Flair Bartending Rocks

Many people who've been around long enough will automatically associate falir bartending with the movie "Cocktail." No matter what the majority of people might think, that movie did not create flair bartending. It may have brought the use of flair to a new level of attention, but flair has been around for literally over a century.

Flair in bartending has existed since the late 19th century and is credited to bartender Jerry Thomas invented a drink called "The Blue Blazer." While making this original drink, which would become very popular, Thomas would light a glass of Scotch on fire and pour the stream of fire from one glass to another, putting on a show as he mixed the drink.

After this, the next evolutionary step for flair bartenders took place thanks to the street entertainment of the Vaudeville era with jugglers. Many of these moves are still used in flair acts today.

Then, yes, finally, in 1988, a movie starring Tom Cruise called Cocktail was released and brought flair bartending to the general public.

After that movie bartenders everywhere began flipping bottles and going on to learn more about flair. Now flair bartending is common in many places, and huge flair competitions occur in Las Vegas and elsewhere, some of which even make it onto ESPN. Flair bartending is definitely here to stay.

Is any education/school needed?
Technically, no. While obviously you need to actually learn how to do all the moves involved with flair bartending, you do not need to become "officially certified" and while most major bartending schools offer classes on both working flair and show flair, you can still self teach yourself and land a job. The most important part is demonstrating a solid understanding of the skills necessary.

How do I get work as a flair bartender?
There are a lot of ways to go. Ask around. Apply to bars or shows that have a demand for flair bartenders. Start a catering service that involves show flair, compete in competitions, or go talk to bar owners of "hip" joints offering to add your skills to spice up the place even more. There are many different ways to go about finding the right flair bartending position for your skills.

Can I teach myself?
Absolutely. There are many excellent flair bartending kits and instructional videos sold on Amazon.com, among many other places, which will help show you how tricks and moves are done and teach you to do the same.

What do flair bartenders make?
As with any job in bartending, pay is going to vary based on the location, job itself, bar, and whether you are using working or show flair or both. One of the great advantages of flair bartending is the ability to shoot your tips up through the roof with entertaining movements that can often cause tips on a drink by drink basis.

What is working flair?
There are technically two types of flair, which are outlined by the Flair Bartender's Association (FBA). Working flair is the ability to pour several drinks at once, serve out several in one fluid motion, and basically make you as efficient and fluid as possible: getting the most out of the least movement. This is not what most people think of when you mention flair bartending, but it is still an excellent skill to have that makes you more valuable and more employable.

What is show flair?
Show flair is what most people think of when they hear flair bartending mentioned, and this includes the fancy throws, flips, balancing bottles, odd angle pours, and everything else that makes flair bartending competitions so entertaining to watch. The showy type of flair, which is what most people associate with a flair bartender, is part of "show flair."

What is the FBA (Flair Bartender's Association)?
The Flair Bartender's Association is an organization dedicated to flair bartending and often holds competitions, prints the latest news, and acts as an organization to represent the interests of bartenders with this particular skill.

There are two main paths that trainees can take towards becoming a professional flair bartender. The first is to attend a bartending school and take classes on both working flair and show flair. This is the direction that many people take, choosing to get formal training and some schools even give "certification" although there is no "official flair bartending certification" that is absolutely required to get a job. as a flair bartender. The other method is to buy a flair bartending DVD course and the flair bartending training kit in order to practice over and over at home until you have the moves down pat. This is a perfectly acceptable way of learning this skill, and one that many people choose to pursue. If you're applying for a flair bartender job, you're going to have to show your moves. A bad flair bartender can't hide behind a certification, while a self-taught individual has every ability to impress and wow with their perfection of the flair bartending skills. Either road can lead to a successful career in this field.