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When cocktails danced
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Who says bartending is only about pouring pegs in measured dullness?
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PHOTO: SAMPATH KUMAR G.P.
SKILL AND ATTITUDE Bartending has certainly come a long way
Tom Cruise might not have been able to carry off dancing in his underwear and socks, but if there was one thing he did do well, it was setting the bar on fire with Bryan Brown in Cocktail. Watching that film left one with the deep yearning to head down to the nearest pub for a drink, just so you could watch the bartender do a routine that would earn him his place in the local circus. Unfortunately, juggler-bartenders never really seemed to be in the business of serving drinks in Bangalore in those days. Which is why watching the Bangalore leg of the Bacardi Bar League's Bacardi Martini Grand Prix was such an exciting moment. At last, here were our very own bartenders, not just serving great drinks, but also putting on a hell of a show while they were at it. The Bacardi Martini Grand Prix judges bartenders around the world in two contests — mixology and flairing or open disco. While participants have to create innovative, original recipes in the mixology round, flairing involves using bottles of expensive Bacardi to prove that all things going up needn't necessarily come down. In both contests, participants are judged by a panel of jury members from within and outside the hospitality industry.
Everything but the kitchen sink
The mixology round had local cocktail men throwing everything into their drinks but the kitchen sink. From cucumber juice to blueberry syrup, just about every flavour ever imagined by man made its appearance during the course of the event. Even regular mixes such as a mojito or a Bacardi and Coke had participants claiming at least six different "proper" ways to make them. Sandeep Kumar from Ice in Taj Residency took home the top prize in this round, with a drink called Love Affair, a combination of Bacardi Carta Blanca, raspberry puree, ginger and sweet and sour mix. Interspersing the heavier, "theory-centric" mixology rounds were the visually exciting flair rounds. Flairing bartenders gave their all for the astute jury, who despite going through more than a handful of conspicuously coloured cocktails that needed judging, kept a critical eye on their every move. Bartenders in the south seem certainly to have come a long way, doing everything from juggling four full bottles of Bacardi to spitting flames to even setting the bar on fire, which had the more safety-conscious audience members on the edge of their seats. Thankfully, aside from one almost-burnt carpet, the bartenders showed that they knew just what they were doing. Top honours here went to Robin Carvalho, a freelance bartender, who was all slickness and attitude, quite a contrast from his slightly nervous competitors.
The two winners receive the chance to participate in the regional finals in Mumbai, from where two winners will be picked to attend the international competition in Italy. As good as the various competitors were, however, they all have a long way to go before they can compete with talent on the international circuit, as one bartender in the audience said. Many of the participants lacked a working knowledge of their bar, for instance, searching for openers or particular ingredients in the middle of their routines. Moreover, most of the competitors in the flair round were unable to pull off a working flair, a flair routine during which a drink is made.
Concerns such as these weren't at the top of anyone's mind at the event at Royal Orchid Central on Thursday however, as campy, ad-libbed humour and general high spirits dominated the evening. Perhaps the only sore point of the event was an exuberant MC, who in her eagerness to get the audience going generated quite a few fireworks of her own — pointing out to a judge that he was in high spirits and making some scandalous suggestions on ways he could prove just how high he had risen. Despite her loud, in-your-face presence throughout the event, however, the crowd seemed determined not to let anything rain on their parade.
No surprise then that everyone, whether loser or winner went home with that present after-cocktail glow.
RAKESH MEHAR
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