Absolutely to be avoided in the developmental age, pregnancy and breastfeeding, in old age and for women it is better in smaller quantities due to the more difficult metabolization than men.
Absolutely to be avoided when driving or carrying out difficult or dangerous work.
No alcohol when taking medications.
Calculate the alcohol we serve.
Starting from the label of the product we are serving, we will obtain the indications of how many parts of alcohol are present in 100 parts of the product. The alcohol content indicates the percentage. Take for example a glass of wine: out of 100 parts of the product there are 12 parts of alcohol (alcohol content). The amount I serve is 100 milliliters. How much alcohol is present in the glass?
The formula is: X= 12º x 100ml : 100 The result is 12 milliliters
For a dose of whiskey it would be: X= 40ºx40 ml (the serving dose): 100 The result is 16 ml
These are the quantities by volume but we must know their weight because the substances absorbed by the human body must be evaluated by weight. If alcohol weighed like water 100 milliliters would weigh 100 grams but as it is lighter its volume must be multiplied by its specific gravity which is 0.79. We will thus have, for the example of wine, 12 X 0,79 = 9,48 grams which is its weight. This formula must also be applied to calculate the alcoholicity of a cocktail keeping in mind the proportions of the ingredients that compose it. These are general indications that a good apprentice must know. We are not playing, and alcohol in our work must be treated with due respect. According to the use we make of it, I repeat, it can be our best ally or become the worst enemy.