FlairBartending.com » Flair Moves

Tin Catch on Bottle with Lift-off

dylan — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 22:22:13 +0000

MangoMyers once again demonstrating a move step-by-step as only he can. The Tin Catch is a great flair bartending move for beginners, not only because it’s good training for both hands (one to throw, one to catch) and uses two standard implements (a flair bottle and a cocktail shaker), but it’s also sets you up in a starting place for further moves. And in this case, he continues the move with a “lift off” that puts the bottle and shaker in a practical position for pouring drinks… reminding us once again that at some point in a series of moves needs to be the one that must make or finish the drink!

I particularly like how this is set up by training you to catch it in a full two flips first without the shaker. Once you have that timing ingrained in your reflexes you can move on with concentrating on the shaker hand’s aim and timing. Breaking any trick down to its minimum parts is essential, but here MangoMysers gives another example of how within a step you have to many times invent a training step that’s outside of the finished move.

Flair Moves: Vertical Beer Bottle Pop Open

Denis — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 13:33:18 +0000

Here’s another neat and easy trick from MangoMyers, the Beer Bottle Pop Open. Unlike opening a beer bottle with the standard wrist snap action, this move runs the opener vertically along the next of the bottle. After some practice, you’ll be able to do this without foaming the beer or breaking the bottle. The secret is in a smooth catch of the rim of the cap and to be sure the bottle isn’t worked up before opening it. MangoMyers gives an indepth explanation and video training of this maneuver.

The Hand Stall

Denis — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 15:00:02 +0000

This move is a great start for the beginning flair competitor, as it teaches both bottle control and balance. It’s also a good transitionary move once you start flipping and catching, as it allows you a smooth move into another spin or a way to keep one bottle in play while introducing others into a throw. While the stall may look easy, it does take a bit of practice to get right and you’ll likely drop the bottle several times while learning. Be sure you’re using Flair Bottles, especially when you start. Hand stalling with glass bottles can be dangerous and messy, so spend the little bit of money on a Flair Bottle to ensure that your drops don’t end in disasters.

Here’s a video by James Wedmore of BartenderforProfit showing the basics of the stall:

Here’s another example by Mango Myers, this time demonstrating landing hand position. You can see how the cupping fingers help give stability to the bottle, even as you sway your hand.