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Skyscrapers in glass Pedro and Kiko

In a sit-out outside Pasha (The Park), Kiko and Pedro launched into an elaborate preparation. After arranging over 40 glasses, half a dozen shakers and a few cans of Red Bull on a wooden bench, each began to build a skyscraper with glasses. Each held 12 glasses (all partly filled with Red Bull and one stacked on top the other). After a display of their ability to balance them in different ways, Kiko and Pedro got more ambitious. Kiko put his stack of glasses on top of Pedro’s. The latter balanced what now looked like the leaning tower of Pisa on his mouth. The performance ended with Kiko and Pedro carefully tilting the ‘glassy skyscraper’ into a horizontal level and the energy drink slipping into an equal number of glasses arranged on the wooden bench.

Kiko and Pedro have carved a niche in ‘exhibition flair’, a form of flair bartending in which the accent is on long-lasting entertainment. Exhibition flair is also a feature of competitions for bartenders. Their detailed profiles say Kiko and Pedro have been successful in many international competitions.

Kiko says pressure is not restricted to these events. He knows he is on trail every time a customer walks up to him with a request for a cocktail. “Inside the bar, they are judged for the quality of the preparation and the time taken to produce it. You only have 20 seconds to sell a drink. Behind the bar, we don’t talk about bottles in the air,” says Kiko. “A bartender’s role varies depending on where he is.”

Kiko, who is Italian, speaks English with a heavy accent and Pedro, who is Portuguese, lets his associate do all the talking. The two are part of the Bartenders Cocktail Academy in Lisbon, as also the RBBA. The RBBA, which organises bartending-related programmes around the world, has two other bartenders working for it – Tom Dyer from England and Andre Guerreiro from Italy.

Kiko continues, “Bartenders run a ‘liquid kitchen’. Our roles are akin to those of a chef.” He believes the proof of the pudding is in the eating and mixing spirits is a bartender’s primary function. “A bartender has to be thorough in all the techniques so that he mixes a great number of drinks in the time he mans the bar counter. Revenue for the owner depends on speed and quality.” And too much of time spent balancing the bottles on the top of your nose could translate as poor business for the club.

He admits that keeping guests entertained with flair is important, but draws attention to another aspect of bartending vital in keeping customer loyalty. “Flair starts with a smile.”

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