Bartending with a flair

By Diana A. Uy

Ryan Matthew Burgos certainly knows how to entertain. He does it by flipping bottles and a few card tricks.

The first time I met Matt, as he is called by friends, he was wearing this huge smile, making these awkward moves while holding something in his hands. It took me a few more seconds to realize he was trying to make a playing card float in mid-air!

Matt is a flair bartender so I found out and, pulling out his bag of magic card tricks once in a while is part of his performances. Matt was among the Filipino performers participating at the TOPRESA, a travel and trade fair in Paris, France.

For the unfamiliar, flair bartending is the practice of bartenders entertaining guests, clientele or audiences using bar tools like cocktail shakers and liquor bottles in heart-stopping, seemingly difficult moves?like jugglers in a Queen?s court or at carnivals sans a jocund?s colorful and whimsical outfit (well, they could try).

Suffice it to say, impressing and entertaining girls, including other first-time acquaintances, is part and parcel of Matt?s job.

Flair bartending champ

Matt is no ordinary flair bartender. At 23, he is already a world contender at his trade. Alongside 8,000 other competitors, Matt finished third at the TGIFriday?s World Bartending Championship, held in Las Vegas, USA, in February 2008. The year before that, he won top plum at the regional finals held in Beijing, China?the first Filipino to win for the whole Asia Pacific region.

Needless to say, his accomplishments did not escape media attention, including the Tourism Department. The department now takes Matt along at travel and trade fairs to present foreign tourists another side of the Philippines?the night life, especially entertainment behind bar, so to speak. His alma mater, the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, is beaming with pride. Matt took up Hotel, Restaurant and Insitution Management.

His family is even prouder. ?We let him be because he is really passionate about it,? says Urbano, Matt?s grandfather.

?I enjoy [performing] in front of a crowd, in front of many people,? says Matt, I feel happy doing what I do.?

Rise to fame

Matt?s road to fame has been quick though not necessarily smooth. The young bartender remembers partying and drinking most nights during high school. That was the first time he thought of turning his ?hobby? into a profession.

?That time I enjoyed watching bar displays. It was fascinating to work the set-up at the bar. I wondered how it would be like working behind it,? shares Matt.

Having decided he would go into bartending for real, he spent his allowance on educational videos on bartending, featuring some of the world?s famous bartenders including his idol Christian Delpech. In college, he took up HRIM at the DLS-CSB, concentrating on his bartending subject.

?No one taught me how. I learned by myself,? recalls Matt, ?I?d buy DVDs from the US. I?d order online just to learn how flair bartending is done. I practiced almost everyday in my room that I had to renovate it, raising its ceiling a few centimeters, placing rubber matting on the floor, and packing my cabinets with empty liquor bottles, shakers and tin cans. I?d go practicing the minute I wake up and before I go to sleep.?

The household, his grandmother Cynthia reveals, learned to ignore the breaking sounds of bottles in the mornings and evenings.

Matt?s persistence and perseverance paid off but not without leaving him unscathed. He?d had to endure cuts in the head, bruises, and skin irritations in the hands, and including loss of fingerprints. That last bit almost cost Matt his US Visa. He has regained his fingerprints since.

His first professional stint was at TGIFriday?s, where he learned the nitty-gritty of the business including getting his hands dirty (mopping the floor, etc.). He spent more than two years there, at the same time competing in international competitions hosted by TGIFriday?s. On and off, Matt taught bartending at the Perpetual College in Laguna.

Matt met Delpech while competing in Las Vegas. He even gave Delpech a dollar when he served him a drink. His other idol, Sebastian Oguic, he pinned down in Paris.

Mobile bar

Young as he is, Matt admits he has still more to learn, a lot to accomplish. For instance, he plans to live and work in Las Vegas someday.

?Las Vegas is where all the best bartenders in the world are,? he beams. Matt also dreams of competing with Delpech someday. ?Iba pa rin kapag ka-compete mo ang world?s no. 1,? he confesses.

But for now, he concentrates on his newly opened business, Bar Worx Mobile Cocktails (0917-867-1942). Bar Worx is a mobile bar aiming to bring ?bars to your doorsteps.?

?Bar Worx is a bar catering, bar consultancy, bar development [company]. For example, a client wants to open a restaurant, we would help develop the bar of that restaurant. We will do the whole set-up. It encompasses all aspects of bartending,? explains Matt, adding, they cater to social functions as well from birthday parties to weddings.

The young entrepreneur also plans to put up a school for bartending, hoping to share his knowledge and encourage enthusiasts and fans like him to start young. Matt, after all, believes in honesty, patience, and hardwork?so much like his favorite drink, rum, and Coke.

?It?s the most honest drink,? finishes Matt.