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 after the weekend. 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.

Flair Bartending Lesson #33: The Multi-Pour

In flair bartending, there are some moves that take hours and hours - if not weeks or months - of practice. And sometimes, the end result doesn't even look all that impressive. This move, the Multi-Pour, is not one of those moves. It's quite the opposite. With just a little practice, you can learn to successfully deliver one of the best crowd-pleasers I know. Now don't get silly and try it for the first time Friday night while you're three deep. Be sure to start small with just a couple tins/shots. As you get better, see how many you can do and have fun stacking the shots at different levels to create a more impressive display. BE CAREFUL to find your limit of how many you feel comfortable with - I usually max out around 11. Any more than 11 and I worry about the tins slipping apart while I'm pouring and breaking the whole display. Which is not good.

As promised, I've also got a few bonus clips which will be up shortly. Check back later today.

24 Hours

I've got the bar to myself from noon-3pm tomorrow to film some videos. I've got some exciting moves I'm anxious to break down and share with you guys: the multi-pour, some new glass moves, and finally, we'll start moving into exhibtion flair. This is when things get fun. If you've hung out with me this long, get ready for the real goods starting tomorrow. Get a helmet, get your practice bottles, and get ready to get funky.

New Job

Two weeks ago I started picking up two shifts per week at the local Hilton to help out my friend Josh, the manager there, while they search for a permanent full-time bartender. Turns out working 6 days and 60 hours/week hasn't left me with much time to get new videos up. I'm gonna schedule time to film some more flair moves and recipes this week and do my best to get them up Monday. Hang in there, more goods are coming, I promise. On that note, any drinks you'd like to see made? I'm going to do a Sex on the Beach, a Chocolate Martini, a Cosmo, and a few others, but I'm open to hearing about any of your favorites.

So far, I'm liking the Hilton - extra hours, extra money, new people - but I'm anxious to get back to spending more time on this site, as well as a few other projects I'm working on. So, if you're in the Madison, WI area, and you're looking for a full-time position at the absolute nicest hotel in town, stop by the Hilton and ask for Josh Foley. Great place to work, and I'd stay there myself, if I didn't already have a full-time job. That, and I have serious moral objections to working more than 40 hours per week....

Oh, and the absolute only negative thing I can say about the place is, they use jiggers!! What's up with that? After 10 years of free-pouring, I can pour exactly 1/2 oz, 1 oz, 1 1/4 oz, and 2 oz, on the dot everytime. I almost didn't know how to use the damn thing. Anybody else out there still using jiggers? Do you prefer them or is it a managerial thing? It's like having a calculator right in front of you but still using an abacus - drives me nuts. A good bartender with a Spill-Stop 285-50 can pour more acurately, more swiftly, any day of the week over some bottle-jockey with a jigger. Am I wrong?

Check back next week for some sweet new moves. I'll even throw in some extras to make up for lost time:)

Flair Bartending Lesson #32: Tony Cogburn 360

This move is always a crowd pleaser and is a great way to from a few flair moves into actually pouring the drink. Make sure you have enough room behind the bar and don't forget to measure your pour count. I promise you - this is a great, easy move that you will be using a lot behind the bar.