Crazy things happened. New flair bartending website is up and running. Tons of new videos, much better quality. Subscribe to the Flair Bartending TV YouTube channel, friend FBTV on Facebook, tweet it up on the ol' Twitter-ma-jig.

The internet is littered with blogs that have been abandoned over the years, with authors who make excuses as to why they've been too busy. You'll never believe my story for the last two years. And normally I'd tell you not to believe everything a bartender tells you but I swear every word is true. It's been a bizarre two years.

Here's the long version:

Get comfortable. It’s a long one.

It’s been so long since my last post that I’ve actually had a few readers email me to ask if I was okay. One YouTube viewer said he held a mock funeral for me (thank you, btw.) Where did I go? What the heck have I been doing? Did I forget about you, my wonderful readers and video-watchers? Not a chance. But I completely let you down. Let me explain the two inconceivable things that have happened since August of 2010.

Part One:

First of all, something kind of shocking started happening in early 2010: people started watching my videos. I know that tends to be the whole point of writing a blog and people should be so lucky to have someone actually read what they write and watch what they upload. But it kinda freaked me out. For a guy who started blogging in 2007 simply as a way to pass the time while I waited for a friend to finish coding a project we took two years to never finish (BarSpecials.com – the domain is still up for sale!) – I didn’t expect anyone other than a couple friends to see my site. Hell, that’s why I put up filthy bar jokes, so I could entertain my friends. Then one day I was teaching a small flair bartending class in the basement of my bar and as I was handing out the syllabus it occurred to me that these students, smart though they were, might not remember exactly what a “Shadow Pass” is, or the “Push Down Pop Up.” So later that week I stood in the spare room of that god-awful apartment I lived in with that god-awful roommate at the time, flipped open my laptop, and hit record on the built-in camera. I figured if my students had questions throughout the week while they were practicing on their own, they deserved to be able to watch a video of me reviewing the flair move. They were paying me $20 for each two-hour lesson. I figured I owed it to them.

About two weeks after posting my first flair video on YouTube I got a comment from someone in Sweden saying “thanks for the video.” I kept on uploading videos for my students and started getting comments from people in the Philippines in really wonderful broken English saying “Flair you Good! Teach well! Thanks much! I learn!” (Trust me, their English was still light-years better than my Filipino.) I thought it was pretty cool to be able to teach something to someone I’d probably never meet in another country on the other side of the planet, so I kept adding the videos even after my flair class in the basement had concluded. Eventually my first YouTube video hit 1000 views! One day I saw I had 100 subscribers. Later, I decided to use a digital camera so the videos would have a little better video quality (have you seen those first few videos – they’re terrible!).  

Realizing I had people from all corners of the world watching my videos, I started to get really picky about their quality. Like, weirdly picky. I wanted the audio/video quality to be top notch so I invested in an HD camera and a wireless microphone - only to discover the wireless mic didn’t plug in to my camera. Seriously. So I bought another camera. I spent 8 hours filming new tutorials at the bar on my day off – only to discover that the batteries in my microphone were dead, so all my footage turned out to be a silent movie. That actually happened twice, believe it or not. And I still didn’t give up hope, though I really wanted to make quality flair bartending tutorials available online. I “let perfect be the enemy of good enough” as a friend of mine once put it. I really wanted my tutorials to be just as good as any DVD you would spend money on, even if they were free on YouTube. This circus sideshow of a production went on through much of spring and summer 2010.

Finally, one day in August 2010, I filmed a few hours of content just days before a planned vacation to visit some friends in Panama for a couple weeks. I really thought I’d spend part of my vacation editing those videos and putting up some awesome new content on my website.  And I truly think I would have if something else had not happened…

Part Two: Here’s where it gets weird.

Before I left for my Panama vacation, I happened to be at the bar while there was a Stella Artois promotion going on. It had to do with the Stella Artois 9 Step Pouring Ritual, which I had never heard of and just assumed to be part of the wild world of beer marketing. I managed to take 1^st place in that competition, which won me a place in the regional competition a few weeks later.

I’m not a competitive person, generally, but I discovered that the winner of this regional competition would win a trip to New York City. I’ve got a few friends in New York I hadn’t seen in a while so I buckled down and decided to do my homework: I wanted to win this competition, I wanted to see my old friends, I wanted the trip to New York.

