Two award-winning barmen from Manchester decide that merely making a cocktail or two for a living is not nearly enough to wow the ladies and embark on a Tom Cruise Cocktail -style resurrection of flairing. Enter the BarWizards. Neil Garner, 28, and Neil Lowrey, 26, took the nation by storm when they reached the final of Britain's Got Talent last month. Judge Amanda Holden was suitably impressed by their devilish charm saying they were 'fantastically entertaining'. Breaking down a particularly sexy Caipirinha routine for us, their talents are indeed beyond doubt. Be warned though, flairing is no easy task: you must be suave, you must laugh in the face of danger, you must always do it in pairs. But if you nail it, then you too can revel in just how darn cool you are.
Step 1
Let's start you off with something easy: lime. Hold the glass in your right hand, deftly throw the lime into the air, catching it in the up-turned glass. This is a simple move but very effective.
Step 2
Another thing to do with lime is to throw it behind your back up over your shoulder. Throwing things over your shoulder is very important in cocktail making as it makes you look cool.
Step 3
Now it's sugar, brown or white. You could throw this over your shoulder too but you should probably just plump for a simple pour. Jazz it up how ever you fancy though.
Step 4
Next we muddle the lime and sugar. Use a muddler for this. If your cocktail confidence is building you should be throwing the muddler up in the air with a bit of a spin. Girls love this.
Step 5
Ice should be in whole cubes, not crushed like most amateurs do. One of you should be throwing it over your shoulder with the other ready to catch as flamboyantly as you can.
Step 6
Now the fun really begins! Bottle of Cachaca, (the Brazilian spirit used for Caipirinhas) for one of you, cocktail shaker for the other. Make sure your hips are out at a jaunty angle.
Step 7
Throwing from your right hand, aim upwards and, naturally, over your shoulder. You can really begin to show off now. You could even take your eyes off the bottle to flash the girls a smile.
Step 8
Catching will be a straightforward affair. Whip your left hand round the back of your head to catch the bottle or shaker. This is a fancy bit of prancing but crucial to making a fab cocktail.
Step 9
Now you're really in the swing of things. Bring the bottle back round to your right hand then, twisting your arm over and round, release the bottle for a throw over, yep, your shoulder.
Step 10
By now you should have worked the crowd into a frenzy. The bottle should be going over your right shoulder for your mate to catch behind your head. You guys are too cool.
Step 11
After you've caught the bottle to rapturous applause, put it head first into the shaker. The Cachaca will pour into the shaker as you roll it down your arm. Make sure your hips are jaunty.
Step 12
Continuing the Grease-like arm rolling thing, hold the bottle with your left hand so you can put it over your all-important shoulder, then hold it over your back, set to dazzle with the pour.
Step 13
The pour has to look good, though by now you'll look so good that you could mess up and no one would care. Make sure you get plenty of height between bottle and shaker. It looks better.
Step 14
Put a glass in the top of the shaker and shake. Shake your hips too. You're having a great time, give the girls a wink. Shaking is the most important part of cocktail making, so do it well.
Step 15
Time for some more throwing. Shaker and glass up in the air for your friend to catch. Maybe even whip this bad boy over the shoulder too if you're really feeling in the flairing spirit of things.
Step 16
You're getting ready for the big finale now. Separate glass and shaker by whacking the palm of your hand against the join. Remember to shake your hips a bit and smile at the ladies.
Step 17
Another elaborate pour. One of you balance the glass on the back of your hand while the other pours in the finished Caipirinha. Everyone will be very impressed by your balancing skills.
Step 18
Ta-dah! You are the flair extraordinaire. Spin the shaker around a bit for a final flourish and add a straw if you're feeling extra cool. Which you most definitely are by now.
6 common injuries to avoid when mixing drinks
1. Boston Shaker's Wrist
RSI achieved by over-vigourous agitating of the spirits.
2. Rotten Fingers
You chop fruit for the garnishes, you nick the ends of your fingers, the booze seeps in over the course of an evening - and it all goes mouldy.
3. Spoon through the hand
Those long, elegant, spiral bar spoons, down which one pours dribbles of v pricey booze, can snap easily. Next thing you know, one half of the spoon is piercing your palm.
4. Speed pourer through the eye-lid
This actually happened to someone OFM knows! The metal pourer was not fixed to the neck of the vodka bottle, then flung into the air, flair-style - the pourer spun out and directly into his face ...
5. Second Degree Flaming Tequila Shot Burns
Self-explanatory.
6. Bus-Boys' stoop
Months (years, even) of leaning over a too-low sink to wash endless high-balls, will take its toll.
Don't overdo it on the pop and don't flair if you have a hint of doubt, this is a job for people who know how good they are.
· · Bar Wizards recommend Sagatiba Cachaca, sagatiba.com
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