Flair bartending

thumb|right|300px|Flair bartendingFlair bartending is the practice of bartenders entertaining guests, clientele or audiences with the manipulation of bar tools (e.g. cocktail shakers) and liquor bottles in tricky, dazzling ways. Used occasionally in cocktail bars, the action requires skills commonly associated with jugglers. It has become a sought-after talent among venue owners and marketers to help advertise a liquor product or the opening of a bar establishment. Competitions have been sponsored by liquor brands to attract flair bartenders, and some hospitality training companies hold courses to teach flair techniques.

Formerly referred to as "extreme bartending", the word "flair" became popular among practitioners in the mid 1990s. Also used as a verb (e.g "to be flairing"), the word refers to any trickery used by a bartender in order to entertain guests while mixing a drink. Flair can include juggling, flipping (bottles, shakers), manipulating flammable liquors or even performing close-up magic tricks (also referred to as "bar-magic").

Flair is showmanship added to bartending that enhances the overall guest experience. The ideas behind mixology and drink-oriented or service-minded bartending can still be upheld with the correct application of working flair. Recently, there is a noticeable rise in bartenders combining prominent mixology knowledge and working flair skills all over the world.

Overview

Flairing is loosely definable as any "trick" or manipulation performed with the equipment or ingredients in the course of making a drink. Flair tricks can range from simply throwing an ice cube in the air and catching it in a glass to juggling several bottles of spirits. Thousands of people across the world practice flairing, both as professional bar staff and as a hobby. Although it is mainly seen in cocktail bars or "flair bars," some staff in ordinary bars learn to flair to break the monotony of the job. Flair can be split up into working flair and exhibition flair, with the key factor being that working flair must be low-risk and provide quick customer service when working. Exhibition flairing involves attempting highly technical and difficult manipulations that may not involve the production of a drink at all, but are intended to showcase the performer's skills.

History

The earliest record of a flair bartender is legendary barman Jerry "The Professor" Thomas, who poured fiery streams of boiling water and whisky and mixed an original cocktail called the Blue Blazer in the late 1800s.

Today the Flair Bartenders Association (FBA) is the recognized global authority on the sport, with membership of over 11,000 individual bartenders in more than 140 countries. The FBA is based in the United States but has representatives living in many countries and sanctions events all over the world.

Flair competitions

Both working flair and exhibition flair can be seen in competitions, depending on the rules and regulations of each event. The important distinction between working flair and exhibition flair is not so much the level of liquid in the bottles (though that is a criterion) but the speed in which the bottle is flair and/or the drink is made. The accepted definition of working flair is "flair that does not noticeably slow service," usually involving bottles filled to various levels (as in a real work situation) that are quickly manipulated and then poured. Exhibition flair almost always involves bottles that are often pre-set with less than 2 ounces (60ml) specifically for flipping. Exhibition flair often involves longer sequences and routines, multiple objects, and performances choreographed to music. The first open competition to have a working flair round was Quest for the Best Bartender in the World in 1998.

There are different styles of flair bartending competitions. "Legends of Bartending" World Bartender Championships test the bartender on four disciplines of bartending, accuracy, speed, working flair and exhibition flair. The "Blue Blazer" rewards flair and mixology together, competitors gain points for both flair and creative mixology. NATIONS International Flair Challenge is pure exhibition flair where the biggest and best moves are shown.

Competition history

The earliest known competition for flair bartending was held by T.G.I. Friday's in Marina Del Rey, California around 1985. Management noticed bartender John Mescall's talent for juggling bottles while pouring drinks and decided to hold an in-store competition, which they later took national. Mescall was a bit hesitant, because other Friday's bartenders saw his art more of a nuisance when they were forced by management to flair as well. He made a couple of "how-to" videos for TGI Friday's and later worked with John J.B. Bandy in what was probably the first ever flairtending video, "Olympic Bartending". The earliest world champanionship for flair bartending was held by T.G.I. Friday's in 1987 for their bartenders, and was won by John J.B. Bandy, who went on to train Tom Cruise and Bryan Brown for the 1988 Movie "Cocktail". TGI Friday's is credited for modernizing and popularizing flair bartending in the United States beginning in the mid 1970s. London and Orlando were the hotbeds of flair bartending in the early and mid 1990s. Currently, Las Vegas is the flair capital of the world, with London a close second. The countries currently producing the most top competitors right now are Argentina, Ukraine, Italy, the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan.

