Flair Is An Art

She can juggle fire and balance crystal balls, all while making you a delicious drink. Nikita Sawant chats with flair bartender Ami Shroff about her impressive sleight of hand

- Nikita Sawant

Ami Shroff’s flair moves can make you go googly-eyed in mere seconds. There’s something awe-inspiring about her level of control and skill. Take her crystal ball move, for example. They call it contact juggling, but there seems to be almost no contact between her hands and the crystal ball! It requires a certain precision in flair bartending, and Shroff has got it down pat. She’s also a master mixologist who creates interesting drinks and develops new recipes all the time. Over to Shroff who tells us all about the art of mixology and juggling barware.

How did you start bartending?

It started as a hobby 15 years ago. I saw a bartender flairing and I found it fascinating. a friend and I were curious about it, so we asked him to teach us. We landed a gig in Goa with him and we sort of learnt on the job. I stuck with bartending later and the hobby turned into a profession.

How would you explain flair bartending to someone who has never heard of it?

I would break it down into two parts. The first is basic bartending. But it can also be practised like an art. You bring flair to bartending when you add finesse to a bar tool like a shaker, a glass, a bottle, or any other bar tool, or when you utilise an object at the bar in a fancy way.

What do you enjoy most about flair bartending?