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Belly Up: The Pour Boys

By Marissa Conrad Published Thursday, September 20, 2007

At the Professional Bartending School in Arlington, martinis come stirred, not shaken. They also—if you’re lucky—come with a flourish. “This one’s for you,” says the bartender, flicking his thumb and forefinger like a gun. He winks and tosses up a martini glass. It lands upright on the back of his hand. Then suddenly the glass is on the counter, full, and he’s swiping an olive out of the air with a metal tumbler and dropping it into the gin and vermouth. He slides the drink across the bar. Ladies and gentlemen: Mr. Moe Harris.

Harris is not trying to be a rock star. He just wants to serve you a good drink. Flair bartending—throwing, flipping, twirling, spinning, rolling, and catching bottles and glasses while mixing a cocktail—is part of the package. Flair reigns in cities like London and Vegas; in Washington it’s just starting to pick up. That’s thanks to Harris and a few bottle-flipping friends. A few years ago, they formed the Pour Boys, a flair group that performs in area clubs. Their mission: to raise the bar on Washington flair.

After Hours caught up with Harris, an instructor at the Arlington school, and fellow Pour Boy Freddy B., who has bartended at Platinum and Anzu in DC, to learn a little more about the tricks of the trade.

How did you get into flair bartending?

HARRIS: Let’s start at the beginning. Thirteen years ago, I was a bad kid. I grew up here [in Woodbridge], but when I was in the 9th grade I got sent to live in upstate New York with my brother. I wound up getting into more trouble up there. Eventually I got tired of that, and I just kind of took off to Mexico. I have cousins in Mexico. There was a bar in Acapulco, and they needed a bilingual bartender, and I said, “I’m bilingual.” I had seen the movie Cocktail, and that was it. And then some bar manager of some big club in Acapulco came and saw me and asked if I wanted to work at his place. I was like, “Look, I really don’t know how to make drinks.” And that’s when I started bartending. Now I’ve bartended in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Puerto Rico, the island of Dominica. The flipping bottles thing is recent. It started 3 or 4 years ago when I got destroyed in a competition. When I signed up, I knew nothing. If I could go back, I would say, “Moe, you have no business being in this competition.” But then again I wouldn’t have learned any more if I didn’t go. Freddy was actually one of my students, four or five years ago. He got better so fast, it actually pushed me to get better. I was like, “I can’t have him better than me.”

So what is flair bartending?

FREDDY B.: A lot of people don’t know what it is. They think we’re just bottle flippers. There’s a bar here called Front Page, and they have a channel with extreme sports—snowboarding and a couple of other sports. And I think flair actually falls into the same category. You can get hurt really badly. Like I was practicing at home and a bottle fell down on this bone [points to ankle] and I went straight to the floor. I stopped practicing for at least 30 minutes. But flair is a passion. Once you get in it, it’s very addictive.

HARRIS: Magic. That’s what I call flair. Because you don’t believe in magic, do you? So if you watch somebody like Chris Angel, you don’t say, “Oh my God, that’s magic.” You know it’s an illusion. But what’s magic is the feeling that you get, like “Oh, my God, that’s so cool.” That’s the magical part. And that’s why I like to describe flair as magic. I could show you right now the basic science behind the most complicated moves. But it’s magic when you see somebody do it, and do it well.

We’ve all seen Cocktail, the ’80s movie with Tom Cruise. Is flair bartending anything like that?

HARRIS: You know, I used to live in Springfield, Virginia, so I get called “Moe the Bartender” all the time. And you know what? I don’t mind. But I hate when people say, “Hey, you’re like Tom Cruise!” I’m nothing like Tom Cruise. That movie has probably done more damage for flair bartenders than anything else. People get this misconception that we’re spilling a lot, because he spills a lot. And the flair he does is actually horrible.

You guys do it very well. How often do you practice?

FREDDY B.: A lot. I go on YouTube and I stay on there for hours, watching in slow motion, seeing how they do a move, and then I’ll take that move and make it my own, and add a twist to it. The moves have so much detail. It’s more complex than you think.

HARRIS: Flair is an attitude. In addition to the bottle flipping, we practice pointing and winking. Not just pointing and winking like I’m winking at a girl, but sometimes you really want to pronounce a move. It’s showmanship.

How many bottles do you think you’ve broken?

HARRIS: Wow. I couldn’t even tell you. But look, even Michael Jordan missed a free throw. It’s part of the learning process. When I don’t break bottles, that’s when I know I’m getting lazy with my flair. But it’s very rare that we break a bottle at the bar. In a bar, if I’m not going to catch it a thousand times out of a thousand, I’m not going to throw it.

