Leighton Levy, Gleaner Writer

As a world-class mixologist, Brian Van Flandern knows quality when he sees it.

A bartender for 18 years before he became one of the world's best mixologists, Van Flandern has created cocktails for some of the most prestigious hotels in the United States, is the ambassador for Don Julio tequilas and has his own consultancy.

His travels have taken him to clubs, hotels and restaurants all over the world and what he sees with Pure/Plush, he says, is comparable to the very best. "It's clean, very bright, full of energy and has a spectacular feel to it," Van Flandern said at the club's opening two Fridays ago. "It's going to be one of the hottest clubs. It's on the cutting edge."

He would have helped make it that way seeing that high-quality cocktails are what some elite clubs become famous for. There is also the fact that the bartenders at Pure/Plush were among more than 40 that attended training sessions hosted by Van Flandern just over 24 hours before the official launch of the club and Diageo's reserve brands.

In describing the club, Van Flandern could have easily been alluding to one of his many world-famous cocktails, like the one he created for the launch of the club last Friday night. He calls it the Plumaica that features Don Julio Tequila Blanco, June plum and cane juice among its main ingredients.

Van Flandern grew up in Washington, DC, and had aspirations of becoming an actor. He moved to New York in 1987 to pursue his dreams. Bartending was supposed to pay the bills until he got his big break. It never did. "I had some good roles, but I never knew where the next pay cheque was coming from. I like to drink and I like to eat and I said I can't do that if I am an actor."

For the next 18 years he bartended until he got his break working what he said was supposed to be his last bartending job with chef Thomas Keller in New York. Van Flandern said Keller's passion inspired him and helped him chart a path to becoming the top mixologist in the United States and the second best in the world.

That reputation and his role as international ambassador for Don Julio is what got him invited to Jamaica as Diageo began to roll out its reserve brands. During his week-long stay, he hosted sessions teaching bartenders the best ways to mix the high-quality spirits that constitute Diageo's reserve brands at Fiction, Blue Beat and culminated with the session at Pure two Thursdays ago.