Ninjaa Cocktails

A Basel cocktail caterer built around flair bartending

Ninjaa Cocktails is a mobile cocktail catering business in Basel, founded by the bartender Jon Pablos, with its address at Kanonengasse 18, 4051 Basel. Its homepage names weddings directly among the events it works: "Ob Firmenfeier, Hochzeit oder privater Event" (whether a company party, a wedding or a private event). The pitch is cocktails combined with a show, the acrobatic style of bartending known as flair, in which bottles and shakers are juggled and, on this business's shows, fire elements come into play.

Jon Pablos describes his start in bartending on the About page: in 2016 he completed a course at the European Bartender School, and from the first moment he was taken with the craft of combining ingredients into a balanced drink while entertaining an audience with acrobatics. He calls that enthusiasm for flair bartending the heart of the business. The same page lists his credentials as a short set of points. He is "Vizemeister der Schweiz im Flair Bartending" (runner-up Swiss champion in flair bartending) with international competition experience, and the homepage puts it as the second-best Swiss flair bartender according to the Swiss Cocktail Championship 2025. His experience runs from Les Trois Rois in Basel to cocktail bars in London, and he studied hospitality management at Les Roches Global Hospitality. The references he names are Art Basel, Basel World, Hotel Les Trois Rois, Hotel Arthouse and B1 Rooftop.

For a wedding, the practical meaning is a bar that doubles as entertainment. Guests collecting a drink also get something to watch, and the service can be the centerpiece of the aperitif rather than a table in the corner.

The four services and how they fit a wedding

The site organizes the business into four offers, and three of them are relevant to a wedding.

Cocktail Catering is the full package. The site describes it as complete cocktail catering including the bar, the ingredients and the service ("inkl. Bar, Zutaten und Service"), with a wide choice of drinks for every taste. For a couple, this is the option that brings the mobile bar itself to the venue along with the people to run it.

Cocktail Show is the performance element. The services page describes professional bartenders presenting shows with bottle and shaker juggling and fire elements, and it states that these performances can be booked either as part of the cocktail catering or separately for an event. That flexibility matters at a wedding where the venue already runs its own bar: a couple could add a show slot without replacing the house service.

Barkeeper mieten (bartenders for hire) supplies experienced bartenders for private or corporate events. The page frames it as professional service and expertise, without the show. This suits a couple whose venue or caterer provides the bar and the stock but who want trained hands behind it.

The fourth offer, the Cocktail Kurs, is a small-group workshop for learning to mix drinks, pitched at home use and team events. It is not a wedding service as such, though a group could book it as a pre-wedding activity.

The drinks

The cocktail menu page lists four named drinks: Martini, Mojito, Margarita and Espresso Martini. It describes the wider selection as ranging from refreshing classics to new creations, each made with quality ingredients and attention to detail. Below the list, the site answers the obvious follow-up: if the drink you have in mind is not on any menu, that is no problem, and the team creates individual cocktails built around the client's wishes. A couple wanting a signature drink for the day, or a cocktail that nods to where they or their families come from, has a clear opening to ask for it.

The homepage testimonials come from a company party, a corporate event and a cocktail course. They praise the flair show, the drinks, fresh ingredients and the presentation, but none of them describes a wedding.

Booking from abroad: what the site gives and what it leaves open

Booking runs through a contact form (name, email, phone, message) that appears on the homepage and the contact page, and the site also lists the email address ninjaa.cocktails@gmail.com and the phone number +41 79 386 38 45. The form's confirmation note says the enquiry has been received and that a reply will follow as soon as possible. The contact page speaks of "unser Team", and the homepage testimonial thanks "Jon und sein Team", so the business works with more than one bartender, though the site does not say how many.

Several things a couple planning from abroad needs are not on the site:

• Prices. The site publishes no price list for any of the four services. Every quote comes from an enquiry.
• Language. The site is published only in German and does not say whether bookings or service run in English. A couple should write in English and see how the reply comes back.
• Guest numbers. The site gives no minimum or maximum guest count for the catering or for a show.
• Service area and travel. Basel is the only address given, and the site does not state how far the bar travels or whether a travel charge applies.
• The bar itself. There are no dimensions, power or water requirements, or setup times for the mobile bar, and nothing on what a fire show needs in terms of space. Couples booking a venue with fire or indoor restrictions should raise the show format early.
• Stock and glassware. Ingredients are included in the catering, but the site does not say whether spirits, glassware and ice are included or charged separately, or whether a couple can supply their own spirits.

Who it suits

Ninjaa Cocktails suits couples who want the bar to be part of the program: a cocktail hour where guests gather to watch, or an evening slot where a flair show lifts the mood before the dancing starts. It is a strong match for weddings in and around Basel, and for couples who like the idea of a custom drink designed for the day. The option to book the show on its own also makes it useful for a venue that already has bar service but no entertainment at the aperitif.

It is a less natural fit for a very quiet or formal reception where the bar is meant to stay in the background, although the bartenders-for-hire option covers that case without the show. The caveats are the ones listed above: no published prices, a German-only site, and no stated service radius, so a couple planning from abroad will need a first exchange by email to learn the cost, the language of service and whether the bar will travel to their venue. The credentials, on the other hand, are specific and dated, which is more than most mobile bars publish: a 2016 training start, a named championship result from 2025, and a list of Basel hotels and events the founder has worked.