The RSA course does not teach drinking etiquette, instead it teaches how to serve safely. But don’t think that drinking can be done in any way! There is a particular etiquette to it in Australia that you may not realise, so whether you work behind a bar or visit the bar often, always remember that drinking is a (sometimes) classy routine! In Australia we don’t have a lot of expectations when we start drinking, it’s a casual thing that you do with your mates to have a good time.
Australian Drinking Heritage – Not in the RSA Course!
Australia has a prominent drinking culture that was defined when the convicts first came over. Now it’s not fair to call Australia the country that drinks the most, but it was called that back in it’s early days. We were estimated to drink the most of any other country per capita when Australia was first settled, not fun for RSA course bar tenders if it had existed back then. But one tradition was noted back then, and has been kept ever since. This tradition is that you do not drink alone. It is considered ‘poor form,’ and one observer stated it best when he was in Australia through 1887. He stated,
All through Australia, in every class, it is not considered good form for a man to drink by himself. Very few even of the most hopeless drunkards ever do so. The consequence is, that when a man feels inclined to drink, he immediately looks out for someone to drink with” “At whatever hour of the day a man meets another whom he has not seen for say twelve hours, etiquette requires that he shall incontinently invite him to come and drink. This is a custom that pervades every class in the colony, and cannot be departed from without something more than a breach of good manners.”Finch Hatton 1887
The RSA Course Blog – fun stat!
It was reported that when Australia was first inhabited, the colonizers brought enough food for two years, and enough grog for four. With all this alcohol, there was obviously a lot of violence and unsafe dealings – something that a RSA Course would help with! But there is so much more to the drinking culture in Australia you should be aware of such as shouting (buying a round of beer for everyone) and if you want more information on this, check out this website!
If you would truly like to be a part of Australia’s drinking culture, then you should get online and grab your responsible service of alcohol certificate this week with the fast and simple online process, so that you can serve alcohol responsibly!