Flair Bartending Lesson #47: Icing a Glass #1
I LOVE, love, love practical flair. One of the few complaints I ever hear about flair bartenders is that they take longer to make drinks. While some of my favorite flair bartenders could out-pace a cheetah on steroids, I get the point. I don’t care if you can juggle 3 bottles while riding a flaming unicycle, I want my gin & tonic right now. The cooks aren’t back there juggling my burger for their amusement – they’re getting it to me asap. Do the same with drinks.
I dig this prop flair move because it’s simple, practical, easy-to-learn, and doesn’t take a single second longer than scooping ice into a glass the boring way every bartender does. This is also a good “litmus test” that I’ve mentioned before: real quick flair you can do to test the waters and gauge your guest’s response. If they seem intrigued, tread lightly into a simple routine. If they could give a rat’s ass, move swiftly into making the drink, no love lost.
A couple pointers to getting this relatively simple maneuver down:
1) Make sure your hands are dry. You will be swiping downward relatively quickly with your left hand – losing control of the glass and breaking things is not a good idea.
2) Hold the ice scoop – get a big one – at a slight angle to the side. It keeps the ice in a line and helps minimize its spread, making it easier to catch all of it in the glass.
3) After your hand swipes down and catches the ice, turn your wrist (and the glass) up towards you.
Get this one down cuz we are about to expand on it in the next lesson!
The Discussion...
