Step behind the bar and into the captivating world of flair bartending with veteran mixologist Vache in this special edition "shift drink" episode recorded live at the World Food Championship with KC.
While culinary competitions often steal the spotlight, we turn our attention to the equally impressive art of performance bartending. Vache, a 22-year veteran who works at Circa Las Vegas, shares his journey from bartending novice to flair expert. What began with a fortuitous meeting with Francesco, one of the World Mixology Championships organizers, blossomed into decades of bottle-flipping expertise.
This special WFC epsidoe is some technical advice and entertaining demos (watch on YouTube!) as Vache breaks down how beginners can approach flair bartending. "Keep it simple. You go one bottle, one shaker. This is your bread and butter," he advises. Through hands-on instruction, KC attempts various techniques—from bottle stalls and simple tosses to the more complex thumb roll—discovering that finding your personal balance points is crucial to success. The highlight comes when she successfully executes a bottle-spinning move on her first attempt, proving that with proper guidance, anyone can incorporate elements of flair into their mixology repertoire.
Whether you're a professional bartender looking to add some visual excitement to your service or simply curious about the flashier side of mixology, this episode offers valuable insights into an often overlooked culinary art form. Follow Vache on Instagram and TikTok @flyinv to see more impressive tricks, or catch his live performances at Circa Las Vegas on weekends. Ready to shake up your bartending skills? This episode is just what you need to get started.
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Episode Transcript
All right, how you doing?
I'm good.
How are you, Kristen, I know.
So we are bringing in a littlebit of the mixology, because you
always see us kitchen.
Everything is culinary on thefood side for chef.
Absolutely, I get to jump intomy world.
I feel good for you right now.
I'm supporting this.
This is your supporting me.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
This is your game.
Right here I'm stepping out.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
This is my time.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Give me a little shot here so I can step out.
A little shot, there we go, hey.
Special edition for the chef.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Oh, oh, oh yes.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Yes, all right.
That's it, that's it.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
I'm out, have fun.
That's it.
Kill it Tag.
Thank you, chef.
Tag in Right right, keeping itclassy.
So we were talking.
We're here at the World FoodChampionship, so you have to
introduce yourself to everybodyfirst, hi guys, my name's Vache.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
I work downtown in Las Vegas at Cir bartender for
like 22 years.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
So you've been doing the flair portion for 22 years.
Did you start that as soon asyou started bartending?
Speaker 1 (01:06):
I did, I did, I got right into flair a few years
later.
Ironically, I met intoFrancesco, one of the organizers
of the World MixologyChampionships.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Really.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
So big shout out to them.
Thank you for having me and infull circle now to be back
involved with Francesco, but Idid get involved with mixology
early on.
And I was doing mixologycompetitions along with flair
competitions, but more flairheavy.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Yeah.
So I think a lot of people inthe restaurant space.
I think it's become a littlemore prevalent now that they
know about competition.
Like the bartendingcompetitions were always
reserved for the people in Vegas, you know, Chicago, New York,
Miami, Like you saw the big guysalways showing up, but I think
it's kind of reached more of a,you know, as we come into the
craft cocktail era, more of theherbaceous, like all of these.
You're drinking a fuckinggarden, Like at this point, like
(01:49):
you're really eating your drinkno-transcript.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
The culinary mixology , amalgamation, is something
that we've like.
I mean, these guys are peakingright now.
They're going for $20,000.
So they're taking out all thestops.
I mean we saw some good stufftoday.
That's a good tip.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
So if you're and we've had some of our, you know,
we've had our bartenderepisodes, you know, on the show
for burnt hands already, and Ithink we kind of had one that
was old school versus new school, nice.
So you know, it was like I'mold school, I've been out of the
game for 10 years, but I did itfor 15 before that.
Wow, so I did it.
I never learned to flarebecause I am a female and
(02:31):
females typically do not have tolearn to flare as much, because
you already have things thatshake so you don't need to shake
other things.
So we kind of have that side ofit where I always wanted to
learn it and I never learned it.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
So do you teach it, or do you just do everything
with it now?
