Archive for November, 2009

Flair Bartender Profile: Up close and Personal with Vladymyr Buryanov

Wednesday, November 25th, 2009

Name: Vladymyr Buryanov

Nickname: “Ukrazian”

Nationality: Ukraninan

Age: 27

Years Bartending: 8 (6 Flairing)

Flair Accomplishments: First place Nations 2007, 5 time Ukrainian Champion, 1st ever Big Kahuna Flair Smackdown Grand Champion 2008.

I got to meet Vladymyr for the first time at Superflair in Windsor Ontario in May of ’09,  where he put on a fantastic show and finished 4th in an all-star line up which included Rodrigo Delpech, Danilo Oribe, and Dario Doimo to name a few.

Earlier this year I had a chance to meet up with him again on his home turf at Kahunaville in Las Vegas. Here is my interview with Vladymyr Buryanov.

Q- When did you get into Flair bartending?

A- I started flairing about 6 years ago.

Q- What prompted you to start flipping bottles, and did you have a mentor?

A- I started bartending in a local hotel in the Ukraine where I grew up.  There was a guy there that knew a couple of flair moves, so he showed me a few and I became good at them quickly and wanted to learn more.  There was no one else in my town to learn from, so I started watching DVD’s of Flair competitions to learn some basic moves. Then I took it from there and taught myself.

Q- Where are you currently working?

A- I am employed at Kahunaville in Las Vegas.

Q- To date, what is your best flair moment?

A- Winning Nations in 2007 was great!  The money was good, but the competition was even greater!  It felt amazing when all that hard work I put into flair allowed me to beat some of the guys I have always  looked up to in flair.

Q- To date, what is your worst flair moment?

A- Nations 2008.  It was the first time in my career that I did not make the finals.

Q- What are your goals for the future?

A- I still hope to compete for at least another 5 years.  I enjoy it, and practicing is still fun for me.  As for life beyond flair, my wife and I have our ideas, but we still haven’t made our final decision yet.

Q- Other than yourself, who is your favourite flair bartender?

A- My wife.  Terri Leeseberg-Buryanova.  I believe her being a flair bartender also is the only reason I have found someone I can have a family with, and who is also understanding about how much time I need to practice.

Q- Do you have a signature cocktail?

A- I enjoy making different drinks.  Mostly based on fresh berries and fruits.

Q- Least favourite cocktail?

A- All Martinis.

Q- What is your favourite Flair bar?

A- Kahunaville at T.I.(Treasure Island). I don’t get a chance to work there too often, but there are flair shows there four nights a week.  The shows allow me to get on stage and practice routines all the time.

Thanks Vladymyr for taking the time to do this interview.  We hope to see you back up in Canada for next years Superflair.

Flair Bartending at City Chase Competition Toronto

Thursday, November 19th, 2009

Two weeks ago, BartenderOne was asked to host one of the challenges in this years City Chase Toronto.

City Chase is based on the Amazing Race concept, where teams of two, compete to complete 10 tasks (out of a list of 40) in the fastest time possible.  The tasks are scattered all over Toronto, and contestants are given a clue sheet as to where the tasks may be located.  Team are permitted to walk, run, or take public transit.  Wheels such as bikes, or roller blades are not permitted, as well as any form of private transportation, such as cars, motorcycles, etc.

The winners of this race will receive new Blackberry phones, and qualify for the National finals where they will have a chance to win a 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer!

The BartenderOne challenge was simple.  Make a Cosmopolitan with a little working flair.  First, I instructed one of the team members how to make the cocktail, then I showed the other how to toss a rocks glass from their right hand to left behind the back, and finally how to pour a Cosmo into the glass…on their head!

Some teams caught on quickly during the training, and had little trouble executing the moves.  Other teams had great difficulty with this challenge, costing them valuable time in the race.  A few contestants even poured the cocktail  directly on their face, missing the glass entirely!   However difficult it proved to be for some teams, we did not have any teams leave without completing the task.

Whether they got it on the first or second try, or they spilled all over themselves, every contestant that stopped by appeared  to really enjoy the challenge and that’s what it’s all about.

The event was a great success, and I would definitely like to compete in the race next year.

BartenderOne was happy to be a part of this event.

To compete in upcoming City Chase events, click here to register.

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Bartending School Toronto – Move of the Month – Shadow Pass and 3 bottle Pass Through

Wednesday, November 18th, 2009

Check out the working flair bartending skills of Sam Kinred and the exhibition flair bartending confusion of Chris Cooper in this version of BartenderOne’s Move of the Month in High Definition.

Dont forget to enter the Throwdown to go down to Vegas, to join the BartenderOne team in Las Vegas for the Legends of Bartending world championships.

For more information, rules and regulations and to enter the competition click here.

Evolver Bar – “It’s the MacBook of Portable Bars”

Wednesday, November 18th, 2009

E-Bar CaseIn an era when everything needs to be done yesterday, and cost saving is a real issue, this portable bar unit solves a lot of problems for a lot of people.  When stored, it measures a tiny 7″x30″x24″, then in the blink of an eye, it assembles to a full size, fully functional bar station with ice well, speed rail, and garnish containers, with plenty of space left over for prep and glassware storage.

For a restaurant that wants to increase their sales without investing tens of thousands in renovations for a dedicated outdoor bar, it’s an ingenious solution, that fits the budget, and conveniently packs away for the winter.

For a golf course or banquet facility that wants to do a specialty cocktail station, it’s far more functional and pleasing on the eyes than serving on a banquet table with an ice bucket, and it’s portable both in storage mode and when fully assembled.

For caterers or the bartenders on the go, it weighs less than 60 lbs which means it flys on most commercial airlines, and means that your professionalism isnt compromised by lack of resources.

When I got my first one, I was impressed with it’s sturdiness and versatility, and while I was concerned with it’s longevity (as with any portable system) the fact that it’s constructed out of steel, means that it stands the test of time.

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For more information on the Evolver Mobile Bar, you can check out www.evolverbar.com or simply click on any of the images above.  To have a good look around it you can view a 360 degree rendering of the Evolver Bar by clicking here.

BartenderOne’s Edwina Neault Flair Bartending on national TV – CBC’s “Being Erica”

Monday, November 16th, 2009

Edwina - Being Erica

BartenderOne’s Edwina Neault was hired as a flair bartender to perform on CBC’s “Being Erica.”  In the first episode of Season 2 – you can catch Eddie behind the bar mixing up some cocktails while “Erica” fumbles through a clumsy dance routine.

Click the HERE to see the full episode on CBC.ca

Michael Schumacher and Salvatore Calabrese show that drinking and driving dont mix…

Thursday, November 12th, 2009

On a recent trip to London, I was fortunate enough to meet with legendary mixologist Salvatore Calabrese at his bar “50.” Salvatore recently met with legendary race car driver Michael Schumacher to film this video… it’s a tongue and cheek look at why drinking and driving dont mix and is definitely worth a watch… It’s not what you’re expecting!