Some of the best "mixologists" in New Zealand will be strutting their stuff in Queenstown this week, vying for a spot in the New Zealand Bartending Championships being held in Auckland next month.
The Auckland, Hamilton and Wellington regional events have already been held.
The winners from each will watch the Queenstown regionals on Wednesday, before a North Island versus South Island "flair off" on Thursday.
In the quest to find the best bartender in New Zealand, there are many aspects of bartending in one competition.
Mixologists will be put through a variety of tests.
Karai Wall, organiser of the event and member of New Zealand's Flair bartending team, said Queenstown bartenders would go head to head in the regional heat on Wednesday, vying to compete at the national finals in Auckland.
The winner of the grand final would represent New Zealand at the Legends of Bartending competition in Las Vegas.
"We had a New Zealander last year compete in it.
He was the first [New Zealander] ever to get the chance to go there," Mr Wall said.
"It's quite a big step up to go . . . in places like Las Vegas . . . some of the best bartenders earn tens of thousands.
They have shows, like the magicians do.
They're quite highly regarded.
This part of bartending is massive around the world.
"We're small fries, but we're competitive."
Mr Wall said flair bartending, which tended to have more "pizzazz and entertainment", had two elements to it.
The first was "working flair", where bartenders made particular drinks or cocktails just as fast (if not faster) than normally while manipulating glasses and showing a degree of exhibitionism.
The second side of flair was "exhibition".
"You wouldn't do it behind a bar, but that's what we do for the competition."
Mr Wall said exhibition flair involved multiple bottles and shakers being thrown around simultaneously.
The exhibition flair was expected to be the crowd-pleaser on Thursday, when the North Island would take on the South Island, Mr Wall said.
Each bartender would have to complete tests including a spirit speed-pour accuracy test, speed cocktail-making, an exhibition flair bartending routine, and speed beer bottle-opening test.
The New Zealand record for the speed beer bottle-opening was six bottle caps removed in just 2.6 seconds.
The world record was 1.9 seconds, he said.
"We had one guy warming up and he broke the two-second barrier in practice.
"One of the guys, that's what he does. He practises at work every single time a drink's ordered," Mr Wall said.
In another part of the competition, each bartender would attempt to make six different cocktails in the fastest time.
The record for that was six cocktails made and poured in 1min 43sec.
Competitors would also be asked to show their best flair bartending moves in a fully choreographed routine to music.
Competitors would have seven minutes to perform a flair routine incorporating both working and exhibition flair.
Bartenders would lose points for drops, spillage or breakages, but earn bonus points for no spills or drops.
Both events in the Queenstown competition will be held at Guilty Bar from 8pm on Wednesday and Thursday.
