Bar Wars: The Back-Breaking Lives of Bartenders

Dec. 10, 2010— -- Town restaurant, a New York City hotspot, was four-deep at the bar, with a lounge full of about 60 customers and 180 more in the dining room.

"We were leading the cocktail culture at the time several years ago," said then-head bartender James Moreland. "We were really doing some extravagant things."

One was a signature pitcher of mojitos, so big it required two barmen to carry -- "If your bar could put out a good one, then it was on fire," he said.

But a barman slipped as he headed for the dining room and sent the vase-sized vessel smashing across the floor. In his panic to return behind the bar, the hapless server slammed down the heavy, wooden trap door, collapsing an entire wall of glass shelving.

"Not a bottle of liquor was left standing, broken glass and liquor was everywhere," said Moreland, 38, who now teaches up and coming bartenders at the Culinary Institute of America.

Such are the perils of bartending -- a delicate balancing act between keeping the customer well-lubricated and not injuring yourself or the cocktails in the process.

"The bar froze, then we just started laughing about the whole thing," said Moreland, whose paycheck was docked for lost revenue. "It took us some time to get going again, but the crowd was very cool about it. It was a live disaster on stage that everyone shared in."

Bartending is one of the most physically and psychologically challenging professions, especially during the holiday season in New York City, where cocktails and customers are king.

The physical demands of the job are brutal on the hands and knees -- "bending up and down, like pilates movement," said Moreland. "You are always getting the odd broken glass cut on a finger or hand and it takes so long to heal."

"The job is physical no matter what," he added. "But it's the psychological, standing in front of 10-15-20 customers every night. It's like a show and it really takes a toll on you."

A 2005 study from the University of Alberta and Napier University of Scotland reported in Science Daily revealed that bartenders were at the highest risk for on-the-job injury among hospitality workers.

The study said they were prone to back injuries from lifting 29-pound beer kegs, shoulder pain from pouring and reaching upper shelves for premium liquor.

Not to mention the occupational hazard of booze itself.

More than 16 percent of bartenders and waiters ages 18 to 49 test positive for alcohol and illicit drug use, the highest category, more than even artists and entertainers, according to the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Bartenders also tend to self-medicate with Advil or a shot of whiskey, ignoring repetitive stress injuries, and few employers offer health insurance.