Yeah, I do everything.
I've been in the game for solong now.
I'll judge competitions, Iteach master classes, I work
still, that's awesome and I doshows, demos, whatever you need.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
So you're everywhere, like literally.
So when you're starting peopleout when it comes to basics of
flair, what would you say?
Your best setup is to start?
What are your first couple ofsteps?
Speaker 1 (03:09):
Right here I say keep it simple.
You go one bottle, one shaker.
This is your bread and butter.
As for getting started, I wouldlearn to just throw and catch
these items in different ways.
I would start with tins Because, although they are sharper,
well, they don't break.
Because they don't breakexactly.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
So I know they make flare bottles for practicing
that are like the hard plastic.
Are those similar in weightwhen you're dealing with that
for training.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
They are, but the way they go in and out of the
shaker it's different.
Yeah, it's different, it's Ilove glass.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
I'm a big glass, all right.
Well, it's different.
It sticks.
You get that rubber stick, yeah.
So it's not the same, yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
So it's okay.
So I love glass.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
I'm a big glass guy All right, well, I mean, it is
very eco-friendly.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Yes, don't try this at home, ladies and gentlemen,
anything, you just saw, don't.
Don't try that until you yeah,don't do working.
Whether you're doing mixologyor dive bar or this or that, you
got to reach for somethingright.
You're reaching for the pintglass or you're reaching for a
napkin, a straw, there'sopportunities to add a little
(04:05):
bit of flair.
Yeah, without putting on like asequence or doing like a
routine.
There's so many opportunities.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Even like a bar spoon or like a jigger, you can have
a lot of fun with some quickflash okay, when I've seen you
do some of that on stage with,like just you know, shaker tin
spinning and it just staysspinning.
So I see, and I'm like it's,it's, it's cool because you're
working in so many differentelements of it so all right.
So, as we know, way out ofpractice and I don't know really
(04:30):
anything, I don't, it's been solong okay so you're gonna want
one thing?
okay, like we'll start withsomething basic, so.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
I would say you think we're?
Speaker 2 (04:40):
here with Tito's, they're here at the World Food
Championships, they have theAirstream here, so it's a pretty
cool setup.
So thank you for letting usinvade your space.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Right yeah, thank you , thank you, tito's, right yeah,
so just you know.
First one is kind of justseeing, if you can even stall it
.
And then we have differentplaces.
We like to stall it, either onthe elbow or wherever you know,
wherever you want, and you justkind of have fun with it, and
then eventually you can kind ofthrow it.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Oh yeah, it's so easy .
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Throw it to different .
Speaker 2 (05:10):
I'm going to drop this shit Throw it to different
spots you know.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
So see which one feels most comfortable, and I
think the hand and this are thetwo easier ones.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
So usually you're on the back of the hand.
Yeah, a little bit more forward, which isn't different for men
and women when you're liketrying to like, as far as my
hand is bony as hell.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
I think it's different for everybody.
Yeah, when you're in that, yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
So you just got to find the spot that it actually
balances.
There you go.
Okay, that's really good.
Okay, yeah, this is sad.
This is like so did you everjuggle or do anything before
this?
I did not Okay.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
So you went right into this Exactly, and then I
learned to juggle with bottlesand shakers.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
Okay, so from here, what are my best?
Speaker 1 (05:50):
See if you can even throw it to your left hand and
catch it Just this high that way.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
Okay, so that's something.
Now can you rotate it forward,like towards me?
So like, flip it it, watch yourface.
Oh, flip it to top up.
Yeah, that was pretty good.
Okay, all right one more time.
All right, ready.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
I get aggressive with a lot of things, so I have to
tone it down a little lighterokay there you go, there we go,
and now the hardest part is towatch the bottom and then where
it lands in the same spot, yep.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
So repetition is key.
How long did it take you tonail your first?
So people don't get frustrated.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
Cause I think they get frustrated and give up this
to do it clean.
I mean, yeah, it's gonna takeyou a long time, okay, coming to
you.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
Everything is flair, I know.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Even.