As fate would have it, I not only won the trip to New York, but I won the New York competition, which earned me a trip to the US finals in Boston. It seemed a little surreal to me but I was now a competitor in the US Stella Artois Draught Master Competition. It was close, but when the dust settled I won the competition, the title of Stella Artois US Draught Master, and a trip for two to London to compete in the 2010 Stella Artois World Draught Master competition. The chance to compete against 30 other countries in a beer pouring competition, to represent my country – like the Olympics – was all a bit surreal. Seriously surreal.

The kind folks from Stella Artois sent my friend Jesse and I to Belgium for a week before heading onto London for the competition. Making him my +1 was the least I could do to thank him for letting me crash at his pad in Panama for 2 months (if you travel at all, check out his Hotel Comparison site.) My first time across the pond was an absolute blast discovering Belgium, Belgium beer culture, delicious food, and friendly people.

It was also a huge realization to discover that the Stella Artois 9 Step Pouring Ritual wasn’t just a gimmick like I had originally suspected. Turns out, it’s simply how they pour beer in Belgium. The Belgians have a special reverence for beer – it has a central role in Belgian culture – and they have a method for serving it that was new to me. Was totally worthwhile to see that the 9 Step Pouring Ritual was Stella Artois’s way of codifying a Belgian tradition.

Then came four days in London for the competition. The 2010 Stella Artois World Draught Master Competition brought 30 competitors from 30 countries together, to meet, to celebrate, and to compete for the world title. Meeting bartenders from Chile, China, Australia, Ukraine and everywhere in between was an experience I never would’ve imagined being a part of, truly. This was a big deal, so big two of my brothers flew over to London to cheer me on. It must have helped because as fate would have it, on October 26, 2010, I beat all the other countries and won the title of the Stella Artois World Draught Master.

Needless to say, the following year was a bit of a whirlwind. I didn’t forget about this website and all the improvements I wanted to make, I just didn’t want to step on any toes at Stella Artois. They had selected me to be the Stella Artois World Draught Master and I dedicated myself fully to it. I put ChrisTheBartender.com on the backburner, knowing that I would improve it when the time was right.

In the meantime, I got to travel the world, teaching people about Stella Artois and coaching bartenders in the 9 Step Pouring Ritual. In 3 months time, I visited 12 countries across 5 continents, from Australia to Argentina, from China to Canada, Ukraine to New Zealand. It. Was. Insane. Truly a once-in-a-lifetime trip. Ultimately, my year wrapped up at the 2011 Stella Artois World Draught Master competition in Buenos Aires where I passed on my title to the next winner. You can read my journal during from world tour, but I’ll post my favorite entry – the last one:

TODAY IS THE DAY

"The day I pass the crown onto the next Stella Artois World Draught Master. It was 364 days ago in London that I had the most incredible surprise of my life, competing against 30 other countries and winning the title of Stella Artois World Draught Master. If someone would have told me 365 days ago, the surreal experiences that I would have, I would never have believed it in a million years. In the last year I’ve climbed the Great Wall of China and the Eiffel Tower, shared Stella Artois with Ambassadors and Mayors, seen Shakespeare’s Globe Theater, explored islands in New Zealand and 1000 year-old monasteries in Ukraine, seen the home of the world’s best brewery in Leuven, Belgium, danced the Tango in Argentina, and lived like a King. It has been, in a word, spectacular. Wow. Simply, wow.

Today, as bittersweet as it might be, it is with the utmost pleasure and excitement that I wish all of the contestants of the 15th Annual Stella Artois World Draught Master Competition the best of luck, and I look forward to crowning my successor, whomever he or she may be. I recall fondly the excitement of last year’s competition in London and the incredible joy of standing on the podium, the winning trophy held high above my head. I look forward immensely to seeing the same excitement and emotion in this year’s winner. May you have the most exceptional year and continue the proud tradition of Stella Artois Draught Masters. Stella Artois: she has been, and will continue to be, a thing of beauty. Take good care of her."

However, fate didn’t end there. After my whirlwind year I went back to bartending but not for long. I was offered a job with the F&B Partnership as a beer consultant, which I happily accepted. That once-in-a-lifetime experience has been extended via F&B; now I get to travel North America and Europe, teaching people about beer and focusing on beer and food pairings.

The best part about my job – other than getting to travel around teaching people about beer (!) – is that it leaves me time to dedicate to teaching flair bartending. So, finally, in the summer of 2012 I got back to filming new flair bartending tutorials – this time in a studio with proper sound, lighting, editing, the whole bit. Rather than add to ChrisTheBartender.com, I spent some time building a new website and launched FlairBartending.TV in December 2012. If you’re looking for flair bartending lessons, I’ve got over 50 new videos up on FBTV’s YouTube channel, with new ones added every week. We’re just about to move into exhibition flair and get a little crazy. Be sure to subscribe!

