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 practice, 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.
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The earliest record of a flair bartender is legendary/epic 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 19th century. Cheryl Charming was the first to get a small flair bartending history and basic flair moves section published in her 5th book, Miss Charming's Guide for Hip Bartenders and Wayout Wannabes in 2005.
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 1998.
The first open competition to have a working flair round was the 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 and Independent Flair League (IFL) 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, Athens Flair Open feature pure exhibition flair where the biggest and best moves are shown.
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, CA. 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 Productions to assist in training Tom Cruise and Bryan Brown for the 1988 film, Cocktail. Later that year after filming, John JB Bandy produced the very 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 USA, Latin America and European Divisions come to compete in Carrollton, Texas USA.[2][3] Recently, Las Vegas has become the flair capital of the world, with London a close second. The countries currently producing the most top competitors right now are Uruguay, Argentina, Ukraine, Italy, the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan.
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 celebrated its 12th year in 2010.
Some the biggest flair bartending events all over the World includes
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 organisation's World Classic Cocktail Competition (inaugurated in 1955).
The newest major events to gain credibility among top competitors include:
Major events almost always have a prize money of US $20,000 or more, and most of today's majors including Legends, Nations, Quest and Roadhouse World Flair in London.
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. 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.
No woman has yet won a flair world championship, though the women listed here regularly place in the top ten 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.
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