So bar flair is different from flair you would do in practice or in a competition?

HARRIS: Yes. You’ve got working flair, and you’ve got exhibition flair. You can almost think of it as a basketball game versus a slam-dunk contest. Working flair is what you do behind the bar that’s not going to sacrifice any speed, any service, any product. If you have a full bottle, you’re not going to be able to do every throw—alcohol will fly out. At competitions, we preset our bottles to an ounce of alcohol. And again, that’s more of a slam-dunk contest. That’s us saying, “Look what we can do.” But working flair is a beautiful thing. You could go to any bar in DC and all the drinks taste the same, they’re all about the same price, and you hear the same music. Anytime you can do something just a little bit different, people really notice.

Do customers ask you to do tricks?

FREDDY B.: Honestly, you hate it when people are like, “Hey, can you show me a trick?” It’s kind of like asking a comedian to tell a joke.

HARRIS: I like to call it stealth flair. I don’t like to be so blatant about it and be like, “Hey, look at this trick I’m about to do.” I’m just going to flip bottles, and it’s going to be real smooth and you may or may not notice it, and when you notice it you’re going to say, “Did he just do what I thought he did?” Yes, I did.

Tell me more about the Pour Boys. How often do you do shows?

HARRIS: We’ve been doing the show for about two-and-a-half years now. There was a time when we did a show once a week and that got really exhausting. Every week—bang bang bang bang. Now we do a show about once a month. We do have a really strong following. People ask, “When’s the next show? When’s the next show?” What’s so great is, I know we feel the same way when we’re on stage. When we’re on stage and you get 400 people going “Freddy! Freddy!”—not too many people get that. I’m never going to be a rock star or anything like that, but when you have 400 people going “Moe! Moe!” it’s so much fun.

Any advice for future flair bartenders?

FREDDY B.: I got together with a few bartenders a couple days ago, so the conversation was about what makes a good bartender. To me, it’s personality. Flair actually comes in second to service. Service is very important—knowing how to talk to people, how to communicate.

HARRIS: Honestly? Until you master the bartending part, until you practice so much that your fingers have bled, I don’t want you to even attempt flair. And by master, I don’t mean know a lot of drinks. I mean be so efficient behind the bar that you actually create time. Some bartenders are going to make a lot of money because they converse with a lot of people, some bartenders are flirtatious, some bartenders flip bottles, but none of those would be possible if you weren’t a good bartender. People buy a drink, but they tip you.

Want to party with the Pour Boys? MySpace Harris (PourBoyMoe) to see where and when their next gig will be.

For more nightlife and bar information, try our Happy Hour Finder or our Events Finder. Plan your week, your weekend, and beyond.

Comments

HI IM SISTER TO FREDERICK IM FEEL VERY HAPPY FOR MY BROTHER CONGRATULATION!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: TATIANA, Dec 21, 2008 01:38:18 PM

i practiece flairing everyday.... flairing is passion for me and my hobby. my dream is to became a fliar bartender but in my country we dont have that opportunity i wish some teach me fliar i am ready to pay a lot of money plz email me @ Desmondcini@hotmail.com i wish someone help me:( ....... thank you .......

Posted by: desmond cini (malta), Nov 10, 2008 01:08:26 PM

Here’s an idea. Fix me a drink. A good drink. Because you work at a bar and, like, you’re a bartender. Then you can really impress me when you notice my drink is about spent, and ask if I’m ready for another. Yeah. That’s a good idea.

Posted by: Squizzy, Oct 30, 2007 06:11:13 AM

It’s Criss Angel

Posted by: TYPO, Oct 29, 2007 08:53:45 AM

I Love and enjoy Bartending, I feel that is very important too become a Good Bartender first! Learn Mixology,How to comunicate with your patrons, understand all the things that it takes to become a good Bartender exct! Flair comes last that’s what people fell to realize!! I’m not gonna be Flairing behind the bar ,when your 4 deep at the Bar, that’s stupid for people that don’t understand flair to think about.The Ultimate goal for the Bartender is To make High Sales for the bar, make Tips, build clientele, and be a Good Host for your your Bar, Make the bar Hot!!! But is Always the Bartenders that can’t do Flair, That wanna Hate, But there are Bartenders that don’t do Flair that sre not good at Tendingbar! But to all the People that support Thepourboys and Flair, That’s what counts to us!

