We’re starting our first Prop Flair move – moves done with an object other than a bottle or tin – with the Grand Daddy of all Prop Flair moves. The Multi Pour is a huge crowd pleaser. The best part is that once you learn the simple basic steps to setting it up, it is an incredibly easy move with a huge visual appeal. This is one of the very few big pay-off moves that is relatively simple to learn.

The two basic steps you need to understand are the setup of your glassware and the setup of your tins. The two are very related – you can use tiny shot glasses or wide-mouthed martini glasses, but the setup of your tins will be very different. The key to understanding the difference is to understand that each glass you are pouring into (be it a shot glass, lowball, martini, etc.) has to be exactly as wide as the distance between each stacked tin. For instance, if the 5 glasses you are pouring into are 2 inches in diameter, the tins should all rest 2 inches on top of each other. Otherwise, you will spill this as you attempt to pour.

I know the video shows a big crazy 10 glass pour, but let’s focus on the basics with just a 3 glass pour – the mechanics are the same. Learn the basics and you can jump up to the larger, more impressive pours with a bit of practice. Take the 3 most common glasses you pour shots or drinks into at your bar. Set them edge to edge, or lip to lip. Next, pour a mixed shot – or for practice sake, a bit of water or colored water – into 3 tins. Then scoop a bit of ice into each tin. If the glasses are small, you want just a tiny bit of ice; if the glasses have wide mouths, you’ll want a bunch of ice. If you are using a standard lowball or rocks glass, a standard 16 or 18 oz. cheater tin will generally be the right amount of ice. Your goal is this: when you stack the tins into each other, the distance between the lip of one tin and the tin above it should be equal to the distance across the mouth of the glasses you are pouring into. When you’re learning – and even when you’re performing at your bar – pick up one of the glasses you are pouring into and use it to measure the distance between the stacked tins. If it’s short, add more ice to the tin. If the tins are stacked too far apart, pack down to crush the ice to lower the distance or remove some ice from the tins. And don’t forget to add one extra tin to the top of the stack – usually the cheater tin – to keep the ice from spilling out of the top tin.

Before you start lining up your tins, adding ice, and pouring your shots – set up your glassware. If you are pouring these for a guest, you’ll have to do all of the motions quickly. However, if you are pouring this as part of a show, setting up your glassware can help build excitement and curiosity over just what the hell you are doing.

Learn how to use three tins to pour just three shots/cocktails/etc. into three waiting glasses. Once you’ve gotten comfortable with this, start playing around and having fun with it. Try using different colored liquid  – or different colored spirits – in the tins for a more appealing pour. Try stacking the glassware you are pouring into on top of other glassware or bottles to create layers for more visual excitement. Try adding more tins and glassware to the mix and see how many you can pour. BE  CAREFUL: the more you pour, the more difficult it is to pour them safely. Start with 3, then see if you can do 5. Add a couple more each time until you find your breaking point. I’ve pulled off 13 before, but I’m a lot more comfortable with 9. At a certain point, 7 is just as impressive to your audience as 15 – they don’t really see a difference. What matters is that you can do it successfully without spilling. Different layers of glassware and different colored shots make it even more impressive to watch. Every flair bartender has tried to do a couple more than they were comfortable with and they have seen the nasty results – a big, broken mess that spills everywhere. Don’t be that guy. Nothing is scarier than watching your Multi Pour slip out of your hands and fall apart all over the bar, breaking glass and endangering people at the bar.

Once you’ve mastered the Multi Pour, learn to use it to its fullest potential. Aside from getting a whole crowd of people excited about watching you pour a bunch of shots at one time, my favorite part about this move is winning over “the man”. If you work in a full flair bar, you know exactly what I’m talking about. If you flip bottles long enough, as a male, sooner or later you’ll have a couple that sits at your bar and 1) the woman is really excited by your flair bartending, but 2) the man is not so thrilled by you stealing his thunder.  It’s very common to have couples sit at your bartender in which the woman gets excited by all your flair bartending but the man just smiles and plays along, feeling like someone is upstaging him or impressing his lady more than he is. Remember, you work for tips, not for phone numbers (those don’t split evenly with your co-workers.) Win them both over – and make the $$ – by doing this: setup a small 3-5 glass multi pour in front of the couple. When it comes time to pour, explain to the gentleman that you’re tired and you need his help; hand him the tin stack and teach him how to do the multi pour. Tell him to hold the bottom of the tin stack in one hand and put his fingers at the top of the stack – keeping the tins tight like a spine. Be sure to guide him through the process and keep your hands close to his just in case he loses it. The idea is to make him feel like The Man and to have his girlfriend go completely crazy for him that they both leave feeling totally awesome. I’ve made more money in tips from “The Man” than I care to admit.