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Shake, rattle and roll

They make skyscrapers of bottles and juggle them with flair. PRINCE FREDERICK meets the city's bartenders and finds they are a cocktail of talent

PHOTOS: R. SHIVAJI RAO AND VINO JOHN

SPIRITED PERFORMANCES Gopi (above) is all fire and flame as he prepares a cocktail at Havana and (below) GiGi mixes jugglery and liquor at Geoffrey's.

The stern line of the manager's jaw makes Gopi think he is in trouble. Trying to sharpen his `flair' skills, the young bartender reports hours before work begins at the counter and tries his hand at juggling with empty whiskey bottles in the ante-room. Today, he has dropped one more than he is allowed to. Gopi hopes Yadav, manager at Havana (The Raintree Hotel), will take a lenient view of the `slip-up'. Yadav chuckles, "That was mock anger. I'm only too happy that the boys are trying out difficult tricks. The other day, Vikram burnt his fingers during a practice session — he received a pat on the shoulder."

Flair bartending or `showmanship bartending' is catching on in Chennai. Many pub managers see the ability to manipulate bottles with a high degree of precision or set a "skyscraper of bottles" on fire as an essential facet of bartending.

Sampath of Flame Le Club says that these days customers expect a few tricks from the guys manning the bar counter. "Earlier, only customers from overseas sought such entertainment. Now, such demands come from local customers as well."

Bartenders are therefore encouraged to experiment and evolve new tricks, even if it may result in a few broken bottles and a bit of burnt skin. Yadav has noticed that cocktails such as `Flaming Lamingoni' that are fixed after an elaborate stunt of fire and flame, sell better than the routine "mix-and-politely-serve" drinks.

"Flair bartending brings in more revenue for the club and more tips for the bartenders," says Sampath.

In this new scenario, can a bartender survive if he can't throw bottles in the air? Linden freelances for pubs and has survived purely on the strength of his mixes because his fare does not include juggling and flaming. In the past, he never paused to think that a lack of flair skills was a handicap. "With a new pub coming up in the city every other day, there is more competition. As a corollary, more is expected of the bartender." Linden has realised that flair bartending skills could give him that cutting edge - "I am planning to train in flair".

Rohan Carvalho (aka Ron) of B'mann School of Bartending (on Sterling Road) says, "It is absolutely essential that a bartender mixes great cocktails. But he can't afford to ignore the benefits of flair bartending, which is the icing on the cake. Sometimes, bartenders who don't possess flair skills are given the short shrift. For product launches, liquor companies prefer flair bartenders because they make heads turn and draw attention to the new thing on offer. Pubs sign up acclaimed flair bartenders for special events."

In the November of 2003, when Geoffrey's celebrated its second anniversary, singer Gary Lawyer had to share the spotlight with GiGi, a flair bartender from Bangalore. Mixing liquor with jugglery, she had the crowd eating out of her hand. Ron says someone with a "flair" for bartending will seldom be out of work. "These are days when private parties lay out lavish entertainment for their guests, a flair bartender is often part of the package. Their skills keep everyone entertained - even the ones not holding a drink."

Ron concludes with a familiar bartending line - "how you serve is as important as what you serve". When both these skills are combined, the result is a heady mix. Nick Hawkins of Distil (Taj Connemara) epitomises such a combination of skills. He can keep the crowd enthralled for as long as he is at the bar counter; and his cocktails speak for themselves. Because of this ability fellow professionals in the city look up to him.

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