Flair bartending is the practice of

bartender A bartender (also known as a barkeep or barman or barmaid or a mixologist) is a person who formulates and serves alcoholic or soft drink beverages behind the Bar (establishment), bar, usually in a licensed bar (establishment), establishment as ...

s entertaining guests, clientele or audiences with the manipulation of

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

tools (e.g.

cocktail shaker A cocktail shaker is a device used to mix beverages (usually alcoholic) by shaking. When ice is put in the shaker, this allows for a quicker cooling of the drink before serving. Usage A shaken cocktail is made by putting the desired ingredie ...

s) and

liquor Liquor ( , sometimes hard liquor), spirits, distilled spirits, or spiritous liquor are alcoholic drinks produced by the distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar that have already gone through ethanol fermentation, alcoholic ferm ...

bottles in tricky, dazzling ways. Used occasionally in bars, the action requires skills commonly associated with

jugglers Juggling is a physical skill, performed by a juggler, involving the object manipulation, manipulation of objects for recreation, entertainment, art or sport. The most recognizable form of juggling is toss juggling. Juggling can be the manipula ...

. 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. Flair bartending is sometimes referred to as "extreme bartending" or contracted to "flairtending". The word ''flair'' became popular among practitioners in the mid-1990s. "Flair" is also used as a verb (e.g., "to flair"), referring to any

trickery In mythology and the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a character in a story (god, goddess, spirit, human or anthropomorphisation) who exhibits a great degree of intellect or secret knowledge and uses it to play tricks or otherwise ...

used by a bartender in order to entertain guests while mixing a drink. Flair can include

juggling Juggling is a physical skill, performed by a juggler, involving the manipulation of objects for recreation, entertainment, art or sport. The most recognizable form of juggling is toss juggling. Juggling can be the manipulation of one object o ...

, flipping (bottles, shakers), manipulating flaming

liquors Liquor ( , sometimes hard liquor), spirits, distilled spirits, or spiritous liquor are alcoholic drinks produced by the distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. While the wo ...

or even performing close-up

magic Magic or magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces ** ''Magick'' (with ''-ck'') can specifically refer to ceremonial magic * Magic (illusion), also known as sta ...

tricks (also referred to as "bar-magic"). Flair is showmanship added to bartending that enhances the overall guest experience. The ideas behind

mixology ''Mixology'' is an American sitcom that aired during the 2013–14 television season on ABC. The series was co-created by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, who also serve as co-executive producers with Ryan Seacrest and Nina Wass for Ryan Seacres ...

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. Working flair and exhibition flair are very similar on the grounds that they both require precision and disciplined practice comparable to a circus act, however the use of exhibition flair has become a competition-oriented style where significantly greater risks are being taken. Working flair, which is much more common, focuses more on delivering drinks to customers while still ensuring visual entertainment.

History

The earliest record of a flair bartender is barman Jerry "The Professor" Thomas, who poured fiery streams of boiling water and flaming

whisky Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from Fermentation in food processing, fermented grain mashing, mash. Various grains (which may be Malting, malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, Maize, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky ...

and mixed an original cocktail called the Blue Blazer in the late nineteenth century. Flair bartending was also prominently featured in the 1988 film ''

Cocktail A cocktail is a mixed drink, usually alcoholic beverage, alcoholic. Most commonly, a cocktail is a combination of one or more liquor, spirits mixed with other ingredients, such as juices, flavored syrups, tonic water, Shrub (drink), shrubs, and ...

'' starring

Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962) is an American actor and film producer. Regarded as a Cinema of the United States, Hollywood icon, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Tom Cruise, various accolades, includ ...

, as well as the 2000 movie '' Coyote Ugly.'' The National Day Archives proclaimed June 10th of each calendar year is officially designated as National Flair Bartenders Day.