Speaker 2 (06:44):
I'm getting back into it how about a thumb roll.
Like this Back Okay.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
Let's try that.
It basically is just going torotate on your thumb, so it just
stays there.
It's not a throw.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
It's a little rotate.
All right, let's try that,because we'll see.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
Oh, that's really close.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
So now I got to go home and practice all of this
shit like later.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
I got this moved down .
Good with this move down.
Good with a ketchup bottle likethat.
Yeah, I used to work outfridays.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
I would just just.
I was ketchup, almost like theflare needed on the vast kind of
restaurant.
So all right, I could get okayso that I can start getting
faster at.
So I'm gonna have to do thereit goes, there it goes.
First one.
That's why we don't do glass,but all right, so that's fun.
So when you're starting toprogress what I mean for people
doing it just over and overagain- yeah, exactly, and I mean
(07:33):
, if you want to do a nice easyone here, you can.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
I guess you can.
Can you go like this?
How do you feel about this?
Speaker 2 (07:41):
this could go really bad yeah that's probably not
going to happen right now, but Ican pass it to this hand okay,
how about I show you the littlewhirly move that you?
Kind of love.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
Okay, yeah, that was fun, so you're just gonna hold
it in your left hand, we're notgonna throw it.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Yeah, so just around, spin it around your head.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
We're just gonna put it into our right hand.
Okay, so your right hand isgonna be here.
Throw that bottle in a circle,we're gonna do that and then,
and then don't grab here, we'regonna grab the body, okay, okay.
So it's just gonna go like this, and then I'm gonna put about
this much in and then just goalong the edges and just swirl
around just kind of swirl aroundand just let it set and then
(08:21):
onceyou get it okay at a certain
point, all right I think I likethis okay, let's try it, why not
All?
Speaker 2 (08:27):
right, I like those.
Okay, let's try it, why not?
They're just going to laugh atme.
I'm going to be back at thehouse later with the wine bottle
trying to do this shit.
I love it.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
All right, so you're here, left hand, starting in the
left hand, and then you'regoing to put it in your right.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Here All right, yeah, so reverse it.
We need that little soundeffect.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
Smackdown, reverse it .
Speaker 2 (08:52):
You're from a Nipiquen, yeah, okay, all right.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
She's from our area.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
So it's okay, we're all there, all right.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
So from here, passing back to here Yep, wait,
stabilize, stabilize, go ahead,pull it out Nice First try.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
Ta-da, I did one First try, you're a great
teacher I love you.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
You're amazing.
That was amazing.
No one ever gets a first try,Okay well, that one I can do.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
So we found one thing that I'm good at here that I
can bring back into therepertoire Amazing.
There you go, Okay well, Icompleted one of my tricks.
This is one of our first kindof shift drink segments for the
show, because we haven'tincorporated as much of the
bartending, sure, and that iswell, here you go.
The face like you're the front,you're the experience when
people come in so where are youat now?
Speaker 1 (09:38):
I'm at circa Las Vegas and Fridays and Saturdays
okay, so we can find you therestill so now we got to make a
trip to Vegas.
Yeah, you guys ready to go toVegas, right, yeah, yeah and um,
shout out, where's your.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
Instagram, so I know you show a lot.
Make a trip to Vegas.
Yeah, are you guys ready?
Speaker 1 (09:48):
to go to Vegas.
They'll go to Vegas.
Find us online too, right yeah?
Speaker 2 (09:50):
And shout out where's your Instagram?
Because I know you show a lotof tricks and everything on
there as well.
Speaker 1 (09:55):
I do a lot of videos on Instagram, tiktok.
You can find me at flyinv.
That's flyinv, flyin V for Vthat we want to say Thank you so
much.
Yeah, that was great.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
Thank you, tito's, for being here with us, because
this was awesome and they let usbombard their space.
You're amazing, you've done agreat job.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
I appreciate you, thank you for teaching me a
trick.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
You're welcome.
Now I gotta practice.
Okay, we'll do more of thatlater, but thank you for being
on the Burkines.
We appreciate it.
You're welcome.
Thank you for having me, cheers.
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