Fancy flinging bottles around your head while trying to pour a tasty cocktail with four or five items in your hands? Mark Koh tells you about barmasters who can...

The bartending tournament is an annual affair with the previous installment of the series held at Zouk (17 Jiak Kim Street), just the year before.

It was a spectacular sight with the tournament bar set up in the center of the huge 20,000+ sq foot arena. Ministry of Sound certainly came through with their first tenure as venue sponsor of the BGP with a dazzling lightshow and some serious tunes behind the contestant's performances.

Eric Lee, 31, Club Manager, said "We are very supportive of youth centered events. We were proud to play host to the SEA games prize award ceremony recently with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in attendance."

The suave, clean-cut fellow with the diamond earring went on to relate on how much of a security nightmare the ceremony was with over a 100 cops in the place. Talk about a blue light disco.

The Grand Prix began with the classic cocktail category, a segment mostly overlooked by punters due to its stiff-upper lip formality and little visual entertainment; bowled over by the sensational flaring segment which was to follow. The theme was Martinis for the Night, with Bacardi, the sponsoring rum, as a primary ingredient.

One of the contenders that, in my humble opinion, broke the mould, was Ministry of Sound's own Adrian Low, who gave formality the finger with his wild hair, jeans and Cassette tape belt buckle (pictured, left). "Its all about being yourself" he said nonchalantly, "I'm more about funky hip-hop style than this!"

His concoction, titled "Amnesty" consisted of Bacardi rum, Blue Curacao, Grenadine, lime juice and peach schnapps, served with strawberry garnishing and set in a half martini glass over a wine glass holding a live baby lobster! His flair was only adjusted by his observation to all the etiquette required.

Simplicity was also a key in winning with Ashley Chung, 23, from Coastes (50 Siloso Beach Walk #01-05/06) whose "Get Fresh" only consisted of Bacardi Limon, 'Peach Tree' and home made DIY Fruit Punch, shaken and strained.

She was certainly nervous despite her 5 years behind the bar, but like many of the other contestants, Ashley is a first timer to the competition. She walked away with a consolatory prize.

It was however, Kelvin Tan Wei Boon (top) from Dbl O (11 Unity Street #01-24 Robertson Walk) that defeated his rivals with the elegant "Oasis".

I was stunned when the Malaysian-born bartender of 4 years ran me over his ingredients: Orange flavored Grey Goose, Peach Liqueur, Blue curacao, Japanese Yomeishu (Kelvin grinned and called it "Sour and soggy") and 'Appetiser' - Sparkling Apple Juice. "A classic with a twist" he said, patting down his suit.

Kelvin had the largest supporting crowd from his club with loud hoots as he jiggled his shaker for the final pour, he was the sternest-looking of the classic cocktail participants, but was definitely in form as he masterfully conducted himself with the grace of a Olympian snooker referee.

A short interval and several sips later, the Flair Bartending segment began. The first contestant, Shamil from Devils Bar (1 Tangling Road #02-01 Orchard Parade Hotel) had a comical but impressive routine with Chinese Kungfu outfits, 'beating up' his assistants and proceeding to flip 2 bottles and a shaker to high bpm techno music.

He dropped a few times but had great recovery, especially when he unveiled a surprise UV lamp and tossed 3 glowing bottles into the air to thunderous applause.

A few commendable performances were Jeremie from Suba doing a Ninja routine (complete with masks and martial art poses) to canto dance music and Ministry's Midi who had fluid acrobatics- catching the bottle in shaker with a reverse hand movement as well as side swings, despite his obvious case of nerves.

The winner of the Flaring Segment truly stood head and shoulders above his peers; Mac Azaman brought the house down with unbelievable stunts such as catching a bottle on his forehead AND juggling 3 Bacardi bottles.

He was almost flawless in his artistry, weaving his third bottle in and out. At the height of his momentum, Mac braved 3 bottles as well as a shaker to great effect.

The one trick that made my jaw drop was his ability to spin a bottle sideways (it was rotating horizontally, on an X-axis) and 'touched' it with the mouth of his shaker, to have the bottle remain there in motion. His other hand was still occupied keeping two other bottles airborne.

Remarked Eric Lee, "Flaring is more for the entertainment of the customer. Its better to have a simple routine and succeed with fluidity rather than 'funny movements' more appropriate for the circus than the bar."

He laughed. "Most of the best flair bartenders you see here all worked in China Jump. At the end of the day, its all about making a good drink". Words of the wise, Eric himself being a participant in the International Bartender's Association summit in Singapore in 2000.

Lastly, the Speed Opening category was a quick affair... it felt more like a track and field event with the stop watches and crowd tension.

Winner Adam Chan, sporting a bright blue fringe, from Devil's Bar, won with his lightning fast hands. I barely blinked twice before he popped all sixteen breezer bottles with his partner. "This was a great competition..." he said, "hopefully there will be more of these in years to come" - the 25 year old certainly had a lot of practise with no less than 7 years with his hand on the opener.

"This year yielded a great turnout with quality performances from the contestants" Bacardi Brand Manager Lisa Koh commented, "One of our former winners from Singapore got the world 4th place which is truly inspirational as we never hit the top 10 before."

She also had a message for the participants: "Keep going, even those not in the finals. Bring it ON!"