QUEST 2008
The Original Flair Bartending Event!
November 9th - 12th 2008
Universal CityWalk® Orlando Florida, USA

By The FBA

Welcome Flair Fans to another exciting time in our sport.

It is time again for the original flair bartending championship. QUEST is back to the grooveSM Night Club at Universal CityWalk® in Orlando Florida this November 9-12. Once again this Open Registration event will be broken into three groups; Amateurs; Advanced; and Professional. If you are a beginning Flair bartender, that hasn’t competed very much, or at all, then the Amateur Division is for you. If you are a more experienced Flair bartender, but don’t feel like you are at the Professional level, then the Advanced division is for you. The last division is self-explanatory; Professional. This is for the Flair bartenders that want to compete for the big money and show they can play with the big dogs, as well as earn points toward the FBA Pro Tour. $25,000 in cash will be awarded to the Advanced and Professional finalists and trophies will be given to ALL finalists.

See you there!

SECOND ANNUAL COCKTAIL FILM FEST
New Orleans, LA U.S.A. April 2009

By Cheryl Charming

What is it? Tales of the Cocktail and W New Orleans invite movie buffs and libation lovers to indulge in two evenings of celebrating the cocktail in four films. Cheryl Charming aka Miss Charming™, cocktail author and founder of MissCharming.com, plays hostess for the silver screenings.

Film Fest hostess, Cheryl Charming aka Miss Charming™ has been in the food and beverage industry since 1976, tending bar, authoring cocktail related books (9 so far), teaching bar tricks to Walt Disney World bartenders, and cocktail consulting. She is a member of The Bartenders Guild, and The Museum of the American Cocktail. She resides in Downtown Orlando and maintains the website MissCharming.com.

The Film Fest schedule is as follows:

• Friday, April 10th, 7 p.m., Cocktail
• Friday, April 10th, Midnight, Moulin Rouge
• Saturday, April 11th, 5 p.m., King Creole
• Saturday, April 11th, 8 p.m., Goldeneye

Seating for all films are dinner party style.

Friday, April 10th, 7 p.m., Cocktail (1988)
Cocktail finally turns 21! And what better way to celebrate this summer hit of ’88 than with dinner, drinks, and a movie Jamaican style! This film kick-started modern flair bartending worldwide and introduced three hit songs, Kokomo, Don’t Worry, Be Happy, and Addicted To Love. Special guest star, J.B. Bandy (Tom Cruise’s bartender choreographer) will be present before and after the movie taking all your Q & A’s you may have and even demonstrate the moves he taught Tom. Cocktails to be served include Pink Squirrel, Turquoise Blue, Sex on the Beach, Cuba Libre, and Screwdriver.

Friday, April 10th, Midnight, Moulin Rouge (2001)
Can-Can you join us for a midnight enchanting screening of this lush and visually-rich modern musical that was nominated for 8 Oscars? The Green Fairy will be upon us as we serve Lucid Absinthe in glass blown fountains at each table. Nibbles, bottled water and French wine will also be available.

Saturday, April 11th, 5 p.m., King Creole (1958)
This Elvis Presley summer hit of 1958 was filmed in New Orleans when he was 22 years old. The cast and crew blocked off the entire top floor of the Roosevelt Hotel (now Fairmont Hotel and soon to be Waldorf Astoria). King Creole was Elvis’ last B&W film and is considered by critics to be his best. Elvis plays a nightclub busboy turned nightclub singer and even though there are many bar scenes not one single cocktail is mentioned…so we will be serving famous New Orleans cocktails including the Sazerac, Hurricane, Scarlet O'Hara, Ramos Gin Fizz, and French 75. Retro candy and popcorn will be served and popular soundtracks to look forward include Trouble, Hard Headed Woman, King Creole, New Orleans, and Dixieland Rock.

Saturday, April 11th, 8 p.m., Goldeneye (1995)
Join us for Russian cuisine and cocktails as we present the 1995 holiday blockbuster as Pierce Brosnan makes his 1st appearance as James Bond. This was also the 1st Bond film made after the downfall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. The film won two awards for best sound and special effects. Cocktails to be served include Vodka Martinis (shaken not stirred with a lemon twist), Black Russians, White Russians, and Jack Daniels on the rocks.

Area 51 DVD NOW AVAILABLE
Just in time for the holidays...

By Behnam Gerami

Area 51 takes you behind the scenes and into the homes of Dario Doimo, Vache Manoukian, Justin Keane, Tom Alley, Behnam Gerami and Vladymyr Buryanov. Giving you an inside look into the lifestyles of some of Las Vegas's top Flair bartenders.

Watch them pratice and design new moves at home, then execute them behind the bar in front of a crowd. From carnival Court to Kahunaville, this DVD takes you deep into the hottest Flari bars in the country. Packed with over 90 minutes of high octane Flair in stunning high definition, Area 51 is sure to entertain on all levels.

The DVD features an up close and personal look of each bartender in their "CRIBS."
It is also jam packed with high energy Flair choreographed to high impact music.
The special features include hilarious blooper footage as well as an "all Flair" option so your local bar can play the DVD in a loop displaying only the Flair.

The Area 51 DVD is now available HERE, Make Sure you stop by the Barproducts booth at Quest and get yourself a copy. They make a great holiday stocking stuffer.

BARTENDERS BATTLE
Delray Beach, Florida U.S.A.

By Michael Liberta

The challenge as been made and the Bartenders Battle will begin October 7th @ Tavera Eros (8 East Atlantic Ave. Delray Beach, FL).