Posted by: Freddy.B, Sep 29, 2007 12:10:51 PM

As a bartender at a busy bar for 4 years I will always defend the fact that bartending is not an easy job, and that not everyone can do it. There is a difference between being a bartender and being a GOOD bartender, anyone who has ever worked at all knows the difference between working with someone who does the job and someone who is good at their job. Nine times out of ten the people who are good at their jobs are the people who love what they are doing. To be a good bartender you have to love everything involved-the people, the pace, the scene, and know what you are doing-making the drinks, knowing the rules, and being efficient. Its more than just looking pretty behind the bar and serving the people you think are hot.

These guys obviously LOVE what they are doing. Between the two of them they have extensive experience behind the bar, I don’t question their knowledge or efficiency for a minute. Bartending tends to be a temporary job, it’s late nights and a lot of crap to deal with constantly, and that wears most people out pretty fast. To willingly put up with that for the number of years these guys have, you have to be in it for the love of the job.

If you are already good at your job, and doing it makes you smile, why not find a way to pass that on to others? We have all had experiences with bitchy bartenders, it happens every night. How refreshing it must be to walk into a bar and order a drink from someone with a smile on their face, who is trying to entertain you and make you smile as well! When I go out it is to have fun, and I want to see that the people I am giving my money to are enjoying themselves as well. Obviously Moe and Freddy are happy to be there, and happy to serve.

Not only have they been lucky enough to find a job that they enjoy, they have been able to extend it into a lucrative hobby. It is a sport and a talent that requires hours and hours of practice and determination. If you have ever seen a competitive flair competition you know this is much more than "just juggling." It is hard enough to learn the moves, but then to perform them with a smoothness and style that makes it looks easy requires that much more work. If you have seen flair and thought "Big deal, I could do that," then what you have just witnessed is hours of practice to make you say that, to get that move down to make it look easy. I recommend picking up a bottle and trying it, then seeing if you are still saying that....

Nothing is more compelling than interacting with someone who is passionate about what they do; whether it is flair, painting, teaching, or rocket science. Finding a satisfying job is a quest of life many people never fully realize. Don’t we all just want something to make us smile in the mornings? If flipping bottles makes these guys happy, then who are we to judge them for that? As proud as they are of what they have accomplished, they seem open to sharing this skill. They seem excited and willing to teach others. They aren’t putting themselves on some untouchable pedestal saying "we are cool cause we flip bottles and you don’t" they seem to be saying, "Flipping bottles makes me happy, if you try it, maybe you will like it too, let me show you how." I for one would never put down anyone for finding and something that makes them happy. Whether it is flipping in their backyards, or flipping for competition in Vegas, the bottom line is that it makes them smile. The fact that it came out of an already fulfilling job is a bonus. I applaud Moe and Freddy B. for finding their passion so early in life and for being able to make a career of it. I think they have many happy, satisfying years ahead of them. I am proud of you boys for your dedication and wish you all the best in the future!

Posted by: Chatland, Sep 27, 2007 10:55:58 PM

The majority of the negative nancys on this comment section i can promise you have never seen a REAL flair bartender behind the bar. Flair bartending is more than just standing behind a bar with a bored look on your face and juggling like a clown. Flair is the attitude you have behind the bar, your showmanship, and the atmosphere you create. I have bartended at 7 or 8 different bars from pittsburgh, DC, and ashburn and there have been places that were never introduced to flair bar service. One sure way to put your small dive bar on the map... put a well trained flair bartender behind the bottles, its enough to put a smile on anyones face.

