CEBU, Philippines - Imperial Palace’s bartender is the Philippine bet to the Flairtending category of this year’s Asian Cocktail Championship in the Venetian Macau Resort-Hotel.
Marlon Casiño, who mans the bar of Imperial Palace Waterpark Resort & Spa’s signature F&B outlet, the Coral Seaside Restaurant, was pre-selected by the Philippine Bartenders’ League to represent the country in the annual flairtending competition that only invites the finest bartenders all over Asia.
Casiño is no stranger to competitions—he was a champion bartender during his stint at the Apo View Hotel in Davao City, and was even tapped to represent Macau in last year’s Asian Cocktail Championship while he was still working for the Venetian Macau Hotel. He placed 7th then from among 30 contenders.
Flairtending is bartending with a show. Bartenders do this to entertain guests, clients, or audiences by manipulating bar tools—from cocktail shakers to bottles—in tricky but dazzling ways, as lead-up to the serving of a drink worthy of cheers.
The FREEMAN had a preview of Casiño’s Pirates of the Caribbean-inspired competition piece, wherein he showcased some difficult manipulations—although he said he’s reserving the highly technical ones on the show itself.
He juggled several bottles of spirits and liquors, passing them behind his back or above his head…coupled with choreography and shouts of “Ahoy!” to encourage spirited reactions from the crowd. After all, like any performance, flairtending thrives in a receptive audience.
Casiño first learned how to “flair-tend” by watching instructional videos. He eventually supplemented it with formal training while working as a bar staff in a five-star Davao hotel.
He said that what makes a good recipe for flairtending is a right mix of focus and showmanship. But of course, what it is a good performance without a good drink to cap it all?
So, for Casiño’s participation in this year’s competition, he has come up with a specialized cocktail concoction that gives you a taste of the Caribbean. With standout flavors of coconut rum and pineapple, he served a slightly sweet, easy going spirit which he dubbed as, what else, but Pirates.
The 3rd Asian Cocktail Championship, which happens this October 22-24, 2009, is co-organized by China Hong Kong Bartenders Association and the Koelnmesse Pte Ltd.
After his outing in Macau, you can catch Marlon Casiño’s flairtending talents at the Coral Seaside Restaurant of the Imperial Palace Cebu Waterpark Resort and Spa. For information, call 494-5000. (NMT)