Introducing flairtending in Cebu

CEBU, Philippines - Mid-October, I was asked to go to the newly opened Imperial Palace Hotel to witness one of their bartenders concoct drinks with theatrical flamboyance.

The first time I witnessed such a performance was during the opening of a franchise of an American casual dining fastfood chain in Ayala Center Cebu. At that time, the performance was not impressive. In fact, it was disturbing. With all the raucous and the crazy yelling that the bartender was making, add to that the loud sound blaring in the background, which, if not for the delicious looking food, would have driven my appetite to Timbuktu. All I saw was a desperate bartender in red-striped apron trying to impress the guests with some bottle juggling and lots of intimidating shouting. The bottle, by the way, was nothing but plastic. So, in short, it was not much of a spectacle.

But what I saw at Imperial Palace was different. Here was a world-class bartender who last year ranked 7th in the Asian Cocktail Championship (ACC) held in Macau. Though a Filipino by birth and blood, at that time he represented Macau since he was working in one of the territory’s prestigious hotels.

The event is part of Wine and Gourmet Asia, a yearly trade and networking event for the food, beverage and hospitality industry in Asia. The ACC is co-organized by China Hong Kong Bartenders Association and Koelnmesse.

This year, Marlon Casiño, represented the Philippines and his Pirates of the Caribbean-inspired choreography landed him in 10th place, besting 11 other competitors from all over Asia. The contest was held at the prestigious The Venetian Macao Resort-Hotel last October 22-24.

The humble demonstration that Marlon did for select members of Cebu’s media and the staffs of the hotel, was a teaser of his performance for the contest in Macau a few days later. And everyone was impressed.

All bottles used were real bottles. Glass, so to speak. No plastics, no fiberglass. And it was juggling in its finest. And don’t get me started with the drink that he was able to concoct after the performance. Although, too sweet for my taste, it was, nonetheless a beautiful drink, with no after taste and a deceptively strong kick.

Kyra Cabaero of Imperial Palace, revealed that Casiño will have a regular performance at the pool bar of the hotel, to entertain, not just the in-house guests but also tourists who goes to the hotel for the cool water rides (you should try the toilet slide and know how it feels to be flushed).

Although Marlon is originally from Davao City, and his talents honed and discovered in this Southern Durian city, to share his skills to the Cebuanos and its visitors, is a source of pride and an inspiration for Cebuano bartenders who hopes to make it big in this line of show business.

Although the origin of flairtending, as it is called, can be a bit shady, one thing is for certain: the art, the craft, the skill was honed by barmen in order to attract the patronage of customers. Who wouldn’t want to be entertained while sipping on their favorite cocktail?

Flairtending, however, is more than just juggling a few bottles, some flairtenders would go the extra mile of including elaborate choreographed dance moves, magic tricks, and the use of special effects, including some fire flaring feat, to awe and amaze their audience.

In short, flairtending has become more than just showing a few tricks up the sleeve of the bartender, it has become a whole production. And mind you, a skilled flairtender need not impress his audience with his shouting skills.

In the U.S. and in other parts of the world, some bars exist and has become an attraction because of its flairtending productions. These bars are called flair bars.

The term was first coined by the first president of the Flair Bartenders Association, Toby Ellis. In 1997 he started opening bars all across the U.S., exclusively devoted to the art and show of flairtending. In Cebu, flair bartending still has to catch up, and perhaps, it would be safe to say that Imperial Palace would be the first to popularize and institutionalize this act.