Learn from what you Already Know in Mixology Mnemonics Part 2.  Learn More about using Key Imagery to represent fractions of ounces, garnishes, and glassware in Part 3 of this series. 

MNEMONIC MIXOLOGY

and The World of Advanced Memory Systems

If you’re on this page then you’re curios as to how bartenders memorize so many drinks. For the brief two years or so that I was a bartending instructor the number one question I was privately pulled aside to ask me by worried students was “How do you remember so many drink recipes?” That was a simple question – but my answer, for how I do it, overwhelmed them. The owner of the school often came out of her office to watch me teach and said I wasn’t looking at the lesson plan set up on the instructor stand behind our lecture and training room bar. I always told her the same thing: “I don’t need the paper – I know the drink recipes.” The other school instructors occasionally got mixed up on quantities and had to check the book to make sure – with my method, I knew exactly with 100% certainty what the full recipe – to the drop, garnish, glass, and mixing method was.


 

The World of

Advanced Memory Systems

The link above will take you to the forum for the Art of Memory. It’s a great site frequented by world class memory experts, world champion memory contest award winners, memory act stage magicians, memory book authors, anonymous gamblers who memorize multiple card decks (52 decks at a time) and, and beginners just starting out who want to memorize a grocery list. I’ve been a member for a while. You’re going to want to head over to that forum, sign up (free) and start poking around to find out what the various simple to advanced memory systems there are in existence, how each one works, how each one is useful for which memorization tasks, and how to combine them so they cover each type of material that you’re memorizing. Memorizing math equations is different from memorizing a list of grocery items. Memorizing guitar frets and finger positioning is different from memorizing a piano keyboard. And memorizing complex craft cocktail drink recipes is different from memorizing basic trendy drinks and shooters.

The systems I use:

Ever heard of the Memory Palace system of mnemonics?



Picture this: you’re strolling through a grand, imaginary mansion—your very own ‘palace’—where every room, quirky statue, or hidden nook holds a juicy tidbit of info you need to remember. Known as the ‘method of loci,’ this ancient Greek and Roman brain hack turns your mind into a living map. You drop facts like breadcrumbs along a familiar path, then retrace your steps to scoop them up effortlessly. It’s your brain’s superpower for spatial memory, unleashed to conquer forgetfulness with a dash of creativity! That should be simple enough… but then there’s the Dominic System using PAO – Person, Action, Object – Complex, for the most complex of memory tasks – but you don’t have to use ALL of it – just take the parts you need for bartending and plug them into what you’re memorizing (as you’ll see in my examples below on this page)

Get ready to supercharge your memory with the Dominic System

—a turbocharged twist on the classic Dominic System, crafted by memory maestro Dominic O’Brien. PAO stands for Person-Action-Object, a triple-threat combo that turns numbers into dynamic cinematic mental scenes where YOU play the director. Here’s the gist: each two-digit number (00-99) gets a unique letter pair, linked to a memorable person (like 13 = ‘AC’ = Al Capone). Then, you assign that person a signature action (say, shooting a gun) and an object (like a diamond). To recall a string of digits—like 132578—break it into chunks (13-25-78), picture Al Capone (13) playing the fiddle (action from 25 = Nero) with a kite (object from 78), and watch the sequence lock into your brain like a vivid movie trailer. It’s a systematic, story-driven upgrade that makes memorizing long numbers feel like directing your own blockbuster!

Sound crazy and too complex? “That’s too much extra shit – why not just memorize the drink recipe?” …. only after 200 recipes that “simply memorize the drink” argument falls apart, not fast, but REAL FAST. I’ve been doing the advanced systems right from the start – and it works 100% of the time when you get the directed imagery in your head right!



And now for MY personal favorite base system – the MAJOR SYSTEM:

Introduction to the Major System of Mnemonics


Memory is a powerful tool, yet it often feels elusive—names slip away, numbers vanish, and facts blur into oblivion. What if there were a way to transform abstract, hard-to-remember information into vivid, unforgettable images? Enter the Major System, a classic mnemonic technique that turns numbers into memorable stories. Developed centuries ago and popularized in the modern era by memory experts Harry Lorayne and Jerry Lucas, this system is a cornerstone of memory training. Whether you’re a student cramming for exams, a professional juggling data, or simply someone who wants to recall a grocery list without a notepad, the Major System offers a creative, reliable method to lock information into your mind. In this post, we’ll explore what the Major System is, how it works, and a few examples to get you started on your memory journey.