So that’s what I’ve been doing. If you made it this far, I’d love to hear from you. Tell me what you think, what you’ve been doing, how your flair is going, and anything you want to share.  I promise to respond to any and every email I get. I’m turning over a new leaf. We are going to flip some bottles.

Practice, practice.

Sincerely,

Chris

I just got back from the 2010 US Stella Artois Draught Master Competition in Boston - and I brought the title and trophy home with me! If you've been following the last month or two, you know that I entered a local event at my bar to pour the perfect Stella Artois using their 9 Part Ritual. 

Now it's on to London to compete in the Stella Artois World Draught Master Competition. I get to represent my country against 25 other countries. It's like the beer Olympics! I've never been across the pond before. Wish me luck!

I want to give a shout-out to Matt and Paul for coming down to the competition and lending support. I'd never met either of them before, but Matt had found my website a couple weeks ago and - as someone who is into fire spinning, poi, plate spinning, and other object manipulation - he got bit by the flair bug. Paul was in the same boat and showed me some videos of him doing maneuvers with glow sticks I'd never imagined were possible. It was cool to meet two guys just getting started in flair but with a badass background in other similar artforms. And great to have a cheering section at the Stella event as well.  

I'm sure the Boston event is going to be tough competition, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed and doing my homework. I've got my sights set on London. In the meantime, checkout some of the sights from NYC:

TGIFridays in Times Square: if you've seen the movie Cocktail, you might recognize this place.The door to mixology bar/speakeasy Please Don't Tell is a phone booth. Located inside a hot dog restaurant. 

My friend Jay and I enjoying some excellent cocktails at Please Don't Tell.

Me with an NBC page before watching a taping of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.The Stella Artois Draught Master Competition. Step #1: The Purification.Step #6: The Beheading.

The top 3 competitors. The guy in the middle got the slip. The girl on the left and I tied for 1st.I'd never met Paul or Matt before, but they'd seen the website and decided to come down and cheer for me. It's really cool to meet people that are actually learning from my videos. We had a great time!A toast to Stella - and on to Boston!

The good news is that two friends of mine have invited me to spend two months with them in Panama. My lease expires this week and my job allowed me the time off, so I couldn't say no. I leave on Monday, Aug 16th for Panama.

The bad news is that I won't be working  behind a bar for the next two months. As much as I'll miss slinging drinks and rocking it five deep, the good news is that I'll have two months to finally get to all of the stories, tips, and other things I've been wanting to share with you. I'm looking forward to having some uninterrupted time to spend working on putting out great content and building a much more involved website. Oooh, and I'll also have a whole new drinking culture to explore. I'm looking forward to exploring and discussing Panamanian rums, beers, drinks, and discos. Next week, start checking back regularly for more updates.

And finally, the great news: Over the past few months, I've had a number of readers ask me if I had an instructional DVD available. I don't. But I've got something I think will be better. I'm going to be launching a whole new site dedicated just to flair bartending videos. I'll still have some free tutorials available, but ultimately I'll be building a paid monthly subscription site. The concept is that instead of dropping $30-40 on any number of DVDs out there, you can spend about $15/month and get access to all of the instructional videos I have, with new ones being added regularly. I was working with a company to build the site that wanted me to charge at least $25/month, trying to convince me that the more people pay, the more value they perceive that they are getting. While I get their point, I'm doing it on my own, and though I haven't set the price yet, I'm going to make it affordable and try to give you more than your $$$ worth. And, of course, if you've been following ChrisTheBartender.com for a while, I'll have special deals for you.

After an entire summer of technical difficulties and terrible mishaps, I have finally completed filming about 4 hours worth of new tutorials. I was hoping to have even more, but what I didn't finish here, I'll get filmed in Panama. Do you guys care if the instructional flair videos are filmed in a bar or is a park or beach just fine? I tried so hard to get a professional look by filming as much as I could behind the bar, but I've had other readers tell me they don't care - they just want new tutorials. Tell me if it matters to you.

So, that's what's happening with me.

