Itchy York article

Flairing sweeps the nation

Itchy York checks out flairing - showmanship bartending that leaves you looking cooler than Tom Cruise in 'Cocktail'

‘Flairing’ is the art of showmanship bartending: juggling bar tools and spirits bottles with enough dazzling skill to make drinkers’ eyes pop out like Arnie in Total Recall, while mixing a delicious cocktail to boot.

Itchy used to be impressed enough that the landlord at our local pub could draw a shamrock in our Guinness. And throw peanuts in the air and catch them in his mouth. So when we caught a flairing display on a boozy night out recently, we fell so in love with the cocktail flair scene that we wanted to take out a joint mortgage and move in with it there and then. Maybe adopt a few Cambodian kids together. But if we were going to bring them up right, we’d have to learn some flair skills first…

Stu Powick, owner of London’s Fifty Five bar, chucks around more bottles than a mother of sextuplets. Smooth as Gillette, he tells Itchy modestly, ‘It’s not saving lives, just lobbing a few spirits around’. Flairing is more fun to watch than children falling over though, and makes for a great value night out – seeing as you’re going to buy a drink anyway, why not get some nimble-fingered entertainment with it into the bargain?

Stu is quick to point out that a good flairer will always make the drink the priority, however. ‘When you’re performing ‘working flairing’, the flourishes need to be fast – you should never keep a customer waiting because you’re flipping straws and garnishes about. Save the long tricks for ‘exhibition flairing’ at shows and competitions. Good working flairing is not just about stunts, but about mixing, muddling, presentation and taste. The ultimate aim is to make a stunning drink swiftly and with style.’

If you want to witness the most twirling with your tipple, mind, plump for a Long Island Iced Tea; with more shots in it than a semi-automatic, it gives your bartender maximum opportunity to wow you. Check out the professionals on the Flairmotion DVD, click on www.barwizards.tv.com and exhibition champion Tom Dyer's site, www.dangerousdyer.co.uk, and keep your eyes open for a Channel Four show allegedly in the pipeline. Worldwide, the flair scene is hot in Romania, Dubai and Zanté, while the finals of Roadhouse, one of the biggest flair competitions with thousands of pounds in prizes, touch down in London in November.

Fancy a pop at playing spin the bottle yourself? Steer clear of fire stunts if you value your eyebrows, and bag some shatterproof practice gear. ‘In a previous job, we had a brass floor plate near the bar that we’d polish so we could spy up ladies’ skirts… anyway, I dropped a bottle during a throw, it bounced on the rubber floor, hit the brass and smashed right up into a punter’s hand’ says Stu. ‘Gutted. Usually, the odd slip or drop helps break the ice with the audience, rather than breaking their fingers. If you can have a laugh and carry on when you goof up, you look less cocky.’

Which brings us onto Stu’s number one tip, more neatly than an OCD sufferer lines up tin cans in their kitchen. ‘For Christ’s sake, if you get some skills, don’t become a ‘flair monkey’: some up-their-own-arse chimp who perches on a bar stool goading and challenging flairers, “can you do this, can you do that?” just because they can fling a few glasses about, when they probably couldn’t make a decent cocktail to save their lives.’ Arrogance is about as welcome in the flairing scene as a hot turd in your Hot Toddy, so if you’re a heckler, put a cork in it. But if you like your Martini shaken more sexily than a burlesque babydoll’s nipple tassles, then Bond with a flairer.

If you want to check out some flairing with your drinking, check out Itchy's fave flairing bar in York:

The Living Room
Merchant Exchange
1 Bridge Street
York
YO1 6DD
0870 22 03 001
28-day aged ribeye steak, £14.95
Oro Dragon, £6.50

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