And For those
of you in the UK & Europe you can claim a variety of Flair
Products from Drinkstuff.com
---------------------
Carnaval Court is
currently viewed as the undisputed #1 Flair Bar in the world by
flair bartenders. However, many experts including several Carnaval
Court Headliners agree that Maloney's in Southport (UK) is a better
Flair Bar in many ways, just not nearly as well-known as it is
hidden in a remote part of England, far from any major city and does
not staff any World Champions.
The term flair
bar was first coined by FBA co-founder and first president, Toby Ellis, in 1997. Ellis (ranked #7 on the FBA Pro Tour as
of March 2006) also started the first website devoted to Flair
Bartending in 1997, BarMagic.com and is considered one of the foremost
authorities in the world on Flair Bartending.
Ellis opened
Flair Bars most notably in Las Vegas (Shadow,
Caesars Palace), Hawaii (Jackie's Kitchen), South Africa
(Sequoias) and has provided flair consultation and training for TGI
Friday's, Kahunaville, Caesars Palace, Isle of Capri Casinos, Winter
Park Ski Resort, Tavern on the Green and on Food Network Television.
Other highly
influential flair bartenders in the past 20 years include John
"J.B." Bandy (trained Tom Cruise for Movie "Cocktail"), Alan Mays
(other co-founder of FBA and former World Champion), Leigh Miller
(World Champion and opened numerous flair bars around Europe and
Asia), Adam Browning Hill (UK Pioneer).
Danny Fox (UK
Pioneer), Bill Long (former World Champion and credited with
"discovering" Christian Delpech and jump-starting the Argentinean
Scene), Jim Allison (FBA President), Dean Serneels (Inventor of
Flair Bottle), Mike McLean (most experienced flair competition judge
to date), Scott Young (Canadian Pioneer).
Jason Jelicich
(Australian Champion and Pioneer), Luis "Iceman" Herrera (World
Finalist and FBA Board Member), Rick Barcode (National Champion,
World Finalist, creator of Flairbar.com and owner of first-ever
24-hour Flair Bar in Las Vegas, The Red Room Saloon ([1])
and Paul Drewery (Bar Manager at World's Top Ranked Flair Bar,
Maloney's in Southport/UK.)
Other prominent
flair influences include Showtenders ([3]), FlairDevils ([4]), Flairco ([5]), BarMagic ([6]), Shakers ([7]), Xtreme Bartending ([8])
and Bar Wizards International ([9])
all who provide tandem flair shows that are famous, and personality
bartenders are in demand for shows worldwide; including Christian
Delpech.
Tim "Flippy"
Morris, Ken Hall, Erin Connelly, Toby Ellis, Tony Cogburn, Steve
Pacheco, Vache Manoukian, Ati Tedesco, Neil Garner, Neil Lowrey and
Steve "Stretch" Harman. All these world-class, flair-based companies
provide flair consultation, training, and produce shows all over the
world. Florida-based Showtenders was the first of these companies,
pre-dating the rest by almost ten years.
Dean Serneels
invented the Original Flairco Flair Bottle, the plastic training
bottle used to learn flair bartending in 1997 and also the portable
Flairco Flair Bar. Serneels (37) is the oldest active competing
flair bartender to make the finals of a major event.
American Toby
Ellis (35) is the second-oldest active competing flair bartender to
make the finals of a major event and the oldest flair bartender to
be ranked in the top 10 of the FBA Pro Tour Leader Board. Steve
"Nitro" Smith is believed to be the oldest flair bartender to win a
World Championship, winning Roadhouse in 2000 after 10 years of
competing professionally.
A popular online
monthly magazine devoted to flair is FlairBar.com ([10]).
Flairbar.com is the official online magazine for the FBA and
features video clips, competition and video reviews, interviews of
top flair bartenders and monthly feature columns written by industry
experts.
The earliest
record of a flair bartender is legendary barman Jerry "The
Professor" Thomas who poured fiery streams of boiling water and
scotch mixed an original cocktail called "The Blue Blazer" all
around the world in the mid 1800s. Thomas is also considered the
grandfather of "Mixology" as he wrote the first bartender's recipe
book known as the Bon Vivant's Companion in 1862.
