Responsible alcohol service.

Consumption and responsible service of alcohol. It can be our best ally or our worst enemy.

Although the majority of people use alcohol very responsibly, the abuse of this interesting product, for a small minority of individuals, can cause physical harm with health risks, lead to illegality and lead to antisocial conduct. The professional bartender, in his work, can play a very important role - and must do - in the intelligent service and promotion of alcohol. He will also have to know well the laws that regulate consumption to apply them in the workplace.
Alcohol or ethanol is one of the main constituents of alcoholic beverages and characterizes their type. Consumption concerns the private behavior of people but bartenders and waiters play an important role since with their behavior they can influence their consumption.
It is not essential for humans, it provides about 7 calories per gram, a little 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 daily consumption dose is 0.6 grams per kg of body weight while the limit not to be exceeded is approximately 1 gram per kg of body weight.
Normally a 70 kg person can metabolize about 6 grams of alcohol every hour, it is therefore preferable to distribute the alcohol intake as much time as possible.
The abuse of alcohol is dangerous, the ingestion of considerable and continuous quantities, especially on an empty stomach and perhaps high-alcohol drinks can cause: injuries to the digestive system, alterations to the central nervous system (coordination of movements, slowed reflexes, visual disturbances, etc. .), disorders of sexuality, create addiction phenomena, increase the risk of serious diseases.

Instead, moderate consumption such as wine and beer is indicated, which can bring benefits to the digestive and cardiovascular system.
It is not recommended to take alcohol on an empty stomach. Best right before meals, during or immediately after.
Absolutely to be avoided in 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 jobs.
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. Let's take a glass of wine for example: out of 100 parts of product there are 12 parts of alcohol (alcohol content). The amount I serve is 100 milliliters. How much alcohol is 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 dose to serve): 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 since it is lighter its volume must be multiplied by its specific weight 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 alcohol content of a cocktail taking into account the proportions of the ingredients that compose it. These are general guidelines that a good apprentice must know. We are not gambling, 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.