Balinese bartender Gede Rico Hardiana Widnyana took second place at the flair world championship (TDuB World Championship) in Las Vegas and received the silver champion's belt.
The competition was held on October 4–5 at the Circus Circus hotel and brought together 33 bartenders from 18 countries.
Flair is bar work in which the bartender mixes a cocktail while tossing and spinning bottles and shakers. The Las Vegas tournament is part of the main competition series run by the World Flair Association. After the qualifying round Rico was in tenth place, and in the final he moved up to second.
Rico is 22 and comes from the village of Gobleg in the north of the island. He has won the Bali flair and mixology championship eight times and the Indonesian championship six times. Earlier this year Rico also took second place at The Master World Flair tournament in Thailand.
Bali Governor Wayan Koster saw Rico perform at one of the local contests and suggested he go to Las Vegas. The provincial government covered the cost of the trip.
The Balinese team brought arak to the championship to introduce it to an international audience. The trip was supported by the arak producers' association and nine local brands.
In February the governor asked for a wider range of arak in the duty free shops at Ngurah Rai airport, so that the shelves would carry more than just imported whisky and brandy.
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