Posted by: flanagan, Sep 27, 2007 08:07:08 AM

Moe, you really are genius! :)~

xoxo

Posted by: Bunny, Sep 27, 2007 08:06:25 AM

Again, I feel I have to come to our (The POUR BOYS) defense. First I would like to make clear, that Doug Borthwick has a perfectly legitimate complaint about the specific bartenders he worked with. Ultimatley, the bottom line is money. As I said in the interview pertaining to future flair bartenders, I would say dont even ATTEMPT flair until you have mastered actual bartending. Until you become so efficient that you actually create time, its worthless. Also, I made the distinction between working and competition flair, and working flair was defined as flair that does not sacfice speed, product or service. To take it further, I also said flair is not just flipping bottles. Its an attitude behind the bar, winking, pointing etc. I have NEVER broken a bottle by winking! I assure you, when it gets crazy behind a bar, my goal is to sell sell sell. It is unfortunate that his experience with THOSE bartenders was bad, but for the record, many non flair bartenders suck too! As for learning to make a drink. Again, I can only speak for myself. I have been bartending for 13 years compared to doing only 4 years of flair. I learned a lot of mixology in those 9 years prior. I know classic cocktails are making a come back. For the past 6 years I have been teaching mixology at the Professional Bartending School in Arlington. In addition to that, I have led alcohol based seminars for the Smithsonian Institution. I was hired by the Organization of American States to teach bartenders all over the Caribbean to cater to american clientele. I have created drink menus for establishments all over DC. As far as alcohol and drink knowledge goes, I assure you sir, Im well versed. I will be the first to say that flair does NOT belong everywhere. Just like shooter girls are great for a club, but not in a hotel bar. Beer pong is great for a college bar, but not a country club, and a bon jovi cover band is great for a a local dive bar, but not a hip-hop nightclub. I know this, and that is why I bring my show to a specific type of venue, put my show on a stage, set our stage up AWAY from the bar to stay out of the bars way and constantly remind the crowd on the mic to take care of their bartenders because we are just doing a show, while they are the ones working. Bars give me a decent amount of money (believe it or not) to have my show at there establishments because they know I will bring them ten time more in bar sales on the particular nights we are there. We are promoters, performers, bartenders and salesmen. Finally, Mr. Brothwick, we do agree on 1 thing. I DO belong on TV.
Moe

Posted by: Moe, Sep 25, 2007 05:34:47 PM

I was a bar manager at a laughlin casino .The owners decided it would be a good idea to bring in a couple of jugglers {sorry flair bartenders} that was fine and dandy.But to bring them in during the laughlin river run was not a good we where just to busy.They made a mess nobody gave a shit they just want a drink not a foaming beer.Try and get these guys to stock a case of beer or pick up a bar towel would have been more impressive.But no they came in to a fully stocked bar pissed of the customers and left after it was time to do back up work we are a small place no need for barbacks most of the time we do it all ourselves.They did"nt sell as much product we had given away{comp} about 20% because of errors splashing booze,foaming beer ,broken bottles etc.Flair has its place but not during a busy event, selling about a thousand dollars an hour out of a portable bar,not to bad for two real bartenders{not flair}during the hour of flair we sold four hundred dollars which put me about six hundred dollars short of our goal so thanks a lot juggling bartenders .I would like to see these guys put up with six cocktail waitress’s and a full bar for eight hours,i dont think so.Thankyou all of you guys who practice flair you try and get your recipes correct you need to know how to prepare the old classics those cocktails are coming back so get your recipe books out and study.Flair belongs on espn the oacho {eight} with dodge ball and extreme lumberjacking.Whats next flair subway guy or flair mechanic or just flair any proffesion.Most people go to bars to drink ,if they want jugglers go to a Vegas show.

Posted by: Doug Borthwick, Sep 25, 2007 08:39:21 AM

Hi, In our (The POUR BOYS) defense, we dont think what we do is important. What is important to us is that something we enjoy allows us the opportunity to not only make a living, but to experiance the world. Through flair, I have had the chance to literally travel the world for competitions. This is something not everyone can do. As far as getting a life, if you could live one year of your life as a succesfull flair bartender, you would see that not only do we get to experience culture from all over the world, but get the most AMAZING vip treatment whether its here in DC, Vegas or wherever we go in the world. It is an amazing life that I would NEVER trade. As for the loser part, thats fine. Im not going to make a personal attack on a stranger. I guess we have different definitions of success. Thank you.
Moe

Posted by: Moe, Sep 24, 2007 12:56:21 PM

To the pathetic "wow" person that commented above, these guys are actually making a living out of doing something they love, and that is awesome. I’m sure you’re just jealous, sitting there in your cubicle while surfing the net, avoiding the monotony of your 8-5 mind-numbing accounting job, which most likely wasn’t your major to begin with. Seriously, this guy owns his own company. Do you own your own company? Doubtful. So until you do own your own company, or until you finally decide to follow your dreams, you might want to think twice about bashing theirs...loser!

Posted by: Some people are so unbelievable, Sep 24, 2007 11:15:29 AM

So bad it sounds like a parody. These two guys are so deluded to think that what they do is actually important. I mean, it’s kind of cool (kind of) but they obviously take it way too seriously. Get a life, losers.

Posted by: Wow., Sep 21, 2007 09:17:52 AM

Belly Up: The Pour Boys

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