On average a person is killed every 40 minutes by a drunk driver. Drinking should be part of a good time, but the decision to drink and serve drinks is a very serious action. It’s our job at learnbartending.com to make you aware of your serving responsibilities.

First let’s understand what happens when someone takes a drink. Alcohol is immediately absorbed into the bloodstream, it does not need to digest to before it circulates through your bloodstream. As it circulates through the body it’s distributed in proportion to the water content of the various tissues and organs making it’s way fastest to the blood and brain.

About 10% of alcohol is eliminated via breathing, sweating, and urination, the rest at least 90% is processed by the body – mainly the liver. The liver has enzymes which convert the alcohol to acetate, which enters the bloodstream and eventually transformed into carbon dioxide and water and then disposes it.

An average size man can metabolize about a half ounce of alcohol, basically 1 beer or a 4 oz glass of wine per hour. Drinking more than that per hour accumulates in the bloodstream affecting organs particularly the brain.

BAC (blood alcohol content
.05 – Loss of inhibitions and clouded judgement.
.10 – Impaired coordination, staggering, slurred speach, visual impairment.
.20 – Senses dulled
.30 – Blackout, possible loss of consciousness
.35-.45 – Coma, possible death
.60 – Death

Sobering up tricks, there are none, the body metabolizes alcohol at a rate of a half ounce per hour, you can’t speed that up. Coffee and water while they may comfort you, do nothing to metabolize alcohol.

As a bartender who serves drinks it’s your responsibility to show them a good time, which doesn’t involve serving them so much that they get sick, make an ass of themselves, hurt their families or worse get injured or killed or even kill someone else driving drunk.

As a bartender you are to a significant degree legally liable for the actions of those you serve alcohol to. Dram Shop Laws make it legally possible to prosecute those who serve patrons that are visibly highly intoxicated. You could get sued as criminal and civil penalties would apply to someone who serves professionally at a bar and even as a host of a private party.

So the best way to protect yourself is to refuse to serve alcohol to intoxicated patrons.

Some other things you can do to pace your patrons.