What Is the Major System?

The Major System (sometimes called the “Major Mnemonic System”) is a phonetic-based memory technique designed to encode numbers into words, which are then transformed into vivid mental images. First documented in the 17th century by Johann Winkelmann and later refined by others, it gained widespread fame through the works of Harry Lorayne and Jerry Lucas, particularly in their book The Memory Book (1974). The system assigns consonant sounds to the digits 0 through 9, based not on their spelling but on how they sound when spoken. Vowels and silent letters are ignored, acting as “fillers” to build meaningful words. These words are then linked to images, tapping into the brain’s natural preference for visual memory over rote recall.


Here’s the standard phonetic code as classically defined:


0: S or Z (soft sounds, like “zero” starting with z)

1: T, D, or TH (one vertical stroke, like a “t” or “d”)

2: N (two downward strokes, like “n”)

3: M (three downward strokes, like “m”)

4: R (the “r” sound relates to “four” in some languages)

5: L (Roman numeral L is 50)

6: J, SH, CH, or soft G (curved shapes resembling “6”)

7: K, hard G, or hard C (angular like “7”)

8: F or V, or PH (script “f” looks like “8”) as in Phone

9: P or B (mirror image of “9”)


To use it, you convert a number into a word by matching its digits to these sounds, then visualize that word in a memorable way. For example, the number 32 becomes “man” (M=3, N=2), which you might picture as a man in a bright red hat. The system’s beauty lies in its flexibility—once mastered, it can encode dates, phone numbers, or even entire sequences like pi, which is an endless calculation, to as many digits as you wish to dedicate time to memorizing.

Examples of the Major System in Action
Let’s walk through a few examples to see how Lorayne and Lucas might have taught this technique:


Number: 15
Code: 1 = T/D/TH, 5 = L

Word: “Tail”, “Doll”

Image: Picture a dog wagging a bushy tail. If you’re memorizing a list and item 15 is “buy milk,” imagine the dog’s tail knocking over a milk carton. The absurdity makes it stick.

Number: 49
Code: 4 = R, 9 = P/B

Word: “Rope”, “Robe”, “Reap”, Ruby”, “Rabbi”

Image: Visualize a cowboy swinging a rope. If 49 represents a historical year (e.g., 1949), imagine the cowboy roping a giant calendar page. Lorayne loved emphasizing vivid, exaggerated scenes like this.

Number: 73

Code: 7 = K, hard G, hard C, 3 = M

Word: “Comb”, “Kimmy”, “Game”  

Image: See a king (K) combing his golden hair with a jeweled comb. If 73 is part of a phone number, link it to the next digits with a story—say, the king combs his hair before a call.

These examples showcase the system’s core principle: numbers become words, words become pictures, and pictures become memories. Lorayne and Lucas stressed practice—start with two-digit numbers, build a personal “dictionary” of words, and soon you’ll recall 10-digit strings like a memory champion.

This draft provides an engaging intro, a clear definition rooted in Lorayne and Lucas’s work, and practical examples. Let me know if you’d like to tweak the tone, add more detail, or adjust anything else!

That’s ONE of my all time favorites… but there’s one more:

Introduction to the Aboriginal Journey Method

Imagine walking through a landscape where every rock, tree, and riverbend holds a story—a map of knowledge etched into the earth itself. For over 60,000 years, Aboriginal Australians, part of the world’s oldest continuous cultures, have used such landscapes to preserve vast amounts of information without writing. This technique, often referred to as the “Aboriginal Journey Method” or “songline method,” transforms the physical world into a living mnemonic device. Unlike Western memory tricks that rely on repetition or abstract lists, this method weaves facts into narratives tied to specific places, making them unforgettable across generations. Today, Australian scholars like Lynne Kelly and researchers from Monash University are uncovering how this ancient practice not only rivals but often surpasses modern memory techniques, offering insights for education, science, and beyond. In this post, we’ll define the Aboriginal Journey Method, explore its mechanics, and share examples of how it works in practice.

