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Learn To Flair Bartend with Free Flair Lessons

Flair Lesson #32: Figure 8 Pour

I like this move because you’re not actually throwing anything so there’s less concern about dropping. It’s really more of a hand maneuver. It’s also functional – you’re pouring the drink while flairing. There’s also some really nice finishes that we can add to the Figure 8 Pour that we’ll go into later.

1) Start with the bottle in your right hand, gripping it as though you’ve just pulled it out of the rail. Hold the tin in your left hand at the top of the tin with your middle finger and thumb opposite each other. The tin should be loose and able to hinge or swing back and forth.

2) Focusing on just the bottle, give it a slight toss – just enough to change your grip up to the neck of the bottle, palm down.

3) In your left hand, give a little momentum to swing the tin over with your palm face up. The mouth of the tin should be face up.

4) Practice steps #2 and #3 independently. Once you feel comfortable, try doing them at the same time. You should Continue Reading » Flair Lesson #32: Figure 8 Pour

Flair Lesson #28: Tony Cogburn 360

In the flair world, you’ll discover there are some moves that are really difficult to learn but are totally worth it because of how impressive they are. However, sometimes moves that are really difficult to learn don’t even look that cool. And then there are moves like this, which are  easy to learn and have a huge payoff. These are the good ones. Checkout the Multi-Pour and the Jager Bomb Domino for two other low-difficulty/high-payoff moves.

The Tony Cogburn 360 is a total crowd pleaser. It’s functional – you’re pouring the drink as you flair – it’s flashy, it’s fun, and it’s really simple to get the basics. The heart of the move is really nothing more than holding a tin near a bottle while you spin like a pretty little ballerina. I’ve added a “lead-in” to the move, but anytime you find yourself with the bottle upside down into the tin you can jump ahead to step 7 and do the Tony Cogburn 360. The move is named to give credit to the first person I ever saw perform this move and, I believe, its creator: Tony Cogburn, an awesome flair bartender from the U.S.

For the lead-in:

1) With the bottle in your right hand and the tin in your Continue Reading » Flair Lesson #28: Tony Cogburn 360

Flair Lesson #24: Circle Swipe Thru

Before attempting this move, make sure you are completely comfortable with Lesson #23: The Swipe Thru. The Circle Swipe Thru is just a slightly flashier, more fun version of the Swipe Thru. The heart of this move is really a grip change on the bottle, which I’ll explain below.

1) Set down the tin and pick up the bottle in your right hand. We’re going to learn the “Circle” part of the bottle on its own.

2) There are two ways to do the grip change. For starters, with the bottle held in your right hand, you can try lifting and releasing the bottle ever-so-slightly while quickly turning your wrist to grab the bottle with your palm up and thumb pointing away from you. That’s the first, most basic way. The other way is to start by tossing the bottle across your body about eye-level; as you release it, turn your wrist and grab the bottle again, using the momentum to Continue Reading » Flair Lesson #24: Circle Swipe Thru