Current competitions

There are hundreds of flair bartending competitions around the world each year, most of which are local and not well publicized. In 2005 the Flair Bartenders Association (FBA) launched the "FBA Pro Tour", a linked series of events where competitors earn points toward the title Pro Tour Champion at the end of the year. In 2007 there were 14 events on the Pro Tour with 7 of them located in the USA.

Five-Time World Champion Ken Hall and Jim Allison, president of the FBA, organized six of those seven events. The flagship flair bartending event is "Legends of Bartending", which will enter its tenth year in 2008.

Most of the other biggest flair-based competitions in the world are also held in North America, including:

* Quest (Orlando, the oldest major flair competition in the world)
* Best in the West (Las Vegas)
* Nations (Las Vegas)

The newest major events to gain credibility among top competitors include:

* Flair Castle (Ukraine)
* Big Apple Showdown (New York City)
* Paris Flair Open (Paris)
* Flair Vegas (Las Vegas)
* Bacardi Pro Flair (Moscow)
* The Blue Blazer Challenge (Las Vegas).

Major events almost always have a grand prize purse of US $20,000 or more, and most of today's majors including Legends, Nations, and Quest are endorsed by the sanctioning body of the sport, the FBA.

Flair bars

The term flair bar was first coined by FBA co-founder and first president, Toby Ellis, in 1997. Ellis also started the first website devoted to flair bartending in 1997, Bar Magic. Fact|date=June 2008 Ellis opened flair bars most notably in Las Vegas (Shadow, Caesar's Palace), Hawaii (Jackie's Kitchen), and 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.

Top current flair bars

*Carnaval Court (Harrah's Casino, Las Vegas)
*Maloney's (Southport, UK)
*The Red Room Saloon (W Sahara Ave, Las Vegas)
*Shadow Bar (Caesars Palace, Las Vegas)
*Roadhouse (Covent Garden, UK)
*Kahunaville (TI Casino, Las Vegas)
*VooDoo Lounge (Rio Casino, Las Vegas)
*iBar (Rio Casino, Las Vegas)
*B@1 (London)
*Rockin' Taco (California)
*Kahunaville (Kalahari Resort, Wisconsin Dells)
*VooDoo Lounge (Harrah's Casino, North Kansas City)
*Purple TWIST (Harrah's Casino, North Kansas City)
*Tavern @ Phipps (Phipps Plaza, Atlanta)
*Fitzgerald's FSE Bar (Fremont Street, Las Vegas)
*Lloyd's Bar (Guildford, UK)

Flair bartenders considered to be the best in the world competitively by their peers include the following. Fact|date=June 2008

Men

* Nicholas St Jean (France)
* Rodrigo Delpech (Argentina/USA)
* Christian Delpech (Argentina/USA)
* Vladimir Buryanov (Ukranie)
* Tim "Flippy" Morris (USA)
* Tom Dyer (UK)
* Danilo Oribe (Uruguay/USA)
* Adriano Marcellino (Argentina/UK)
* "Handsome" Dan Krajc (USA)

Women

*Erin Connelly (USA)
*Ati Tedesco (Argentina/USA)
*Ange Alexander (South Africa)
*Robyn Closson (USA)
*Essie Nummenin (Sweden/USA)
*Terri Leeseberg (USA)
*Vicky Patris (South Africa/UK)

A woman has not yet won a flair world championship, though the women mentioned regularly place in the top 10 or better at major competitions.

To date, there has not been a competition that has fielded all or most of the top active competitive flair bartenders. In 2008 the FBA Pro Tour split into Americas and World as close to half of the events were already in the USA. Each year the FBA adjusts the Pro Tour to make adjustments to the sport that are helping to create a fair and balanced competitive field.

External links

* [http://www.alltheflair.com All The Flair]
* [http://www.bartender.com BARTENDER Magazine]
* [http://www.flairbartending.com FlairBartending.com]
* [http://www.the-authentic-bartender.com The Authentic Bartender]