Wish Me Luck

As soon as I finish typing this, I'm going to jump in my car and drive the 8 hours to Omaha, Nebraska to compete in the Zero Gravity Flair Bartending Championship over the next two days. I haven't actually competed in about two years, but I couldn't pass up the chance to hang out with my old Kahunaville co-worker Martin Janica and the rest of the guys at Omaha Flair. I was also pretty excited to see Tim "Flippy" Morris again; unfortunately, I just heard he had to back out due to another competition in Las Vegas this week. He's easily in my top 3 favorite flair bartenders. Aside from being one of the nicest people you'll ever meet, he brings an energy to his flair that his absolutely unparalleled. I could watch him for hours (and occasionally did when I lived in Las Vegas.) Regardless, I'm still anxious to see the other competitors bring their best flair and kick some ass, too.

I'm feeling pretty good about my routine though I couldn't find any 750s of UV (the competition sponsor) to practice with, so hopefully using live bottles doesn't throw me off too much. Either way, I hope to get some entertaining footage that I'll be sure to get up here in the next week. And I'll be sure to get a new tutorial up by the following week. In meantime, practice practice, and wish me luck!

Flair Bartending Lesson #35: Icing a Glass #2

I really like moves that don't involve the usual bottle and tin combo. This is a great way to start a drink, especially since most drinks start with the usual ho-hum scoop of ice into the glass.  Having a bigger scoop makes this move a bit easier. If you don't have one, check out this ice scoop for $4 or this ice scoop for $12. I like the $12 a little more because of the way it is angled, but the $4 one is just as sturdy and big.

Flair Bartending Lesson #34: Icing a Glass #1

This isn't a terribly flashy move but sometimes it's just enough to catch someone's eye and get them asking for more. Version #2 will be up tomorrow.

Coming in 2010!!!

My friend who first got me blogging three years ago told me never to apologize to your readers for not uploading content recently. He said that bloggers who begin every post with "Sorry it's been awhile" sound like complete amateurs. So, I'm not doing that....

However, what I will do is get excited about all the new things coming to ChrisTheBartender.com in 2010!! Now that football season is over I can finally use my bar again on Sundays to film new videos, which is what I have been anxiously waiting for. So for you loyal readers and bartenders, I promise that 2010 will bring at least twice as many flair instructional videos, new focus on exhibition flair and routine building, five times as many cocktail mixing tutorials, and new links to what's happening in the world of flair bartending. I'll also be adding some focus to teaching brand new bartenders the basics of the craft. After all, I love me some flair bartending, but I love me an intelligent, well-trained bartender even better.

If I can manage the back-end programming side of it, I'm also looking to create a forum or discussion board so that beyond just commenting on my posts, you'll now be able to communicate with other readers, pose questions of your own, and interact with the community at large.

Finally, I'll also be adding some sponsorship to the site. I've been very conscious about advertisements on the site, which is why there hasn't been any for the first three years. However, contrary to what one of my very few negative commenters thinks, I don't live the "life of luxury as a bar consultant." I sling drinks in a bar 4-5 nights a week, teach classes, train bar staff, and occasionally guest bartend. My goal with sponsorship is to subsidize my income so that I can work a little less at those endeavors and commit more time to bringing you great, helpful content on this website. My aim is to find products that I use and love, and sponsors that I can whole-heartedly recommend to connect you with. If you like them, I hope you'll support my sponsors. I'll be very cognizant of obnoxious or intrusive ads and I want to hear from you if you think any of the advertisements are too much. 

I'd appreciate any feedback you care to give. Ooh, and I'd like it even more if you tell a friend or co-worker!

I'll be filming and editing videos during the month of February. New stuff to come by March. And, as always, practice, practice!!

Flair Show at Gilligan's Tiki Bar

Earlier this summer, I was invited by Paul Trczianko and Brian Zachau of Liquid Motion to be one of a handful of bartenders to perform at Gilligan's Tiki Bar in Chetek, Wisconsin. Paul and Brian had been training the staff for the summer and were looking to culminate the training with a big night of flair bartending. I was lucky enough to get together with some of my old Kahunaville crew, Ben Galaviz and Mikey Roosa, and got to flip bottles with Paul, Brian, and the Gilligan's crew.

And a major "Cheers!" to Bob, Darryl, and the rest of the crew at Gilligan's. They were so friendly, hospitable, and fun. They put in a lot of work to make the night awesome for everyone - and still managed to have a blast themselves. Great people!

Here's the footage from my routine. I was happy with my showcase, overall, though watching it again I think I was a bit repetitive throughout the middle of it. If I were to do it again, the only thing I'd change would be to add a little more variety. That, and the chin stack...

I'll make sure I get the rest of the footage from everyone else up when I can. I first met Paul 5 years ago at my very first bartending competition - and just about cried when I saw what I was up against. He consistently places in the top 3 in just about every major flair bartending competition around the world that he competes in. And Brian Zachau has placed 2nd (out of 10,000) at the TGI Fridays World Championships for the last 5 years in a row. So, yeah, they both kick ass.