I have had the pleasure of working in all walks of the service industry, from roadhouses to fine dining establishments as a bartender, but never in the fast-paced environment of a nightclub until recently…
My nightclub cherry has been popped in Toronto as a flair bartender and it has been a great experience. Going from having no customers one minute to being completely slammed the next; with no time to breathe or think; and then… bartender instinct suddenly kicks in.
In the world of bartending, nothing is more exciting than flair bartending. Yet in the same breath, nothing has more of a negative image attached to it as well.
The first record of flair bartending is accredited to “The Professor” Jerry Thomas from San Francisco, who in the mid 1800’s included some flair in his Blue Blazer cocktail by rolling flaming Scotch from one mug to another.
The late 1980’s saw a big boost in the number of flair bartenders after Tom Cruise’s character Brian Flanagan wowed his guests from behind the bar in the movie Cocktail.
So with all the excitement, why all the negativity?
As the wheels of time go by, my role with BartenderOne presents me with amazing opportunities at every turn, this is one very special example…
Seven months ago I was enjoying a casual pint at the Loose Moose after an exciting flair event for BartenderOne, when my good friend and resident bartender Jenna Inglis approached me and asked if I was interested in being a part of her charity event. I immediately responded with a YES before even knowing any of the details, head first, right into the deep end! One pint naturally led to another and another. The next morning amidst a giant headache I was reminded of what I had commited to the night before. After hearing all the details I was very excited and happy to be part of such an amazing experience, and wanted to work further with Jenna to make the charity event one to remember.
I’ll confess. Tales of the Cocktail 2011 took its toll on me. While in New Orleans I missed my seminar on “Vinegar: The Other Acid” due to a self-induced illness from the previous evening. But when my seminar on “A History of Cocktail Glassware” was cancelled due to Angus Winchester’s legitimate illness, I was only disappointed until I heard the next piece of news. The ticket had become an all-powerful talisman that allowed me admission into ANY other seminar, including those previously sold out.
Everyone always expects bartenders to throw one hell of a party and being the top bartending school in Canada we knew we had a world of pressure on our shoulders’ with the concept of hosting a graduate party in the summer of 2011. We wanted to bring all our past graduates together to mix and give them a chance to bartend for other graduates – yes you read correctly, our graduates were bartending at the party for other guests, pretty neat idea!
Have you ever tasted a cocktail and thought hmmm I could definitely do a better job myself? Or maybe you have envisioned what you suspected to be delicious mouth-watering cocktails with ingredients one may never normally use in the bar? Six experienced bartenders from Toronto decided to bite the bullet on the evening of May 30th for the spring finals of the International Bartender Certification and each created some masterpieces that tantalised the judges’ taste buds on the night.
Over the course of five weeks these bartenders attended the BartenderOne IBC course as students and tasted over three hundred different spirits, bitters, liqueurs, sweeteners, infused foams & spirits and alternate types of citrus and cocktails.
Time again for another Toronto Flair League update.
All of the previous TFL competitions had been held on a Monday or Tuesday, (aka bartenders weekend) so that all flair bartenders could compete. The promoters of the Toronto Flair League have felt some pressure from he general public to host a competition on a Thursday, or Friday night so that the nine to fivers would have an opportunity to witness a flair bartending competition up close.
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One of the most important decisions a Bartenderone student faces after graduation is what type of venue to apply to. One of the first questions we ask all of our students at the beginning of the Masterclass is “what type of venue do you want to work at?”. On average our students are in their mid 20’s and their instinctive answer is they want to work at a nightclub. The glaring appeal of working at a nightclub is that it will be little hours, little work, and lots of tips! In some cases this may be but it is unlikely that you will immediately fall “ass backwards” into a lucrative club bartending job! That being said, there are many profitable and sought after clubbartending positions in the industry, you just got to find them! I have worked in clubs for over 5 years and very much enjoy my time working at them, but it is important to expand your mind and your options when choosing a type of venue to work at.
One of the most humbling and beneficial experiences I have had as a bartenderwas my time working at the Fairmont Banff Springs hotel. At the time I had been actively bartending for three years, and heading out to Alberta, was very confident with my skill set behind the bar. I quickly learned that my “nightclub only” experience had only prepared me for a small fraction of what the hospitality industry had to offer. I was hired as a bartender at a lounge with a 500 person capacity, not intimidating at first glance, but very deceiving as I soon found out! As the junior bartender on staff I was put on service bar to learn the ins and outs of the menu and the Fairmont style service. The menu consisted of 35 cocktails and martinis unique to the hotel so it was like starting from scratch with regards to recipe knowledge. That coupled with the fact that the lounge did not stagger reservations meant that at any given time I could have 500 people walk into the lounge at the same time……translation 500 drinks at once! And not just drinks, labour intensive cocktails and martinis! Being thrust into this type of bartending setting forced me to really hone the speed, recipe execution, and techniques that I had been introduced to during my time in the Bartenderone Masterclass and Finishing School. Stepping out of my nightclub “comfort zone” and into a challenging hotel venue setting allowed me to become a much more well rounded bartender. As a result new doors in the industry were opened for me and I have never looked back. I currently work as a bartender at a nightclub, instructor/mixologist with Bartenderone, bartender at the Air Canada Centre, and Performance Mixologist (flair bartender) with the Movers n Shakers special event team! Expand your horizons, try a little bit of everything, and challenge yourself and then and only then will you truly evolve as a bartender!
JB