Championed by TGI Fridays in the 1980s, and peaking in the 1990s, flair bartending combined juggling, showmanship and even a bit of magic to create a flamboyant style that was perfect for the boomtime era.
Over the past two decades, that subculture retreated largely to cities like Las Vegas and the international competition circuit, where bartenders perform elaborate choreographed routines, often to thumping electronic music, in front of cheering fans.
Championships like OlyBet Flairmania and the World Flair Association Grand Slam, with their timers, color commentators, intense judging panels and global slate of competitors, feel like some high-stakes hybrid of poker, UFC and figure skating.