Tag Archives: Flair Bartending

Bar Chef Finals – Winter 2011

Have you wished you could jump behind a bar with hundreds of ingredients, tastes, and ideas and be able to create the cocktail of your dreams?

On April 4th, 2011 the BartenderOne Bar Chef Finals took place at Empire Lounge in Toronto in Yorkville. As students, the mixologists had completed tasting over five hundred different spirits, bitters, liqueurs, sweeteners, types of citrus, infused foams and spirits, along with homemade syrups.

As mixologists, the students were asked to create an original cocktail from each of the 5 spirit categories. The cocktails could have been made with anything that the mixologists could think of; but were required to hold dear the traditional balanced cocktail theory. While they did have guidelines for balance, there were none for flavour profiles or presentation. Mixologists could incorporate elements that were taught in class such as: infusion, fatwashing, bruleeing, molecular mixology, spherification, custom foams, misting and much more.

As the student mixologists watched tentatively, their cocktails were tasted by three of Toronto’s top mixologists; Rob Montgomery, Gavin MacMillan and Scott McMaster. The students were were delighted to see that their hard work and development had paid off. The judges were impressed by all of the thought and effort that was incorporated into the final cocktails. The mixologists showed that they weren’t scared to test some boundaries in coming up with their very own recipes, and here are the top cocktails entered:

VODKA COCKTAILS

Strawbarb Bullets by Krissy Calkins

Strawbarb Bullets by Krissy Calkins

STRAWBARB BULLETS – By Mixologist Krissy Calkins

2/3 oz Strawberry reduction (no sugar added)
1/3 oz Rhubarb reduction (no sugar added)
1 oz Vodka
Shaken on Ice
Strain into Chocolate Cups
Float – Vanilla bean infused simple syrup on top
Served on a bed of Gram Crackers

Rainbow 1943 By Elizabeth Saad

Rainbow 1943 By Elizabeth Saad

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Flair Bartender Profile – Justin Keane

Justin Keane

Fancy some flair?

Justin Keane

Age: 29

Nationality: U.S.A

Employer: Carnaval Court at Harrah’s Las Vegas

Years Flairing: 6

I asked Justin A few questions and found out some interesting facts.

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Raring to Flair?

Burn baby burn

Burn baby burn

Where do I start?

One of the challenges that people face when learning how to become a flair bartender, is figuring out where to start. People are very eager to start juggling 4 bottles off the start, but that is bit of a stretch. Begin with easy, high impact – low risk moves that you will be able to execute with confidence with a little practice.

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Flair Bartender Profile – Tom Dyer

Tom Dyer

Tom Dyer

BARTENDER PROFILE: TOM DYER
Age: 26 Years Old
Nationality: England:
Lives: LONDON (England)
Bartending: 8 Years
Flairing: 7 Years

Tom Dyer is one of the world’s best and most innovative flair bartenders.

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Do you Dare to Flair?

Flair in action!

Flair in action!

It seems every bar you go to these days, you will see someone throwing bottles in the air, jumping up on the bar, or lighting something on fire. Flair bartending is the term used to describe these actions. It is showmanship mixed with bartending to enhance the guest’s overall experience.

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Simple Recipes from the World’s Best Bars!

A Negroni Sbagliato uses sparkling wine instead of Gin.

A Negroni Sbagliato uses sparkling wine instead of Gin.

Honey Suckle Cocktail from Milk and Honey in London, England
50ml               Cuban rum
20ml               honey syrup
20ml               fresh lime juice
Shake all ingredients over ice and strain into chilled Coupe or Martini glass. Garnish with a lime wedge.
 
Negroni Sbagliato from Bar Basso in Milan, Italy
50ml               sparkling wine
50ml               sweet vermouth
50ml               Campari
Stir all ingredients over ice in ballon shaped wine glass. Serve immediately.
 
Bondi Crush from Iceberg’s In Sydney, Australia
30ml               Bombay Sapphire Gin
15ml               Pimm’s No.1
1tsp                 finely shredded mint
ginger ale to top
Fill a highball glass with crushed ice. Add first  three ingredients and stir well. Top with ginger ale and stir again. Garnish with mint sprig and serve.
 
