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Flair 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.
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 used by a bartender in order to entertain guests while mixing a drink. Flair can include juggling, flipping (bottles, shakers), manipulating flaming 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. 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.
The earliest record of a flair bartender is barman Jerry "The Professor" Thomas, who poured fiery streams of boiling water and flaming whisky and mixed an original cocktail called the Blue Blazer in the late nineteenth century.[ citation needed ]
Flair bartending was also prominently featured in the 1988 film Cocktail starring Tom Cruise, as well as the 2000 movie Coyote Ugly.[ citation needed ]
The National Day Archives proclaimed June 10th of each calendar year is officially designated as National Flair Bartenders Day.
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.
In 1986, T.G.I. Friday's 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. 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 to assist in training Tom Cruise and Bryan Brown 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. [1] The global competition has continued to today with divisional champions from across the US, Latin America and European Divisions coming to compete in Carrollton, Texas. [2] [3]
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 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:
The International Bartenders Association 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).
A bartender is a person who formulates and serves alcoholic or soft drink beverages behind the bar, usually in a licensed establishment as well as in restaurants and nightclubs, but also occasionally at private parties. Bartenders also usually maintain the supplies and inventory for the bar. As well as serving beer and wine, a bartender can generally also mix classic cocktails such as a Cosmopolitan, Manhattan, Old Fashioned, and Mojito.
TGI Fridays Franchisor, LLC, doing business as TGI Fridays, is an American restaurant chain focusing on primarily American cuisine and casual dining. The restaurant's founder said the name stood for "Thank God It's Friday", although as of 2010 some television commercials for the chain have also made use of the phrase, "Thank Goodness It's Friday". TGI Fridays operates over 600 locations in 55 countries, including 233 in the United States.
Various unique terminology is used in bartending.
A shooter, or shot, is a small serving of spirits or a mixed drink, typically consumed quickly, often in a single gulp. It is common to serve a shooter as a side to a larger drink.
A Jack Rose is a cocktail containing applejack, grenadine, and lemon or lime juice. It was popular in the 1920s and 1930s, notably appearing in Ernest Hemingway's 1926 classic, The Sun Also Rises, in which Jake Barnes, the narrator, drinks a Jack Rose in the Crillon Paris hotel bar while awaiting the arrival of Lady Brett Ashley. It was also a favorite drink of author John Steinbeck.
A flaming drink is a cocktail or other mixed drink that contains flammable, high-proof alcohol, which is ignited before consumption. The alcohol may be an integral part of the drink, or it may be floated as a thin layer across the top of the drink. The flames are mostly for dramatic flair. However, in combination with certain ingredients, the flavor of the drink is altered. Some flavors are enhanced, and the process may impart a toasted flavor to some drinks.
The Bar Wizards are a British flair bartending act. They first rose to fame when they were finalists in the first series of the British television talent show Britain's Got Talent in 2007, in which they lost to the eventual winner, singer Paul Potts. The Bar Wizards started off as bartenders but now perform their Tandem Flair Show worldwide, and bartend at private parties.
A Signature drink is any unique or original drink that expresses the nature of the person or establishment creating it.
A well drink or rail drink is an alcoholic beverage or mixed drink made using the lower-cost liquors stored within easy reach of the bartender in the bar's "speed rail", "speed rack", or "well", a rack or shelf at a lower level than the bar that the bartender uses to prepare drinks. In any given establishment, the rail/well liquors available may also be known as the "house pours", "house brands", "house spirits", "pour brands", or "proprietary spirits".
Atilla Iskif is a British, Turkish flair bartender. He has won laurels on the international stage in various countries. He was a 4-time winner of the European Flair Champion and World Champion title. He uses his experience and knowledge to train bartenders across the globe, having trained around 2000 bartenders in 15 countries.
Dan Scoggin is an American businessman and the person credited for expanding nationwide the first casual-theme restaurant, T.G.I. Friday's.
Bartending school refers to private education businesses that teach individuals the many intricacies of serving customers alcohol from behind a bar. This includes not only classes in such topics as drinks mixology: the intricacies of mixing drinks and drink presentation, and the alcohol laws of the city and state, or province, in which the school is situated.
This is an index of drinking establishment-related articles.
Cheryl Charming is an American bar professional and published author of 16 books on cocktails and bartending. She currently works as the Bar Director at the Bourbon "O” Bar in New Orleans, Louisiana, and in 2014 was named the New Orleans Magazine Mixologist of the Year. She is nationally known for her bartending and books.
Speed Rack is a speed bartending competition for women in the United States that was cofounded by bartenders Ivy Mix and Lynnette Marrero. In 2011, Mix approached Marrero, who was the president of the New York City chapter of LUPEC, about creating a competition to showcase talented women in the craft cocktail world. The competition raises funds for Breast Cancer education, prevention and research, while promoting women bartenders in an largely male promoted industry.
Lynnette Marrero is an American bartender, mixologist, and philanthropist known for creating the world's first all-female speed bartending competition, "Speed Rack." She is widely regarded as one of the pioneer female cocktail-specific bartenders in the industry, and is based in New York City.
Takumi Watanabe is a Japanese bartender. He has worked in the Sailing Bar in Sakurai Nara since 1994. He is known for the cocktail Takumi's Aviation.
Gary "Gaz" Regan was a British-born bartender and a writer in the United States. He was known for his book The Joy of Mixology.
Audrey Saunders is an American bartender, considered one of the world's most famous bartenders. She is most well known as the operating partner and creative lead of Pegu Club, a bar in New York City from 2005 to 2020. The bar was one of the most influential in the United States. Since its closure, Saunders and her husband have been developing a retreat for beverage industry members in rural Washington state.
The craft cocktail movement is a social movement spurred by the cocktail renaissance, a period of time in the 21st century characterized by a revival and re-prioritization of traditional recipes and methods in the bar industry, especially in the United States. The renaissance spanned from the early 2000s into the late 2010s. A stricter range is 2004 to 2017: by 2017, high-quality ingredients, techniques, and liquors began to be ubiquitous in bars across the United States, leading writers to declare the renaissance over.