Swedish Style: Essie Numminen Bares All

Not only is she a Kickass Flair Bartender, and a Pour Test Queen, she looks killer in a bikini and is the envy of all male Flair Bartenders out there. Essie’s got a great personality to match. Essie Numminen sits down with us to Bare All!

Age? 28 years old.

How long have you’ve been Bartending? I’ve been Bartending for almost 7 years.

And Flair Bartending? Flair Bartending about 5 years.

Where do you Work? I work at Kahunaville, a Party Bar at Treasure Island, Las Vegas.

What got you into Flair Bartending? It was TGI Friday’s Bartenders in London that really opened my eyes for Flair in ’96, but it still took me quite a while before I started myself, it was a bit scary really. Still is.

How did you start learning to Flair? My barback at Friday’s taught me the very first moves and then I kept throwing glasses and bottles behind my back forever and not much else until I started going to watch Flair comps and realized how much else there was to learn. Working Flair wasn’t as big as it is now.

What makes you stand out from other Flair Bartenders? If you think I stand out then you know why.

The Video Clip is Essie with Tandem Partner Erin Connelly at Legends 5.

Why do you Flair now? I like hurting myself…just kidding. It’s so much fun. I’m not a person with the biggest patience but when you hit a move you’ve been practicing for ages it’s the best feeling. Also I love the whole socializing part of it, we’re like a huge group of friends with the same interest all over the world. You could go anywhere and for sure you’d meet like minded people, it’s a big party.

Are there any Advantages/Disadvantages of being a Female Flair Bartender? Since there are only a few of us, it’s not as common and people don’t really expect us to start throwing glass bottles in the air. Being a female gives people a bigger shock factor. The disadvantages are that it takes us longer to get ready for work.

What do you hope to get out of Flair? Good times, lots of friends, traveling to places you never heard of to Flip, great innit?

What is your favorite Flair Bartending competition? Legend’s and Roadhouse. Both very big, but the complete opposites from each other. Actually…the most fun and least stress was probably Cayman Masters 2. Like being in paradise with a bunch of Bartenders. Then again I like the local ones too, it’s a great get together and pretty laid back, a lot of fun.

Who do you look up to in this Sport? I’m not telling. There’s too many people, like the old school guys that opened up Flair for us, then the guys that took it to a completely new level and it’s growing so fast it’s scary. I guess I look up to everyone that loves Flair, whether it is for competition or just for fun.

Last year you won the “FBA Naked Shultz Award.” Tell us about that?My award (That I’m “really” proud of by the way!) is blue with an FBA Logo top, looks something like a bowling prize. Actually, that was one of those nights when you don’t realize your limits and wake up thinking “Where am I? And where are my clothes?!”

What is your favorite drink? Shots, beers, margaritas, definitely wine…depends on the mood really.