Kenjiro Yanagi, flair bartender at OneBar at Golden Gate, is representing Las Vegas in the USBG Shake It Up Flair Competition at the Las Vegas Convention Center during the Bar & Restaurant Expo from March 24-26. Yanagi is one of five finalists who will perform a five-minute flair routine and create an original cocktail, all in the hopes of winning and going on to rep the U.S. in the world championship in Cartagena, Colombia.

On the regular, though, you can catch Yanagi at OneBar, where he’s been hoing his flair bartending skills for almost a decade. Tack on another decade to his flair career, which started in Peru. “I was studying bartending in Peru and my teacher was the first flair bartender in Peru,” Yanagi says. “So I saw him flipping bottles and I was like, ‘I want to do that!’ I tried and tried and told him, ‘One day I’ll be better than you!’”

Yanagi might just have succeeded in achieving that goal, as he’s received many accolades and first place titles after competing around the world throughout his career. But it’s not all about the awards, he says.

“It’s the excitement of being able to entertain the customers in a different way, that’s what I love about flair bartending,” he says. “It’s not only throwing bottles, it’s the connections you make. I’m going to give you an experience you’ll never forget. You’ll remember the time we spent together.”

Photo by: Christopher DeVargas

Libation: Kenjiro’s Cocktail

He created it himself, and he’ll flair it for you. Kenjiro’s Cocktail is mixed with rum, blue Curaçao, lemon juice, simple syrup and champagne. “It’s my own variation on the classic cocktail, the French 75,” Yanagi says.

Benefit: OneBar at Golden Gate is outdoors along the famed Fremont Street Experience.

Golden Gate. 702.385.1906 or goldengatecasino.com

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