(Philippine Daily Inquirer, Lifestyle Section) November 22, 2001

Clad in a pair of camouflage pants and a tunic cinched at the waist with, of all accessories, a tacky black
cowboy belt, Cielito "Jay" Rufino was all set for battle. To complete the look, he wrapped his head with
an improvised tubao in mesh army green. He shunned the de rigueur combat boots in favor of high-heeled
cowboy togs.

Instead of a gun, however, Rufino flipped a half-filled vodka bottle with a nozzle before tossing it in the air
and into the mouth of a stainless steel holster, er, shaker resting in his other hand. He later juggled several
bottles before shooting their contents one after the other into a tall glass. Through all these, Rufino
managed to smile, wink, dance, and coax his audience to show some spirit.

"Music is very important," he says, minutes before going into his routine. Rufino's choice?An infectious techno
beat with unintelligible lyrics about- what else- war! If plans went according to schedule, Rufino is now
seeing action in sultry Brazil and not in war torn Afghanistan. The diminutive bartender is the country's
official representative to the ongoing "flairtending" tilt hosted by the International Bartenders Association
in Rio de Janeiro. Rufino will vie for the top spot with 45 other top bartenders the world over.

"I thought of putting together this costume myself," says Rufino in Taglish. "It's quite unique and timely
because of the situation we're now in.

Spunky Performer

Rufino, a bartender from Pier One at The Fort, bested colleagues from various parts of the country in a
local flairtending championship organized by the Philippine Bartenders' League. Nordique Marketing, exclusive
distributors of Arctic Flavored Vodka and Disaronmo Originale, sponsored the local tilt as well as Rufino's trip
to Rio.

The mild mannered bartender, although no Tom Cruise look-alike, is a frisky performer with enough spunk to
hold the crowd's attention. If he's to get anywhere, though, he should by now be used to the attendant
glare. During a recent exhibition at Pier One, Rufino had to repeat his act because the flashbulbs from the
photographers' cameras were said to have distracted him seconds into his routine. Now, if only a group of
international judges would buy that excuse.

Call it bartending with a twist. Flairtending contestants will be judged primarily for their technical flair and the routine's degree of difficulty. There's little room for spillage, and deductions are in order for missed cues and, of course, broken bottles. As a showman, he's expected to put on an entertaining and engaging show.

What about the drink? Surprisingly, the product won't rate as much as how it will be made. The tilt is divided into two: the international cocktail event where drinks are judged and the grand event where contestants' flairtending skills are put under the spotlight.

"Contestants aren't allowed to flip bottles [of drinks] they won't use in their concoctions, " says Mutley Matilla, president of PBL. We failed to taste Rufino's yellow- green concoction, but one woman who beat us to it gave the thumbs-up sign soon after imbibing "This is Life.

Practice Makes Perfect

"I've been practicing for seven hours a day for several months now," says Rufino, who's been a bartender the past seven years. He joined Pier One in 1997. "That means exercising every day and also saying no to alcohol and women."

PBL and Pier One officials have high hopes for Rufino. After all, a Filipino has clinched the top prize at the tilt's second edition last year. Alas, the native of Bulacan, now a bartender based in Tasmania, represented Australia.

"He's young, he's flexible and he's very confident," says Franco Limjuco, marketing director of Nordique Marketing Inc., referring to Rufino.

"I'm not at all nervous," says Rufino. "After all, I've already proven myself. What frightens me is the prospect of flying for the first time." With such a commanding outfit, perhaps he need not worry.