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Thank you for your replies. Chris: no experience working in the food service industry; my background is in finance, so hopefully that will cover the business end of things. Lisa: agreed on your thoughts on bartending/barbacking-- im considering moonlighting as a barback on the weekends at a nearby cocktail lounge. also, can you elaborate further on inventory control procedures? i realize its importance but is there a tried and true method to inventory control? Forgot to mention this but I can't foresee myself running a cocktail lounge long term. I just can't see a cocktail lounge paying the bills as well as finance does but it is something I do love and am willing to sink considerable finances, time, and effort into. Ideally what I'd like to happen is to open a bar, run day to day operations in the short term.. but in the long term, find and train good staff, find a good bar manager, and get it to the point where it can operate without my intervention. prasantrin: I never said the best cocktail bars in America; just "the best cocktail bars here in Los Angeles". I've been to many cocktail bars in Chicago and NYC, including what some consider to be the best around (Death&Co, Milk&Honey, PDT, Little Branch, etc). I'm currently in talks with some folks about how importing alcohol works in Manila-- will let u know what I find out. One thing to keep in mind though-- like I mentioned in my first post, I'm not looking to start the most serious cocktail bar around. Certainly nothing close to the bars previously listed. Manila doesn't have the knowledge, demand, etc for that sorta thing I think... I'm just looking to start a lounge with good drinks, mostly classic cocktails at a reasonable price point. At least in the beginning, I won't be looking to introduce expensive small-batch whiskeys, tequilas, or gins. Simple stuff like showing the differences between say rye whiskey and bourbon, using fresh juices, good ice, etc will be a good start already I think. Certainly no high-brow cocktail geekery here. And excellent point on starting w a sort of "secret club". I envision this bar to be rather small. Something like 500-600 sqft of seating area. Limiting access (especially at the beginning before barstaff gets their rhythm going) will be important.

Hello everyone, First of-- this is my first post on eGullet. I'm a cocktail enthusiast and have often wondered if starting my own bar in the Philippines would be a good idea. Hoping to get a discussion going on what I should be thinking about. A few points to give you some context: 1. I'm currently located in Los Angeles but will likely move to Manila in a year or two. 2. Over the past year or two, I've spent significant time in most if not all the best cocktail bars here in Los Angeles and have slowly built up my cocktails/spirits knowledge. It's far from where I need to be to open my own place, but I'm working on it. 3. I've been making drinks at home for the past year or so but nothing too fancy (mainly classic cocktails w a few twists). 4. As long as I keep costs relatively low, finances to open this bar should not be a problem. 5. Reason for opening cocktail bar is two-fold: 1. introduce locals in Manila to cocktails (there isn't a single place serving craft cocktails at the moment) and 2. try and make a little money off something I love. 6. If I were to imagine the type of place I'd like to open, it'd be a place serving good cocktails (not incredible but good enough) and good bar food (thinking small bites like roasted bone marrow, sliders) at reasonable prices. 7. Currently cocktails at high-end restaurants in Manila go for $4 each. Likely will match that price w better quality. 8. For the most part, Manila doesn't have a big cocktail scene, so the discernment for the most part likely isn't there. Thus, I think initial goals should be breaking a reasonable quality threshold and focus my energy on execution, efficiency, and customer experience. 9. Drinks for the most part, will start on the simple side (gold rush, manhattan, aviation, gordon's cup.. things like that) So with that out of the way, what issues should I be thinking of? Initial thoughts that come to mind: 1. What is the most effective way of increasing my knowledge of cocktails/spirits? Any recommended classes / seminars? Already have a good amount of books. 2. Ideas on how to find / train good bartenders, barbacks, etc? 3. What are the biggest challenges that face such an endeavor? I'm sure there are a MILLION things I'm not thinking of, but hey-- isn't what this thread is for? Thank you for all of your help!