No faking this flair

It will be the height of the tourist season when Suwan Seelee flies out to Puerto Rico next month, but the 31-year-old bartender won’t be thinking of sand, sea and surf as he lands in the capital San Juan. He’ll be on this island in the Greater Antilles representing Thailand in the Bacardi Superior Rum Legacy Cocktail Competition Global Final, which takes place on February 20, and whether he wins or not, he’ll have achieved a long-held dream.
“A bartender has to look good and smart, just like an actor,” says Suwan, who won the competition’s regional round held at Phra Thinang Thewarat Sapharom of the Phya Thai Palace at the end of last year with his “Bubble Bright” cocktail. “And I want to be a star.”
Suwan hasn’t had an easy life. He attended at Piboonprachasan high school but was unable to attend university as his parents, vendors of traditional Thai coffee, needed the extra income a working son could provide.
“With just a high school certificate, the only careers I would aspire to were motorcycle taxi driver and messenger,” he says.
His bartending aspirations were born when he found work at a restaurant bar.
“I wasn’t yet trained as a bartender but I did my best to learn how to mix and how to shake from the other bartenders and to remember the names of whiskies and cocktail,” he says. “My interest in being a bartender grew when customers ordered cocktails and applauded the bartender’s show of flair bottles.”
Suwan stayed in the business, working at several restaurants and collecting much more experience, as well as learning the intricacies of mixing, shaking and bottle flair through video clips on YouTube.
“Christian Delpech from Argentina is one of the world’s most famous and successful bartenders and also my idol. I watched his bottle flair with keen interest on YouTube. I introduced myself to him by email and told him that he was my inspiration. He thanked me and told me not to imitate himself but to work on discovering my own style.”
In 2004, he participated into several bartender competitions and was offered a bartending position by the Conrad Bangkok. That prompted him to learn English.
Suwan attended the Bacardi-organised cocktail competitions in 2005 and 2006 but didn’t get anywhere. In 2007, he did better, bringing home second prize in 2007. Undaunted, he continued to work on his bartending skills and won the competition in 2008, heading to Turin, Italy to represent Thailand in the international heat.
“The Bt100,000 prize couldn’t compare with my name being known throughout the social networks. In Turin, I competed with bartenders from 19 countries and was very surprised to come in third. In Europe, people tend to drink pure whisky while Thais prefer to mix theirs with soda. So, I adjusted my cocktails to suit their culture. My cocktail was named ‘Thailander’ and took the East-meet-West ingredients of lychee, my favourite fruit, and raspberry.
For the last two years, Suwan has been assistant beverage manager of The Aetas Bangkok and has judged of several competitions and lectured at several companies.
“A customer came to the hotel and ordered my cocktail and asked me to make cocktail at his daughter’s wedding. I made more than 400 glasses at the event and received many compliments,” he says.
Suwan was recently invited to be a presenter for Ocean Glass.
“I’m now successful in my life. I’m helping to produce the new generation of bartenders. Thailand still lacks quality bartenders.”
 
Mix up!
How to make a Bubble Bright
- 45ml Bacardi rum
- 9 pieces of fresh pineapple,
- 30ml green tea
- 20ml jasmine syrup
- 20ml lime juice a
- 2 drops of Angostura bitters.