inspiration
THE GRANDFATHER OF FLAIR
The 1988 film Cocktail, starring Tom Cruise and Bryan Brown, undoubtedly inspired a generation of bartenders and helped embed flair bartending in the popular consciousness. In this interview courtesy of the World Flair Association, the man behind the movie magic, John Bandy, reflects on his experience. HOW DID YOU START FLAIR BARTENDING? actually looking for someone to train Bryan Brown and The funny thing is, I started flair purely out of boredom Tom Cruise for an upcoming film. So I gave them the one day. I was working at TGI Fridays in Los Angeles video of the Bartending Olympics contest from a few and I was new there, so I was getting all the jobs no one weeks before and I got the gig! Before I knew it I was wants to do and the boring stuff. I was getting a little being flown out to all these places, spending a month tired of saying the same things over and over again when filming in New York, another month filming in Toronto people came in, so I thought I would try something new! and another month filming in Jamaica – it wasn’t just I started by messing around with glasses and shakers a dream come true, it was beyond my wildest dreams! at home, flipping them After Cocktail I spent the next 8 years being asked whilst standing on the by juice and beer couch so I didn’t break companies across the anything. Eventually I US to go around the took it into the bar and world flipping bottles started doing it with and teaching seminars bottles and other stuff. in over 30 different I was making work fun countries. for myself and as it happens it was making WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO it fun for the guests TRAIN TOM CRUISE as well – what I was AND BRYAN BROWN? doing was catching Both Tom and Bryan their eye. Before you were very capable, know it some of the ambidextrous guys. Tom other bartenders who was a real ‘guy’s guy’ I worked with started and Bryan Brown was having a go and TGI really cool and laid back. Fridays decided to The two had a bit of a Bryan Brown, John Bandy & Tom Cruise. take it up a notch competition between each Image credit: World Flair Association and hosted the first other over the course of flair bartending the filming to see who competition I knew was going to break more of at that time, the Bartending Olympics. stuff – Tom won! Seriously though they were great guys, very easy to AND THAT LED TO YOUR ROLE IN THE FILM teach and get along with. They were agile and worked COCKTAIL? hard, although most of what you saw in the film was I happened to win that first contest, then a few weeks for the cameras. Quite often Tom or Bryan would get the later a couple of young ladies walked into the bar. I trick right just enough while the camera was on them approached them to ask what they wanted to drink and and then they would drop it out of shot. A great example they replied that they didn’t know. This can happen a lot of where Hollywood would use their tricks was a scene when working behind the bar so I gave them my usual where the shaker bounces off the rubber mat and it pops answer which was, ‘I’ll make you a drink, if you don’t like back up into his hand. In reality the shaker never left it, I’ll buy it’. This would always go down a treat and they Tom’s hand. When the shaker went below the bar and always seemed to like it! out of sight of the camera, they did the rest, inserting So I made the ladies their drink in my normal way, the sound of the shaker bouncing off the floor. I think throwing in a bit of flair, and next thing I know one of the we may still be there now if we tried to actually pull that ladies is telling me she works for Disney Studios and is one off! BARS&clubs 19
