Like baking a cake, mixing a drink requires precise measurements and the restraint to not ingest so many ingredients that you ruin your own birthday party. Become a power-mixer with this Groupon.

Choose from Three Options

• $45 for a bartending crash course (a $140 value)
• $59 for a barbacking course with materials included (a $149 value)
$189 for a full bartending-certification course (a $495 value)

Four- to five-hour bartending crash course delves into the basics of mixology to improve party-hosting abilities or prepare students for further education in the field. The barbacking course preps students for a life behind the bar, highlighting knowledge about beer and wine and customer-service tips. The one- to two-week certification course helps aspiring bartenders absorb more than 150 cocktail recipes distilled into 40 hours of hands-on classroom time

The Bartending Academy of Mill Creek

An extension of the Tacoma Bar Academy, the Bartending Academy of Mill Creek has educated students in the finer points of bartending and mixology for more than 35 years. Classes include a 40-hour bartending-certification program, which prepares aspiring tenders to take their place in the drink-slinging industry with lessons in bar etiquette, drink-making techniques, and more than 150 cocktail recipes. The professional classroom setup echoes that of an actual bar, allowing students to get a feel for each element’s proper place, from the sliced fruit and soda guns to the emergency manual that outlines exactly what to do should a horse, duck, and pirate walk in.