Cocktail waitress
{{Short description|Female servers in bars}}
File:Drambuie VIP Party Waitress at The Roosevelt.jpg
A cocktail waitress, colloquially known as a bottle girl,{{cite web | url=http://bronxjournal.com/?p=23423 | title=Lives of Bottle Girls in New York City | the Bronx Journal }} is a female server who brings alcoholic drinks to patrons of drinking establishments such as bars,{{cite book|title=The Cocktail Waitress: Woman'S Work In A Man's World|author=James P. Spradley|page=2|isbn=0075547643|publisher=McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages|year=1975}} cocktail lounges, casinos, comedy clubs, jazz clubs, cabarets, and other live music venues. The unisex job title is cocktail server.{{Cite book |last1=Garvey |first1=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GnQjsmHyiUUC&dq=%22cocktail+server%22&pg=PT312 |title=Running a Restaurant For Dummies |last2=Heath |first2=Heather |last3=Dismore |first3=Andrew G. |date=2011-03-16 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-118-05319-5 |language=en}}
Many cocktail waitresses also entertain customers and some require booking. They may hold up customized signs.
Casinos traditionally dress their cocktail waitresses in fancy outfits with very short skirts{{cite book|title=Casino Women: Courage in Unexpected Places |author=Susan Chandler|page=41|isbn=978-0801450143|year=2011|publisher=ILR Press}} and pantyhose or fishnet stockings, while less flashy establishments may require waitstaff attire. Playboy Bunnies are a famous example of the profession.{{cite book|page=230|title=The Bunny Years: The Surprising Inside Story of the Playboy Clubs: The Women Who Worked as Bunnies, and Where They Are Now|author=Kathryn Leigh Scott|isbn=978-1451663273|year=2011|publisher=Gallery Books}} In the United States, cocktail waitresses are common in casino towns like Atlantic City, Las Vegas, and Reno. It is customary in the United States to tip the cocktail waitress for serving drinks, even in casinos which offer free drinks to active gamblers.{{cite web | url=https://www.travelweekly.com/North-America-Travel/Insights/How-to-tip-in-Las-Vegas-casinos | title=Some tips for tipping in Las Vegas casinos | work=Travel Weekly | accessdate=19 January 2025}}
Training is normally done on the job, usually for less than a month.Occupational Requirements Survey, [https://www.bls.gov/ors/factsheet/pdf/waiters-and-waitresses.pdf Waiters and waitresses]. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. While they need to have general information about alcoholic drinks (e.g., to recognize the names of different kinds of liquor), they also need to learn the specifics of the particular establishment (e.g., the particular brands available at the moment).
Nearly all the time at work is spent standing or walking, often while carrying drinks (considered light or sometimes medium lifting).