Flare Bartending Lesson #60: The Bump
I hate this move. There, I said it. It takes a lot of practice, it drives me nuts and it hurts to learn! However, if you want to be competitive as a flair bartender, sooner or later you’re going to have to know The Flare Bartending Bump.
Since the bottle is spinning, this is obviously another exhibition flair move. You can – and should – do this with any size bottle but make sure that it is less than 1/4 full or you will end up spilling.
Tips I have to make learning The Bump less painful and more effective:
1) When learning, use “light” bottles. FlairCo bottles work really well for this, as do a number of real liquor bottles. Grey Goose, however, is not one of them. Ever picked up a Grey Goose bottle and noticed how thick the glass is and how heavy the bottle is? Yeah, don’t use those. You want the opposite of those. I’ve found some basic wine bottles tend to be very light and work well for this. Thin glass will take longer to bruise you and tire you out. However, be aware that thin glass tends to break easier as well.
2) It takes time and practice just to get used to a gentle, even 1-rotation throw. Practice the throw on its own for a bit until you can be consistent.
3) The actual “bump” where the bottle hits your forearm is obviously the tricky part of the move. What you’re trying to achieve is waiting for one end of the bottom of the bottle to touch your forearm at which point you want to straighten your elbow, extending your arm out, and ideally getting the bottle to keep spinning one more time with just enough lift to catch up.
4) Practice this mother for 5-10 minutes at a time. Practicing longer than that pretty much ensures that you will not only bruise yourself but also find yourself on the brink of insanity. Stay sane. Take breaks.
The Discussion...
