Flair Bartending TV Lesson 81: Bottle Tin Start w/Misdirection
This week’s Flair Bartending TV lesson is a bottle & tin start, using the Misdirection we recently learned. It’s a great option to start any bottle tin routine and lends itself nicely to flow into other moves. You can see in the video – both at the beginning and the end – how to combine the Bottle Tin Start with a Swipe Thru and even add a Shadow Pass into Tin for some nice combo routines.
Tips for learning this week’s move:
1) Make sure you are comfortable with the Misdirection.
2) This is exhibition flair: make sure you are using a bottle that is less than 1/4 full.
3) Dude, watch the video.
4) Do people read these descriptions? Leave a comment if you find the descriptions helpful. Otherwise, I’m gonna get back to flipping some bottles.
Flair Bartending Lesson 80: Under Arm Misdirection
This week’s flair bartending move is a 1 bottle, good fun, exhibition flair move that builds off the move we learned last week, the Misdirection. It’s a great opener to the start of any routine when you have a nearly empty bottle.
Tips for learning the Under Arm Misdirection:
1) Make sure you are already comfortable with the Misdrection.
2) Practice throwing the bottle behind your back and underneath your arm/armpit, catching it comfortably at chest level.
3) Once you are comfortable and consistent with this throw, add in the misdirection.
4) Be ambidextrous. You can learn to do this with both hands by drilling the move back and forth, left to right, right to left, and so on.
5) You can do the Under Arm Misdirection with either a 1 liter or a750 ml.
6) Like most moves, start by practicing with an empty bottle or a Flairco Bottle. Once you can do the move, try putting 2-3 ounces of liquid in the bottle, putting a pour spout on it, and practicing it until you can do it without spilling.
7. In addition to slapping the misdirection and catching the bottle with your non-throwing hand, practice catching with the same hand you used to throw. Try making this a one-handed flair move.
Flair Bartending Lesson 79: Misdirection
This week’s move is good basic exhibition flair. Like the Stall or the Shadow Pass, it works fine on its own but mostly it looks more impressive when used as part of a bigger sequence or routine.
Remember, exhibition flair means that the level of liquid in the bottle is less than 1/4 full. While you’re first learning, start with an empty bottle or a practice flair bottle. Once you are comfortable with the move, begin adding just an ounce or two to the bottle and be sure to put a pour spout on it. Practice it until you can get the move without spilling, then add another 1 or 2 ounces. Note: while most exhibition flair moves can be done with a 1/4 full bottle, some of them – especially the Misdirection – are best performed with as little liquid in the bottle as possible.
Keys to learning the Misdirection:
1) Grip the bottle so that the pour spout is right in the center of your palm and so your fingers extend firmly down the neck of the bottle.
2) Give the bottle a single rotation flip. You don’t want it to be fast and stay in one place; rather, practice getting a nice little lift to the bottle as it rotates.
3) Just as the bottle is about to complete its rotation, rather than catching it, use your first and middle finger to hit the neck of the bottle. The goal is not only to reverse the direction of the bottle
4) To catch the bottle, simply turn your wrist so that your palm is faced down and/or away from you. Keep your thumb and fingers extended so that when the neck of the bottle hits your palm, your fingers will naturally close around the bottle.
5) Practicing this move can hurt your fingers a bit. Practice it for 5-10 minutes, practice other moves for a while, then come back to practicing this for another 5-10. You’ll get it down in no time.
Flair Bartending Lesson #44: Corona Lime Trick
The first time I saw a bartender do this, my jaw dropped and I threw him a big tip. I couldn’t believe he had actually thrown a lime behind his back and caught it in the Corona bottle. Of course, he didn’t really. It was all about misdirection. It was late and I was tipsy enough to believe it (and had already thrown money at him).
This is a fun move that is really easy to do and – in a dark, noisy bar with not-quite-sober patrons – can really amaze your guests. The key to getting this move down is to keep the Corona bottle out of sight while you put the lime in it. As I move the Corona behind my back, I always hold a lime up with my other hand and Continue Reading » Flair Bartending Lesson #44: Corona Lime Trick