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 thrown and/or the drink is made. Working flair usually incorporates a "flat" throw, which is when the bottle is released into the air without flipping. This gives an illusion of the bottle floating but reduces the chances of liquid spilling. This also opens the bartender to be able to use similar routines, regardless of what bottle they grab, as the level of liquid is not a factor. 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 an exhibition round was the Quest for the Best Bartender in 1992. The first open competition to have a working flair round was the Quest for the Best Bartender in the World in 1999. The first all working flair bartending competition was the Flair Bartenders Shakedown in 2006 organized by BarWars LLC. 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'' and Independent Flair League in Poland rewards flair and mixology together; competitors gain points for both flair and creative mixology. NATIONS International Flair Challenge and other competitions like Roadhouse World Flair, MBA, and the Athens Flair Open feature pure exhibition flair.

Competition history

In 1986,

T.G.I. Friday's TGI Fridays Franchisor, LLC, doing business as TGI Fridays, is an American casual dining List of restaurant chains, restaurant chain focusing primarily on American cuisine. The restaurant's name stands for "Thank God It's Friday". TGI Fridays op ...

management encouraged their bartenders to show their personalities behind the bar and this resulted in several bartenders (a few being John JB Bandy, John Mescall, and Magic Mike) being sent to the corporate T.G.I. Friday's office in Texas to shoot a bartending video. At the end of 1986, T.G.I. Friday's hosted the first national flair bartending competition called "Bar Olympics" in

Woodland Hills, California Woodland Hills is a neighborhood bordering the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California, United States. History The area was inhabited for around 8,000 years by Native Americans in the United States, ...

. John JB Bandy was the winner of this competition. In 1987, after interviewing 34 bartenders, John JB Bandy was approached across the bar by

Touchstone Pictures Touchstone Pictures was an American film distribution label of Walt Disney Studios, founded and owned by The Walt Disney Company. Feature films released under the Touchstone label were produced and financed by Walt Disney Studios, and featured ...

to assist in training Tom Cruise and

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for the 1988 film, ''Cocktail''. Later that year after filming, John JB Bandy produced the first flair bartending training video called "Olympic Bartending". T.G.I. Friday's is credited for modernizing and popularizing flair bartending in the United States beginning in the mid-1980s because they allowed artistic personality freedom behind the bar. London (Roadhouse) and Orlando (Quest for the Best at Pleasure Island's Manniquins) were the hotbeds of flair bartending in the early and mid-1990s. In 1991, T.G.I. Friday's started its global competition called ''World Bartender Championship''. The global competition has continued to today with divisional champions from across the US,

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and

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an Divisions coming to compete in Carrollton, Texas.T.G.I. Friday's World Bartender Championship Mixologist Profiles
''T.G.I. Friday's World Bartender Championship'' - accessed January 16, 2010

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 Fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) is a magnetic resonance imaging sequence with an inversion recovery set to null fluids. For example, it can be used in brain imaging to suppress cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) effects on the image, so as to ...

(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 US. In 2008 the World Flair Association launched the Grand Slam. A worldwide tournament the includes the best competitions from all over the world. It is seen today as the biggest competition/tournament to win in the world of flair. Bartenders travel far and wide for the Grand Slam events to try and earn the title of Grand Slam World Champion. The Grand Slam events vary each year, being located in Europe, Asia, and America. 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 celebrated its twelfth year in 2010. Some the biggest flair bartending events worldwide include: * Roadhouse World Flair in (Covent Garden) London, UK * Legends of Bartending (Las Vegas, US) — discontinued * Quest (Orlando - the oldest major flair competition in the world) — discontinued * Skyy Global Flair Challenge in 14 different countries including China, UK, Canada, Israel, Czech Republic, Germany, Brazil, Mexico, etc. — discontinued *

Hard Rock Cafe Hard Rock Cafe, Inc. is a chain of theme restaurant, theme bar-restaurants, memorabilia shops, casinos, hotels and museums founded in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton in London. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and roll ...

has conducted a global "BARocker working flair competition since 2013. The

International Bartenders Association The International Bartenders Association (IBA) is an international organisation established in order to represent the most skilled bartenders in the world. It was founded on 24 February 1951. An annual event, both World Cocktail Competition ( ...

was founded in 1951. In 2000, the IBA initiated a World Flair Competition. This event is held at the IBA's annual congress of members, together with the organization's World Classic Cocktail Competition (inaugurated in 1955).

References

External links