Come and join us as we watch some of South Florida's best Flair bartenders compete for over $5000.00 in cash and prizes and a chance to compete in the final on November 4th. Doors open at 8:00 PM. ITB Drink Specials All Night Long, $100.00 ITB Bottles and crowd giveaways. We look forward to partying with you!

For more information, please visit HERE.

WFA GRAND SLAM TOUR ‘08
Press Release

WFA Grand Slam World Tour is the equivalent of F1 racing and gives bartenders a chance to earn points by competing in as many official WFA competitions around the World. A point's structure gives competing bartenders the chance to gather points by entering as many competitions on the Grand Slam circuit. The competitor with the most points earned at the end of the Grand Slam year will win 5,000 Euro's in cash. Please note that WFA supports all competitions no matter how big or small. It is free to register to be a part of the Grand Slam World TourTo become part of the Grand Slam, it is very easy.

The Grand Slam is a collection of competitions from all over the world. Competitors will compete in as many or as little competitions as they wish, but for each competition they enter they will receive grand slam points. Over the year each competitors points will be calculated and the competitor with the most points overall will win the title of "GRAND SLAM CHAMPION" To be listed on the Grand Slam is completely free. There is however certain criteria to meet to determine what "bottle level" your competition will be rated at.

All of the competitions in the Grand Slam are international events and are open to anyone from anywhere in the world. The format for each competition may vary, but all competitions must be approved by WFA. Each competition will be assigned a "bottle level" based on different criteria about the competition. Any event can apply to be part of the Grand Slam, but all rules and formats for every competition must be checked by WFA before it has approval. If needed WFA can supply their own scoring criteria for any competition, but we want to see a wide range of competitions and scoring systems as we believe not all competitions are the same and we would like to preserve the core of each competition but keeping it unique.

THE ROADHOUSE
Roadhouse World Open 4, Sunday September 28th 2008

by Jay du Toit

With this years Roadhouse world finals just around the corner things are getting very serious and everyone is battling it out to grab the last few spots available. The finals are shaping up to be one crazy competition! For more information please check out the finals page HERE. Tickets are also on sale now!

Back to world open IV. 30 competitors form all over the world flew in to come and have their 5 minutes on the Roadhouse stage and hopefully make it to the days final to compete for the cash prizes, a Roadhouse trophy and 2 spots in the world finals. Standards were at an incredibly high level and the judges were going to have a tough time choosing 6 for the finals.

It was a very close call and one drop could have made the difference as certain competitors found out. Coming in 6th place with his super smooth style and a great personality to go with it was Robbie Cucurullo representing the Sea Lounge in Monte Carlo. He was stunned at making the final but it was well deserved. Originally from Italy this man has got some slick moves, uses some great music and puts on an all round great performance. 5th spot went to Sylvain Glatiny from Bar Academy Paris. Again another competitor with his own unique style he is always coming up something fresh and new. 4th spot and a place in the world finals went to Levent Yilmaz from cocktail shows in Germany. The big man had a cracking finals round and landed some big moves and his stage presence got the crowd fired up.

By this time we had a packed house and people were enjoying the Jagermeister promotions. The atmosphere was great and the competitors were really enjoying their time on stage getting some great responses from the crowd. 3rd spot and £350 went to Dave "Ginge" Reynolds. Flying the UK flag high and currently doing very well in competitions he came out to what he described as his favourite music and had Roadhouse going crazy. Watch out for him in this year’s world finals as he has come on in leaps and bounds. 2nd spot and £750 was 3 time 2008 Roadhouse winner Marco Canova. Showing us a few of his new moves he had a solid routine and is sure to step it up another level for the finals.

Man of the day: Tomek Malek from Sobieski Vodka Poland. Fresh from winning Nations in Las Vegas he came out with people expecting a lot from him and he did not let us down. His 3 tin bottle routine is simply unbelievable and some of the moves he was landing can only be described as ridiculous! Well done, well deserved and bring on the finals Tomek! £1500 and a world finals spot.

The after party as usual kept going right till 3am with people partying like their lives depended on it...Well done to everyone for a great day of Flair and don’t miss the last world open of the year on the 26th October.
Please check HERE for video clips and more news.

Always a pleasure

To learn more about the monthly "Roadhouse" competition you can click HERE.

BARTENDERS WANTED!

by William Hinkebein

I need bartenders from Australia, NZ, Taiwan, HK, Thailand, Philippines, Singapore, and Japan to consult me on potential importer/distributors in these countries. I am looking to set up distribution of Finest Call Cocktail Mix. Also, when and where are there bar shows in these countries.

Thank you for your continued support and you can contact me through my email at "whinkebein@abmcocktails.com".

GIVING FROM THE CORE
Press Release

Children of Restaurant Employees, Ltd., (CORE™) is a non-profit organization focused on educating and encouraging employees in the hospitality industry with children who have life-threatening medical conditions. The support given on behalf of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, where wish-granting is available to enrich the lives of their children, is what makes this all possible; we refer to this positive alignment as CORE™ WiSH. Whether it’s a GM at a national chain restaurant who is aware that a waitress of his has a daughter with a life-threatening condition or a banquet manager at a hotel who’s only son has a life-threatening condition, CORE™ WiSH is now our industry's way of educating, supporting, encouraging and donating to the children and their families that are going through the challenges of their medical conditions.

To learn more about CORE™ WiSH you can check out there website here.