Flair's Quest

Quest 2009 Reviewed

By Rob Husted

"The Quest for the Best Bartender" competition was one of the first international Flair bartending competitions in the world. It started off being organized by Patrick Henry Creative Promotions and now has been taken on by High Spirits & the FBA (Flair Bartenders Association) and is now know simply as "Quest".

The original days of "Quest for the Best" bring back alot of found memories for many of us veterans in our sport of Flair bartending. Memories of great performances on stage, insane specialty rounds, PVC practice bars and ironing boards as back bars in the hotel rooms (before we had the Flairco Portable Bar), speed rounds, ground breaking Flair and especially great camaraderie and fun had by all.

It seems back then, things were more fun. Why I wonder...? Maybe because it was all new to many of us at the time? Perhaps because there were less egos, prize money and reputations at the time? There were less worries about making sure you placed high to help with obtaining your visa papers then worrying to make sure you ordered enough shots for everybody at the bar that night.

We were all just bartenders on vacation and acting like the rock star bartenders we all were in our home towns. Now don't get me wrong... we took the competition seriously... but we also made sure to enjoy ourselves as well. There was a nice balance... and I think over the years we kind of forgot how to do that. I mean the same year at "Quest for the Best" the FBA "Naked Schultz" Award originated from Mark Schultz and Steven Hirst who streaked naked across Disney property together to draw security away from the outrageous late night party of Flair bartenders going on and still managed to make the finals.

Those are the stories you hear about at past Quests... Chris Cardone KY-Arm Wrestling, the taking over of Dennys, Christian Oldan "rescuing" a passed out fan from a boat in the middle of a lake and then chasing him through the hotel with Chuck Mac on camera, Chuck Mac's Flair speech during his specialty round, Tim "Stormin" Norman's Specialty rounds, the battles for first between Ken Hall and Alan Mays... it just seems like it was great Flair, great times and less "forced fun".

But... that is a story for another time. What I can say is the level of Flair has gone way up since then and the speed round times have gone way down. The progression of Flair is incredible. What we once thought of as being impossible with two bottles, we are now doing in transitions with four bottles. Insane! Speed rounds and how we practice for them along with new techniques have helped us lower our times as well as become more efficient behind our own bars. Flair is no longer a fad but becoming a standard for showcasing an advanced professional bartenders skills... speed, accuracy, Mixology and ENTERTAINMENT! All of which "we" showcase nicely on a regular basis.

Some might say "Flair is dead.." I say the concept of the "Professional Flair Bartender" is very much alive and kicking! Its because of that is why I think these competitions are great and I will always support them. Constantly raising the bar in our skills, sharing knowledge, networking and so much more.

With that said... to be on the finals stage means alot. Talent, passion, knowledge and so much more are possessed by the individuals on stage as well as the entire group of Flair bartenders competing in the entire competition. And with that note, on to the final outcome...

In the end the bartender holding the big check and first place trophy was Rodrigo Delpech.

From the beginning of Rodrigo's routine, he wanted to show his difficulty level. Starting off with four tins and a bottle and moving to an original two bottle, glass and ice scoop routine which had all eyes on him. It's almost as he bends reality with his objects on stage.

Well done and it looks like we have another Delpech on top at Quest this time again...

Click on Rodrigo's picture to the left to see a highlight of his round.

Taking home second place and huge bragging rights... Danilo Oribe from "Team Kahunaville" and the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino.

Danilo who won this event last year had alot of pressure on him again to do the same this year.

Danilo had a good routine starting off with a bottle and tin and progressing it into two bottles and three tins, but when he did eighteen reverse elbow bumps and toping that with a two bottle and two Finest Call bottle juggle with a pirouette is where he started to separate himself from the other competitors.

Couple that with an entertaining specialty round with a slap chop and an unusual amount of drops for him and it all equals to a big second place payday. Congrats buddy!

Click on Danilo's picture to the right to see a highlight of his round.

Dario Doimo rounded out the top three coming in a solid third place.

Also representing "Team Kahunaville", Dario is always a crowd favorite at Quest.

Dario as of late, seems to be having more fun on stage and handling the pressure alot better then the Dario of a few years ago. Trading in those constant drops in the finals to constant smiles and elbow bumps with his signature thumbs up. A more calm and confident Dario is giving us more variety and an overall better show. We look forward to the future my friend.

Click on Dario's picture to the right to see a highlight of his round.

Coming in fifth place this year was... Gianluigi Bosco.

Hailing from the UK, Gianluigi brings the patented UK style with his unique rolls and manipulations. This helped him as much as it hurt him I feel, perhaps he didn't practice that much with the Three Olives bottles but during his whole five minute routine he only touched the Three Olives bottles a total of fifteen seconds!

Now with that said he had some incredible stuff with his FBA Pro Tour bottles and tins along with his three bottle routine you will have to just see for yourself. I'm looking forward to Gianluigi incorporating more sponsor bottles in competitions in the future and still making our jaws drop. :-)

Click on Gianluigi's picture to the right to see a highlight of his round.

Coming in seventh place also representing "Team Kahunaville" was... Nicola Falzone.

This being one of the first times Nicola has been on the finals stage of a major Flair bartending competition was an accomplishment on it own. Starting off with a two Three Olives bottle sequence to a "Shawn Greco es" elbow stall replacement from an old Scott Young Extreme Bartending training video updated for today's time. to a cool Finest Call bottle behind the back, over the shoulder exchange to a hand stall for his Finest Call Stall.

For the first time on stage for finals you can see Nicola was a little nervous but overall still put on a good show. Congrats on the first of many finals my friend.

Click on Nicola's picture to the right to see a highlight of his round.

Coming in eighth place and no longer in the FBA Advanced division... Nicholas Olliney.

Nicholas reminiscent of Levi Donaldson with the same short haircut only younger and different routine brought new revitalized energy to the experienced Pro veterans stage.

Starting off with a Three Olive bottle and tin sequence then incorporating a Finest Call bottle to a head stall while pouring the Three Olives bottle into the tin with his left hand while dropping down the Finest Call bottle from his head to a hand stall on his right. You can see his smile after he hit that first sequence that he was happy to be on the Pro finals stage at Quest.

From a 2 Finest Call bottle and scoop sequence to a three bottle sequence incorporating a head stall to a tomahawk which you can check out on our 'Masterclass' page. You can see the concentration in his eyes while he was on stage trying to perform his routine, It as though he didn't have much time to be too nervous because of this. Congrats my friend!

Click on Nick's picture to the right to see a highlight from his round.

Sebastian Cao from "Coconut Willies" has first place honors in the Advanced division.

Sebastian who is Rodrigo Cao's younger brother is a chip off the old block. Sebastian may be in the Advanced division but has the stage presence almost of a professional like is older brother.

From starting off with a Three Olives bottle and Finest Call bottle sequence to bottle and tin with an unfortunate mishap that turned into a happy mistake in his favor. From then on he had that classic Argentinean smile as he displayed an Advanced division first place routine. Well done my friend and we look forward to having you down here in Florida!

Click on Sebastian's picture to the left to see a highlight of his round.

Winning the Quest Amateur division was... Aaron Ballew.