At Ngonista, we believe that the most meaningful stories do not always come from well-known names, but from those who work quietly, driven by a deep passion.
I came across Sâu quite by chance, through a piece he shared on Threads about the history of spirits. It was thoughtful, well-crafted, and deeply engaging. The kind of writing that makes you pause and read until the very end. What stayed with me even more was the story behind it.
Sâu is a bartender who has chosen to pause his career to fulfill his national service, now serving as a firefighter in Tây Ninh within two years.
Within a disciplined and demanding routine, he still finds time to study, to write, and to stay connected to his craft. He hopes to share stories about the history of spirits with Ngonista readers.
His story is simple and deeply human. Yet it reminds us of something important. Circumstances never truly limit passion or determination. They only shape the way it continues to exist.
And now, let’s begin with Sâu’s story.
Hello, my name is Gia Lĩnh, but most people call me by a rather cute nickname: Sâu.
I am currently 23 years old and serving my country as a firefighter. But deep inside, I still keep another flame alive – the flame of my passion for the bartending profession. My journey into this career has not been very long, only about 3 years, but it has been deep enough for me to realize that this is not just a job, but an art form that I truly want to pursue long-term.
Before coming to the bar counter, I was once an electrical engineering student. Like many other young people, I went through a rather uncertain phase – not truly knowing what I liked or what suited me. I chose my major simply because it was a safe option, a direction I could step into without having to fully understand what I actually wanted. I studied while working part-time in the F&B industry, but at that time everything still felt quite vague to me. I had not yet found something that could keep me interested for long enough.
Until one evening on the 6th day of Lunar New Year in 2022. While everyone was preparing to return to their work routine after the holiday, I was in Saigon trying to meet a deadline for the company. That night, because I was extremely hungry, I decided to walk around the neighborhood to find something to eat. While wandering, I turned into a small alley in Phú Nhuận, and it was there that I stepped into a cocktail bar for the first time – Mellow Bar & Café.
A small space, a warm bar counter, shelves filled with bottles of many different colors. The yellow light reflected on a deep red Martinez glass, the scent of orange oil lightly lingering around the rim, a classic animated film projected on the wall behind the bar. Everything came together to create a very strange feeling – both familiar and captivating. But what impressed me most was not only the drink, but the way the bartender communicated with guests, the way they told a story through each cocktail. Even though I was sitting alone, I could still clearly feel the sense of connection. At that very moment, a thought appeared very clearly in my mind:
“I want to become a bartender. I want to have my own bar. I want to immerse myself in this form of art.”
After that evening, the thought did not disappear. I thought about it a lot, asking myself whether this was just a temporary emotion or not. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I truly wanted to pursue this path seriously.
Not long before that, at the beginning of 2021, I had already decided to leave my office job – an environment that made me feel pressured but did not provide much motivation for personal growth. When I began orienting myself toward bartending, I did not have much experience nor the financial conditions to participate in professional courses. So I chose a slower but more suitable way for myself at that time: self-learning.
The first job I chose was as a kitchen assistant at a craft beer bar that also served cocktails. During the working process, I took every opportunity to observe, learn, and ask for more knowledge from the bartenders as well as people with experience in the industry. Outside of working hours, I read books, searched for information on social media platforms and specialized websites to build my knowledge foundation. This process lasted nearly a year, and although the progress was slow, I felt that I was moving in the right direction.
After that, I had the opportunity to meet my mentor – Huy. He is the owner of a small bar and also someone who guides those who want to enter the profession. Here, I began learning in a more structured way, from basic techniques such as shaking, stirring, how to use tools, understanding spirit categories, cocktail structure, the role of ice, flavor balance… The more I learned, the more I realized that the knowledge in this industry is much broader than I had imagined. Every time I learned something new, I felt like I had returned to my early university days – but this time I was much more proactive and excited.
During my working time, I experienced almost every position behind the bar and had the opportunity to work with many seniors in the profession. To me, each person was a teacher in a different way. Some taught me techniques, some taught me how to work, some taught me how to communicate with guests, and some taught me how to maintain the spirit of the profession on exhausting days.
My most recent bartending job was at Ciocan Lounge. After one year behind the bar,
I had to temporarily stop working when I received the call to fulfill my national service as a firefighter. At first, I was quite worried that pausing for 2 years might cause me to lose development momentum or even cool down my passion. But thanks to encouragement from my family, friends, and my partner, I decided to maintain my connection with the profession in another way: continuing to learn and share what I know.
I began building social media pages to post knowledge about spirits and the history of different types of spirits – a part of knowledge that I noticed many people often overlook or find difficult to remember, but in reality is very interesting and helps deepen the understanding of the profession. Sharing not only helps me systematize my knowledge but also helps me stay connected with a community of people who share the same interest.
For me, bartending is not simply about making drinks. It is a combination of technique, creativity, and the ability to connect with people. A cocktail is not only about the recipe, but also about the story behind it, the experience it delivers, and the feeling that the drinker remembers afterward.I am still on a journey of learning every day, gradually moving closer to the goal of having my own bar. And if there is one thing I would like to share, it is this: sometimes what we truly want to pursue does not appear right from the beginning. But when we find it, we will recognize it very clearly, and from that moment on, the only thing left is to persist and continue walking on the path we have chosen.
Sâu
