OLD SCHOOL VS. NEW SCHOOL

Have you ever heard the phrase “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks”? Perhaps that is the mindset of some Bartenders these days. Too many Bartenders I meet seem to have some misconceptions about Flair Bartending. Perhaps due to the mainstream movies “Coyote Ugly” or “Cocktail”. Perhaps due to watching a local TGI Fridays bartending competition where most of the bartenders seemed to be forced to learn how to Flair bartend rather than embracing it and wind up spilling more liquor than actually pouring into the drink because they have never been taught properly or didn’t care to learn.

Perhaps they have never seen Flair bartending performed correctly or know where the resources are to learn. “Negative” experiences with Flair bartending for those bartenders who are set in their ways may have caused them to determined that they are better off not wasting their time or they don’t want to look foolish trying to learn.

“Old School” Flair bartenders agree if they can keep the guests happy and make good drinks fast, what else is there? Well they’re half right! The first step to becoming a good Flair bartender is first becoming a great Bartender.

LEARN HOW TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR GUESTS FIRST!

Before you learn anything else, learn proper bartending. Flair Bartenders are the evolution of Bartenders. I know I probably pissed some people off by saying that but take it from someone who has been bartending over twelve years and only Flair bartending over five years. This is true. True Flair Bartenders are the people who love bartending so much that they want to take bartending to the next level and learn as much as they can about their trade and have as much fun behind the bar as possible.

Most true Flair bartenders can accurately pour any amount of liquor down to 1/100th of a drop of liquor. They practice countless hours a week perfecting their craft. They travel across the world competing against other top professionals in their career to see who is the best and how they stack up against each other. They actually care so much about their job they spend a good part of their off-time trying to become better at what they do for a living. They learn how to better serve their guests and increase their tips.

The “New School” Bartenders have the dedication to become great. But… there is more to bartending than just flipping bottles. Let’s not forget proper bartending, guest satisfaction, the art of conversation, sense of urgency, and mixology. These are things that “Old School” bartenders greatly excell at.

Why? Experience. They have done it long enough to know how to do it correctly and, more importantly, better than some rookie down the street. So now we have “Experience” versus “Dedication”. The experienced bartenders have bartended their whole lives without Flair and some of the dedicated bartenders don’t have the experience to know anything else.

Nothing hurts me more than to hear a seasoned bartender talk down about Flair. It hurts me even more to see a new bartender, fresh out of bartending school, trying to stall a bottle on his/her hand behind his/her bar while a customer is waiting to get a drink and there are five dirty ashtrays on the bar! In time, this bartender will get the experience on his/her own to become a great bartender while having the dedication to become better. But think how much quicker it would be if an “Old School” bartender showed them the ropes first. Let’s take that one step further and imagine that same “New School” bartender teaching that “Old School” bartender some new tricks.   We can learn a lot from each other as soon as we see each other for what we are.