Bar 'rescuer' Jon Taffer, a Royal Palm Beach resident. (Gary Coronado / Palm Beach Post)

Jon Taffer is a scientific genius. But his is the science of shot glasses, measured in beer, bourbon and bartender’s tips.

A 30-year veteran of the bar business since he started slinging drinks in college, new Spike TV host and Royal Palm Beach resident Taffer, 57, has exhaustively studied the way those establishments run. He’s figured out what makes them successful and what makes them fail. And starting this weekend, he’s using the airwaves to save the American bar.

"It’s about the science of human behavior. (The business) is all about creating a reaction," says Taffer, the star of the new show Bar Rescue.

In the first season, starting Sunday, he and a hand-picked stable of international experts, including wife Nicole, hit struggling saloons around the country to help save them from ruin. Make no mistake – Taffer loves the business. But it’s a tough love.

"I’m a nut case," says Taffer, whose Bar Rescue is in the same vein as Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares, starring screaming Scottish chef Gordon Ramsay, and Tabatha’s Salon Takeover, featuring stylist Tabatha Coffey. In each, a very experienced, very no-nonsense professional answers the call of a struggling business and tries to beat the badness right out of them.

But Taffer, a friendly but focused sort, says there are two big differences between those shows and his.

For one, he uses a patented, well-researched management system he calls "Taffer Dynamics." Also, compared with Ramsay, who states his disapproval with dense restaurant owners in so many expletives that you can barely hear the other words, "I think I’m more intense," Taffer says. "What I love about him is that he cares about people. Screaming is not a bad thing. I love his motives."

Remember. He comes in love. And his zealousness is more than business – it’s downright patriotic.

"George Washington was the first distiller in America," he says. "Bars are where the founding fathers met, where the Declaration of Independence was first discussed."

Taffer’s held pretty much every job imaginable in the business. He rose from bartender to manager at venues including Los Angeles’ Troubadour, to award-winning bar operator and owner to business consultant with his own Taffer Dynamics. Currently, he’s the president of the Nightclub and Bar Media Group, including two industry publications, and speaks to professionals in the business. And that business is to make sure that your down time is fun, no matter what.

"I work my butt off," he says. "The perception of the business from the consumers’ (perspective) is that they see the party. All the problems and disasters, they don’t see."

And how do they pick the party? Taffer uses research to teach bar owners how to make customers stay, play and pay.

For instance, Taffer explains that the human eye is automatically drawn to the brightest spot in a room, which is a good place to put things they’ll want to buy. And too many neon lights make women’s skin look bad – and that makes them leave a bar. And red and yellow stimulate food sales.

And, he says, every bar needs a "butt funnel" – a dance floor or other tight spot where people must get close to each other to pass.

"It’s all about social interaction," says Taffer, who visits bars from biker dives to upscale martini lounges.

Thousands of bars closed nationwide last year, the show’s intro states, and Taffer says the struggling ones have a few things in common.

"The connection between the customers and the employees has fallen apart. Eighty percent of the people running them aren’t meant to be in the bar business. I can’t teach you to look someone in the eye, to smile. I can’t teach you to care."

As much trouble as some bars are in, Taffer says he’s proud of his industry for many reasons, including what he calls a proactive approach to drunk driving. And all he’s trying to do is protect it.

"Gordon Ramsay gave people a new appreciation for restaurants, for trying new foods," he says. "I want to do that for the bar industry. It’s worthy of respect."

Jon Taffer’s Favorite Watering Holes:

Cityplace: “That’s a fantastic development, the epitome of what makes a great destination. It was literally place-making. The city created a place to go where you don’t even have to spend any money. You can sit in the courtyard and drink your coffee. It’s special.”

E.R. Bradley’s: “It’s a wonderful institution, a restaurant with great food. that becomes a successful dance club. You can sit there at 10 p.m. and see the place go through a metamorphosis.”

Blue Martini: “It’s a chain, but a good one.”