opinionated alchemist

So I had this discussion on LinkedIn; which boldly proclaims the end of exhibition flair. And there is one group member, who especially praises flair bartending as the one solution for everything... What I though realized is, that we are talking about a completely different bar. I am talking about "my" future bar - the craft bar. Which catches up with other clinary venues. Which is grown up and responsible. Artisan I would say. And he is talking about a bar, which accidentally evolved from the past - located in the US, styled after a neighborhood watery hole. His bar can be located in a posh hotel or in a corner of a road of a worker's neighborhood - but it is more characterized by the attitude: rash, loud, people drink to have fun, sexist and obvious. Which bar is the bar of the future? Well,  both bars will be possible to find for quite a long time from now on. But people become more refined, more responsible, more aware of consequences. My discussion partner mentions b...

I was never a flair bartender. I was always more dedicated to service, to quality and to entertain the guests with humor and edutainment - not with cheesy bottle tricks. The only thing, what I did, which can be remotely seen as part of flairing, was work-flair. This is the technique to incorporate flairing into your work routine - however without slowing down and without sacrificing quality. Because lets face it - modern exhibition flair, might look good, but the drink you will get, are forgettable at best [and yes there might be some exceptions, which I never encountered]. But does flairing bring the bar forward? A big no! Great flairing has something to do with 100% dedication - for hand-eye coordination, timing... but the issue is, that it doesn't have anything to do with great service- and it has nothing to do with a great product. A good circus artist could become an incredible flair bartender... but does that makes sense? If it comes to mixology, maybe a good chef...