A bar-back or barback (commonly known as a runner in Europe or a glassy in Australia) is a

bartender A bartender (also known as a barkeep, barman, barmaid, or a mixologist) is a person who formulates and serves alcoholic or soft drink beverages behind the bar, usually in a licensed establishment as well as in restaurants and nightclubs, but ...

's assistant. Bar-backs work in nightclubs, bars, pubs, restaurants, and catering halls, and usually receive a portion of the bartender's tips. At high-volume bars, the tips are divided where more than one bar-back is present. Bar-backs are often under the tutelage of bartenders and work their way up to a bartending job. Bar-backs are there to simplify a bartender's job and are involved in the bar preparation through stocking the bar with liquor, ice, glassware, beer, garnishes, and so on; during the evening, they collect and wash dirty dishes and glassware, clean tables, change kegs, and help to pack up the bar after closing time. While the

legal drinking age The legal drinking age is the minimum age at which a person can legally consume alcoholic beverages. The minimum age alcohol can be legally consumed can be different from the age when it can be purchased in some countries. These laws vary between ...

in the United States is 21, the minimum age to work as a bartender or bar-back varies from 18 to 21.

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