As of May 2006,
the top four flair bartenders on the 2006 FBA Leader Board (in
order) are (1) Vache Manoukian (Armenia/USA), (2) Levi Donaldson
(USA), (3) Justin Keane (USA) and (4) Rodrigo Delpech
(Argentina/USA).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flair_bartending
Some
folks are fans of flair bartending, and some are against it.
Most of what I hear from my fellow bartenders is that they are
against it, and say that they are more about the speed and making
the money.
Truthfully,
I would bet money on an active bartender to do a better job
in speed and accuracy than some other bartender that thinks
a "chic" bartender just flips bottles and has no idea of what
speed means behind the bar.
Which
asks the main question “Flair bartenders versus regular bartenders”,
which would you rather be? Have you ever worked with a bartender
that did nothing but flamboyance, and had no eyes on the bar
and incoming guests.
It's
funny in a frustrating way. If you have been there then you
must know. I stress that a true flair bartender is a complete
bartender.
Not
only do they flip bottles and other objects, but also obtain
the abilities to pour stylish and accurately, communicate well
with everyone, take multiple drink orders at one time, team
bartend, smile, remember names.
And
what that guest is drinking to an extent, handle problems, perform
consistent and proper mechanics, stay alert, maintain a clean
bar top, be spill-proof (a flair bartender must learn), and
create a clientele that always comes back.
I
believe that would represent a complete bartender. Then again,
this is my opinion and my opinion only and which I am impressed
with bartenders whom I witness perform this way.
Now just to the subject of flipping bottles, tins and training
for a competition, or just practicing, or even just starting
out. I know people who practice over 5 hours a day and it shows
in their talents.
Unfortunately
most of us have a schedule that does not allow us to practice
for such a long duration. Flair bartending takes patience. It
takes knowing your own abilities and timing more than anything.
Once
you find your own groove, as I like to say, the best way to
find your groove is starting from the basics. Going too big
to soon will bring a lot of speed bumps in the near future in
this sport, or any sport. this type of bartending allows you
to be creative.
Along
with that, you must have a certain degree of determination,
interest, patience, belief, energy, coordination, and time.
'Elegance' is not a substitute for bartending but an addition
to the fun behind the bar.
As
you practice more, the more you will become confident and be
able to perform more difficult tricks. But remember, start
from the basics and as you feel yourself getting comfortable
and consistent. Go bigger little by little until you know and
feel that you could just sling it!
So if you remember anything from this, just remember , there
are a lot of people who are uninformed on the truth behind what
flair bartending is. this type of bartending is an additional
skill to the trade that develops a more complete bartender in
ways more than just flipping bottles and tins.
It
makes bartending a fun and entertaining profession. It comes
from hard work, dedication, valuable time, patience, and most
of all, an individual’s interest, influenced by many to bring
any one interested, unique entertainment.
The Art of
Flairing
FLAIR
BARTENDING: Past
There have
always been entertaining bartenders who worked with style, and
the first true flair bartender was active 150 years ago: Jerry
Thomas toured Europe and America with his bartending show, the
highpoint of which was a fire-show involving pouring whiskey on
fire between two solid-silver-lined goblets!
Modern
flair bartending grew up in the 1970s, when the new singles bars
(designed to attract women as well as men) opened, often
employing out-of-work actors, comedians and street performers as
waiters and bartenders. Soon, bottles, glassware and fruit were
being juggled, and the guests loved it. Flair even made it onto
the big screen with the 1988 film ´Cocktail´.
Present
Nowadays,
flair had advanced much further than Jerry Thomas could have
ever dreamed of. Bars and restaurants that feature flair
bartenders have grown to massive international chains, and flair
bartenders are some of the highest earning in the industry.
The art of
flair has also advanced and split into the fast, every day moves
(called ´working flair´) and the showy, high-risk,
performance-oriented moves (called ´exhibition flair´). For the
truly dedicated, there are hundreds of contests per year,
featured on national and international TV programs, offering
thousands of dollars in prize money.