What Is the Aboriginal Journey Method?

The Aboriginal Journey Method is a mnemonic system that encodes knowledge—such as navigation routes, tribal laws, or ecological data—into stories linked to physical locations in the landscape. Often expressed through “songlines” (a term for the sung narratives that map the land), this method relies on the human brain’s natural affinity for spatial memory and storytelling. As explained by Lynne Kelly in The Memory Code (2016), Aboriginal cultures use the environment as a structured “memory palace,” where each landmark serves as a cue for a piece of information, and a narrative ties it all together. Scholars like Tyson Yunkaporta, an Indigenous educator, emphasize that these narratives often feature vivid characters—ancestral beings, animals, or spirits—making the information emotionally engaging and easier to recall.

Recent studies, such as those by David Reser and Yunkaporta (published in PLOS One, 2021), highlight its effectiveness. Unlike the Greek “memory palace,” which places data in an imagined building, the Journey Method uses real, tangible places, enriched with cultural stories. For example, a sequence of trees might represent a food-gathering process, with each tree tied to a verse in a song. This dual layering—spatial and narrative—creates a robust memory framework, proven to enhance recall significantly more than rote learning or even Western mnemonic techniques. It’s a dynamic, oral tradition, passed down through ceremonies, songs, and dances, ensuring survival-critical knowledge endures.

Examples of the Aboriginal Journey Method in Action
Here are a few examples, inspired by contemporary scholarship and Aboriginal practices:

Navigating the Outback: The Butterfly List
Scenario: In Reser and Yunkaporta’s study, medical students memorized 20 butterfly names using the Journey Method.

Method: An Indigenous educator led them through a campus garden, crafting a story where each butterfly species was a character interacting with a specific landmark (e.g., a rock or tree). For instance, “Monarch” might be a king resting on a stone, while “Swallowtail” swoops near a twisted branch.

Outcome: Students recalled the list nearly three times better than with the memory palace, linking the narrative journey to the physical path they walked.

Ecological Knowledge: The Tricarboxylic Acid Cycle
Scenario: Nutrition students at Monash University learned the eight-step tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, a complex biochemical process.

Method: A story was set in a garden with eight lemon-scented gum trees. Each tree represented a step (e.g., citrate to isocitrate), with a tale of a spirit transforming food into energy as it moved from tree to tree. The smell of the trees and the story’s progression anchored the sequence.

Outcome: Students found it “creative and fun,” with recall outperforming traditional study methods, as noted in the 2021 study.

Cultural Memory: Songlines of the Euahlayi People
Scenario: As described by Kelly, the Euahlayi people of New South Wales used songlines to recall trade routes.

Method: A song narrated a journey past landmarks like rivers and hills, with each verse detailing resources (e.g., ochre at a red cliff) or meeting points. Singing the song while traveling reinforced the memory.

Outcome: This method preserved knowledge for millennia, with oral traditions even recording sea-level rises from 7,000 years ago, validated by modern geology.

These examples illustrate the Journey Method’s power: it’s not just about memorizing but about connecting deeply with place and story. Australian scholars today see it as a bridge between ancient wisdom and modern learning, with applications far beyond its origins.

So what’s all that got to do with BARTENDING???? MEMORIZING CLASSIC, CONTEMPORARY, MODERN, AND TRENDY COCKTAIL AND SHOT RECIPES?


Ahhh… THERE, my friend, is the rub, as Sherlock Holmes would have said.  

It is the beginning of your journey into the mysteries of unlocking your ability to memorize every set of new drinks you will ever need or want to learn, more accurately and in less time than you could have imagined, and with absolute and complete confidence and total accuracy in every detail without having to check – straight from your head – and be able to tell any fellow bartender exactly what the exact recipe is from total, trained, recall.



Now you can move on to Page Two: 
https://uporonthe.rocks/bartending-lessons/mixology-mnemonics/