Post #266441 by tomdyerFLAIR on Mon, Nov 13, 2006 3:41 PM

Well as you can see by my name....I am a flair bartender.

Some of you guys out there are very small minded (freddiefreelance) and need to get away from thinking that Mixology is the be all and end of bar tending.

If you asked the majority of the public to name the first cocktail that came into their heads they would most likely say "Sex on the Beach". I'm not trying to say that this means that they don't enjoy a good well made cocktail. I know I certainly do, and I know I can make a good cocktail too. It just shows that most people really couldn't give two sh*ts (except other bartenders) how a cocktail is made and with what. Most customers hardly know anything about bar tending, they just want their drinks.

I know being a flair bartender my knowledge about all alcohol is very very low but other aspects of my bar tending makes up for that. Bar tending is not all about making a good drinks with a dash of this and 5ml of that or flairing. It also involes customer service, smiling, talking, confidence, style, panache, experience etc. There is no point having someone who makes and awesome drink but has the personality of a stone. The same goes with flair too. I hate it when someone does this whole show behind a bar and then makes me a drink and its rubbish.

I just think you need to stop slating flair and get off your high horse. You don't see flair guys slating and having a go a mixology. We are trying (some people more successful than others) to put mixology into out routines on stage. There is a time and a place for flair and sometimes in some places it is not necessary. BUT it is wrong to just turn your back on it altogether.

To be honest someone could train me up in a month to enter a mixology competition and I could do well, but for a mixologist to be trained for a month to enter a flair comp and do well is well IMPOSSIBLE!!!!

I know that a lot of time and effot goes into both aspects of bar tending and both sides are very passionate about what they do. BUT pull your head out of your arse, and deal with it. It is gonna be around for a long time.

It has given me so much and I have been able to travel around the world and see some amazing places from it, and meet some of the respected mentors from the mixology world and class them as my friends.

We are all bartenders and like to promote our skills in different ways so we need to stop arguing with each other on reasons why "flair is evil" or "mixologist are just wannbe flair bartenders". The fact if the mater is, Mixology has not been around for a long time. The term mixology is fairly new....flair has been around for years and years entertaining people. Both are here to stay....DEAL WITH IT!!!!!!