Contests
You don’t
have to compete to be a good flair bartender, but many
bartenders recognize that contests are the best way to improve
their skills fast, and also be inspired by others. The best
contests feature separate rounds testing working flair and
exhibition flair, but also speed drink making, accurate free
pouring and cocktail knowledge.
Stop working hard and start succeeding. A career in bartending may be the answer! Click here to receive your FREE DVD.
By putting the word “flair” into
the search phrase box of The Authentic Bartender Barstore , there are a variety of flair products for yourself.
Also from The BarShop are the following items for you as well:-
Flair Bottles
Flair Tools
Flair Videos
And For those
of you in the UK & Europe you can claim a variety of Flair
Products from Drinkstuff.com
---------------------
LEARNING
FLAIR: Make Time
Set a time
and place where you can train. Training twice a week for one
hour will produce better results, faster, than training for
three hours once a week. You’re also more likely to keep to a
twice-a-week-for-an-hour schedule.
Make Space
Choose a
space where bottles dropping on the floor won’t break, and where
the sound won’t bother others, and where a mis-thrown bottle
won’t go through a TV screen or a window.
Train
Set goals
for the session, (´i will learn how to throw a bottle over my
shoulder and land it on my hand´), and stop for a moment after
every drop. Analyze why you dropped, and adjust your technique
until you're not dropping anymore. Choose a move and train until
you can do it 10 times in a row, perfectly.
Be
realistic
When you
can do the move 10 times in a row, put a couple of shots (max.
2oz./60ml) of water in the bottle and a pourspout, and train to
do the move 10 times in a row without spilling. If you spill,
analyze why you spilled, and adjust your technique until you´re
not spilling anymore. Try to apply the move to shakers, glasses,
straws, ice and garnish fruit, so your flair is more versatile.
LEARNING
WORKING FLAIR:
Working
flair moves are moves that can be done very quickly, have little
or no risk of dropping or spilling, require no special
preparation or props. Working flair can be done with everything
you use to make drinks, including full bottles.
Combinations
Start
making combinations of moves into small routines. Remember: only
do a routine in public if you are totally confident of all the
moves in it, and make sure your transitions (from move to move)
are smooth.
Be Humble
Don’t
become arrogant and cocky because you can pull off a few moves:
make sure guests still get served quickly and that you don’t
neglect guests so you can flair. Even the best performers
sometimes miss their cue or forget their lines. Stay
good-humored and humble about your flair, and guests will
appreciate it even more.
Be
Ruthless
When
you’re training at home, make it deliberately hard on yourself.
Make a training bar even smaller and more cramped than the one
you have at work. Wet your bottles so they are slippery. Then,
when you perform at the bar, your moves will be much more
confident and smooth.
LEARNING
EXHIBITION FLAIR:
Exhibition
flair is the hardest of all, and because it requires special
preparation, props and lots of moves that slow down drink making
and are risky. It is absolutely not suited to work behind a
normal bar.
Get some
Perspective
Train with
a fellow flair bartender who can tell how your routines look, or
tape yourself with a camcorder. Watch the tape, and adjust your
performance. Don’t just look at your moves, look at the whole
performance. Are you smiling? Acknowledging the crowd? Do you
look confident, in control? Does your routine have ´highs and
lows´? Do you build towards a high point?
Show it
off
The best
way to learn and perform flair is at a show or contest. Commit
yourself to putting on a show or entering a contest, and train
for it.
Package It
Exhibition
flair is about performance, and the more performance skills you
have in addition to flair, the better. Learn a few single magic
tricks, get a cool costume, choreograph to the music and use
some comedy in your routine. All this will make your flair look
better.
Push The
Envelope
Get
inspiration for new moves and combinations by attending contests
and training, and also studying other performance arts like
juggling. Be careful when learning new moves, and always use a
plastic bottle for learning new moves.
--Taken
from the leaflet you get--when
purchasing a Bols Flair Bottle! - posted June ´04
