Darjeeling, Aug. 14: Tom Cruise’s tricks behind the bar in the 1988 Hollywood production, Cocktail, gave a big boost to flair bartending across the globe. Now the trend is set to make inroads in small towns with two flair bartending schools coming up in Darjeeling and Gangtok.

“The prospects in flair bartending are awesome, but people here are not well trained. We want to tap this potential,” said Vikram Thapa, who along with a flair bartender, Shawn D’Souza (in picture by Suman Tamang), will help set up the two schools.

Flair bartenders entertain guests by juggling cocktail shakers and flaming liquor bottles, while also creating their own cocktails.

Bar Trendz, a school for flair bartending in Goa, has tied up with two hotels in Darjeeling and Gangtok. “The new schools will start functioning from September,” said Thapa. The course duration will range from 15 days to three months and the fees Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000.