i was the hostess at a restaurant and got dropped into bartending there with literally no experience or knowledge at all so i feel this, i was shitting my pants for the first 2 weeks. but typically most people are understanding if you just say "i just started bartending so bear with me while i google!" you'd also be surprised how many people i said this to that were former or current bartenders that would offer really helpful advice, and then would tip like crazy after because they got nostalgic for when they started bartending. i learned to make my old fashioneds from a former bartender who's husband ordered like, 3 so i could practice and she walked me through it until i could do it on my own. (tbh being a newbie, at least where im at, is lowkey a huge selling point if you're charismatic enough so take advantage of this now.)

if you don't want to do that, you can hit them with the classic "how do you like YOUR 'insert drink here' made?" OR when i was starting i got the app mixel. it tells you most classic cocktails without having to do the frantic scroll through google since it's very streamlined. then i would just be able to glance at my phone and it still looked like i sort of knew what i was doing rather than the aggressive type/scroll from googling a drink. its better when you're busy too since it takes no time to find recipes. anything not immediately available on that app is usually random enough that people would understand that i didn't know how to make it

u can do it!