A quick plug for the people that I'll be staying with in Panama. They are an awesome couple that used to come into my bar regularly when I worked at the Comedy Club. They've been doing web design/development since the internet began and do amazing work. Be sure to check out their hotel reservation website HotelSpinner.com. Sure I'm biased, but I'll swear on your mother's grave that it's the best hotel booking site out there. Hotel Spinner compares dozens of other travel sites and finds you the best deal. Basically, they do the foot work for you. So if you travel at all, check them out. And it just goes to show: be good to your regulars. You never know how good they'll end up being to you.

Check out the cocktail shaker that's up for grabs - it's a sexy little number. It's a three-piece shaker with a cap and strainer - more of a classic martini shaker than the weighted tins that we'd generally use for flairing, but it would make a great addition to any bar or home setup.

So what do you have to do to win one of the three that's up for grabs? Steve and I talked about hosting some kind of contest (submit your best bar toast, flair move, drink recipe, etc.) but for this first giveaway we're going to keep it real simple. All you have to do is send me an email with "Free Cocktail Shaker" in the subject line and the state you live in as the body of the email. Unfortunately, for now, True Fabrications can only ship in the US. Sorry global readers! But for you guys in the US, that's it. I'll randomly select three people on August 8th and notify you by email. I'm posting this message on July 28th, so you've got a few days.

If you get a chance, peek around their site a little bit. You'll find some pretty cool wine accessories; I'd never seen wine stoppers quite like this.

A couple weeks ago, however, our Nolet Spirits sales manager Mike pulled out all the stops and invited a handful of my co-workers and I to watch the Minnesota Twins beat up the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park. Aside from just picking up the cost of the tickets, he actually rented a suite at the TGIFridays in left field complete with an open bar and food. Oh, to be wined and dined. We got to mingle with other bar owners and employees from other Madison and Milwaukee bars. And we definitely put more than a dent in their liquor supply while we watched the Brewers win their first game in what would ultimately be a three game sweep of my hometown Twins. The tickets, the drinks, and the food all seemed generous enough - I felt like asking him to rig the game might've been too much.

So, I want to say thanks to Mike and the folks at Ketel One for a great night out on the town. I don't know why it got so fuzzy towards the end, especially when I found out the next day that my friends had been buying me non-alcoholic beer. Must've been the two Harlem bombs we started the first inning with or possibly the handful of Ketel One Oranje and 7's that kept me company during the Twins loss. If you haven't had the new Ketel One Oranje yet, go get a bottle. It's easily the best orange vodka I've had - light and sweet, without being syrupy or candy-like. And if you haven't heard of their newest liqueur Harlem, check it out. It's an herbal liqueur that draws a most-likely comparison to Jagermeister. Now, I'm not a fan of Jagermeister at all, but I can comfortably say that a shot of Harlem dropped into Red Bull with a squeeze of orange was a tasty way to start that night's drinking rampage. Adding a hint of orange really helps perk up the Harlem shot. So much better than the Jagerbombs I pour every night for the dude-bro with the popped collar and cheesy pickup lines. And I haven't tried their Hup Holland Hup shot they suggest on the Harlem blog, but I'm sure I will tonight.

There's a great historic theater next to the bar I work in that occasionally hosts some really awesome shows. This past Saturday they played home to Zane Lamprey and his "Drinking Made Easy" tour for HDNet. Though he's done a lot of different projects, Zane is mostly famous for his TV show Three Sheets. It's a show where Zane and his friends travel the world and explore local drinking customs - basically, they go get piss-faced till sunrise in cool cities all over the planet. Apparently, they're on tour now with a comedy show that highlights them drinking all over the US. Word is they're filming 53 cities and are going to make 26 episodes for a new show. Here's to hoping Madison, WI made the cut.

I've got to be honest: I've never actually seen a whole episode of Three Sheets, but that's only because I don't have cable TV. My friend Drew has been telling me about it since day one and my co-worker Jamie has seen every episode and credits it for much of his knowledge of mixology (which is truly outstanding.) In fact, Jamie was about as excited as a 14 year-old girl at a Justin Bieber concert to hear that Zane and his crew were going to be stopping into our bar. Unfortunately, the guys came in for lunch before Jamie and I were there so we didn't get a chance to meet him or get him drunk. However, the day bartender George said he and his crew were all nice, stand-up guys.

Are you guys familiar with Zane Lamprey? Have you seen Three Sheets? What do you think? The good news is that I just I found out Hulu has posted all four seasons of his show. I'm looking forward to catching up on them. If you're outside of the US, I know you can't watch videos on Hulu. However, it looks like you can also watch some episodes on Mojo, the network that sponsored the show.