Heels Race from The High Heels Bar In Cairo, Egypt
30ml               vodka
15ml               Kahlua           
15ml               peach schnapps
Shake all ingredients over ice and strain into chilled martini glass. Garnish with fresh red cherry and serve.
 
Stay thirsty,

Rob Montgomery, The Miller Tavern
*For the record, you can’t buy my love!  I have tried all products mentioned and have no affiliation with parent companies.

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Regulars – The Life Blood of your Business!

Cheers is a fairly good example of keeping your regulars. Everyone knew everyones name - It was almost a family!

Cheers is a fairly good example of keeping your regulars. Everyone knew everyones name - It was almost a family!

Most bars have a small group of regular clientele that frequent their establishment. They are the loyal clients who, more often than not, tip well and don’t ask for any special kind of service. In many cases they are the types who spend thousands a year in your bar or restaurant. They are the cornerstones of your business, you certainly can’t afford to lose them, so the question clearly is how do you keep them and how do you get more of them?

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Where has all Your Profit Gone?

Your money is flying away; you'd better catch it!

Your money is flying away; you'd better catch it!

2011 is going to be an amazing year. The economy is coming out of a recession, people are opening their wallets again, and sales outlooks are all positive for the next 12 months. 2011 will also be a banner year in terms of opportunities to invest in your business. At times like these, traditional service industry staff turnover rates of 50%-65% plummet; and the employees in your bar are more loyal than ever before.

This column will be a four part directive for making your bar more profitable through systems and training. I’ll give you techniques and numbers that will make your bar more profitable… Guaranteed. In this issue, I’ll be discussing commonly overlooked areas where your bar is bleeding money. In the next issue I’ll tackle the importance of training your staff to stay ahead of industry trends so you’re offering beverage products and service that will make your guests come back for more with cash in hand… read on!

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Moving up to Cocktails!

Would you rather receive the tip from a Rum & Coke ($4) or a $10 Cocktail? Be the difference between an 'Order taker' and a 'Mixologist'.

Would you rather receive the tip from a Rum & Coke ($4) or a $10 Cocktail? Be the difference between an 'Order taker' and a 'Mixologist'.

Vodka sodas and Gin and tonics are fine, but as Canada starts making a move to catch up with the cocktail epicentres of the world, it’s time to take a serious look at your cocktail offering. Many restaurants are still stuck in the late 1990’s Martini cocktail phase, where drinks full of liqueurs and postmix juices, served in oversized martini glasses. Those days are gone, and the cocktails that are replacing those juicy martinis are elegant, sophisticated drinks, full of flavour and ripe with profitability.

We have all heard of suggestive selling, but few servers practice, many simply fall into the rut of being an order taker. It’s worth noting over 50% of drinkers are unaware of price at the time that they place the order, and that over 60% of guests will take the advice or recommendation of a server or bartender. so taking your guests from a Vodka and Cranberry to a Cosmopolitan should really be a piece of cake. The ingredients hardly differ at all, simply decrease the amount of Cranberry and add a splash of orange liqueur. The cost differential is minimal but your opportunity to sell the end product for a premium is tremendous.

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2010 Year in Review

The noted and extremely simple Sazerac.

The noted and extremely simple Sazerac.

It is a very exciting time to be in the bar business. There have been few times since the repeal of Prohibition that cocktails have been at the forefront of the media and the public conscience, backed by bartenders who are now considering themselves Mixologists and Bar Chefs.

Classic cocktails are back in a big way across the country. Led by great cocktail bars from the St. John Alehouse in the east to Clives Classic Lounge in Victoria on the left coast, passionate mixologists are taking a fresh approach to cocktails. It’s not just in the privately owned cocktail bars either. Major chains across the country are adopting new (and old) cocktails, techniques like muddling fresh fruits and herbs, and looking at their beverage programs differently than we did when big juicy martinis were all the rage.

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