A YOUNG entrepreneur hopes his unique flair will be the cocktail for success at a business awards night.

Jonathan Hughes from Wrexham only started his professional bar tending firm J and Jay Events in January, but has already made it onto the shortlist for the 2009 HSBC Start-Up Stars Awards – an annual search for the UK’s most promising start-up businesses, which rewards the winner with £25,000.

The 22-year-old’s mobile cocktail service is leading the way for Wales and made waves at the Grand National earlier this month when he wowed the Aintree crowds with his mixology flair.

Jonathan, who’s been bar tending for three years, has a degree in business from Chester University.

I joined him for a lesson in making the perfect cocktail.

He said: “As far as I’m aware I'm the only person doing this in North Wales, and the feedback so far has been terrific.

“It takes hours of practice every day to flair, which is basically the art of throwing bottles and tins around and trying to catch them!

He added: “What I’m more interested in and passionate about is the mixology side, taking ingredients and flavours and creating a new drink.

“I would practice and practice at home and found that I was pretty good at it, I seemed to have a natural instinct for flavours and colouring.”

Jonathan showed me how to make one of the four fruity cocktails he’s created himself, known as the Raspberry Blonde, before taking me through the art of flairing.

We start with a simple flip of a bottle, from the back of my hand, over 360 degrees and back onto the knuckles.

I managed not to drop it and had some success, but Jonathan said to do it once properly would take hours, then days and weeks to perfect.

As we practised outside I can blame the rain for failing rather than flairing!

For beginners like me, Jonathan is starting a training course in the coming weeks.

He said: “You have to be committed to do it, and I am. You have to really work at it, there are millions of combinations you can make and hundreds of flairing moves you can do.

“I didn’t think I’d be doing this for a living but I love the mixology side of things and creating new cocktails.”

Jonathan’s first booking was a hen party, and since then his phone has been ringing off the hook with functions and engagements.

His dream is to eventually leave the mobile side of the business for a more permanent location.

Jonathan said: “The dream is to one day own my own bar. That’s what I’d love, to have my own menu of cocktails with everything tailored towards a small and quirky venue.

“Winning this competition would go some way to helping towards that as if I win every penny would go into making this business a success.”

Head of Business Banking for HSBC, Huw Morgan, added: “We know Wrexham has some truly inspiring start-up stories.

“Now we want local entrepreneurs to step forward and prove that with the right help and support, there are still opportunities out there for people to succeed.”Š