"Mixing" Art and Science with a lot of Skill - Presenting India's No.1 Bartender

A Perfect cocktail is a lot like Life.
You need to blend all the ingredients to absolute perfection to be able to really enjoy it.

And it takes one with tremendous skill and the right attitude to be able to marry the science behind making the perfect cocktail with the art of actually putting them together.

And in this quest to find the most talented Mixologist is Diageo.

Below is an Excerpt of the Press Release from Diageo which provides the best description of what the Competition is all about. 

Read on to know more about MY experience at the FINALS

About Diageo Reserve World Class

Diageo Reserve WORLD CLASS is transforming fine drinking experiences and cocktail culture around the world and in the home. The industry’s largest, most credible investment in the luxury on trade, it discovers the next generation of bartending talent who set the latest mixology trends and bring these to the best bars worldwide. At the core is an outstanding, global training program and internationally recognized platform that elevates the craft of the bartender and builds careers in the industry culminating in an annual luxury landmark week where the Diageo Reserve WORLD CLASS Bartender of the Year is announced. Launched in 2009, over 15,000 bartenders have been inspired and educated in the craft of mixology using the finest spirits in the Diageo Reserve collection. A partnership and collaboration with gurus, media, partners and owners, Diageo Reserve WORLD CLASS is widely recognized as a mark of sophistication and distinction of international fine drinking culture by bartenders and customers alike.

The Diageo Bar Academy Program reinforces the company's commitment to the bartending community. Since launching the program in 2006, more than 5,500 training sessions have been hosted with over 55,000 bartenders trained. The acclaimed program takes an innovative and fresh approach to training, offering interactive and informative sessions led by the industry’s best.

Diageo Reserve World Class – India Competition

A unique platform, which aims to nurture the potential talent of local bartenders and enable them with the right knowledge. In the past Diageo Reserve World Class India has successfully helped local talent emerge as influencers and creators of fine drinking experiences the world over.The industry’s biggest and most prestigious bartending competition –now in its 7^th edition offers a gamut of luxury spirits from the Diageo Reserve portfolio namely Johnnie Walker Blue Label, Johnnie Walker Gold Label Reserve, Johnnie Walker Platinum Label 18, Talisker , Tanqueray 10, CÎROC, KetelOne, Don Julio and the Singleton of Glen Ord 12YO.

Over the last 6 months, our International Brand Ambassadors have trained & mentored over 200 bartenders across the top 120 luxury accounts in India, on our Reserve Portfolio as well as modules on global cocktail trends such as Fundamentals of Flavor, Asian Flavors, Classics with a Twist and Fruits & Plants.The contenders have competed in multiple regional levels before descending in Bangalore for the national finals. Each bartender went through a rigorous training procedure to survive till the end of the competition and only the top 20 made it to the Finale.

The contestants were judged on the basis of three rounds – The Pantry Round, The Speed Round and The Mystery Box Round. The winner will head to Miami to represent India at the Global finals.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I got to witness the Speed round as well the mystery box finale round.

In the speed round the competitors had to make 5 drinks in 6 minutes from scratch. That's right.
They were judged on various parameters that included Speed, Quality, Presentation, Cleanliness among others. And what a fine job they did. We got to taste the cocktails after the judges were done and some of the cocktails were simply astounding.

The best part was that none of the competitors had made any of these cocktails before & hence had to be at the top of their game in order to ensure they had done a satisfactory job.  

The pressure was immense & I could see a lot of hands shivering as nervousness was getting to them.

   As the dust settled & the results were announced we had our 3 finalists all from  NCR, Jitendra, Vikram & Dilbar (who was a crowd favorite & the most experienced )

A special mention about the 3 finalists whom I got to spend some time with while we were waiting for the final results. They are so humble about their achievements and success. One could see that they have put in sincere efforts to reach the pinnacle and respected the other participants too. While they may have been competing on the night they were brothers in real life and supported each other as much as they supported themselves. The mutual respect was beyond mere sportsmanship and showcased a true sense of togetherness amongst the 3 of them

Then came the Mystery Round. 

Here was an ensemble of ingredients put together by the Judges that the Final trio had no clue about and would only have 1 minute to choose from and a further 15 minutes to create 2 cocktails of their choice and to get the ingredients ready.

They would then get 10 mins to mix these cocktails and share their concept and thought process with the judges. Here we could see a new aspect to their persona - Creativity. The ingredients were not what one would find on a typical cocktail menu thereby ensuring all had to put their creative juices to the test.  

The winner Jitendra really showcased his flair, charm and confidence apart from his mixing skills. Bartending is a show mans profession and he showcased that he has the makings of a true showman.

   

More pictures from the event below: We had a free flowing bar, some excellent cocktails on offer, great food and off course the uber talented and eminent panel of judges.

The Judging Panel:
Feroze Merchant, Head of Luxury, USL Diageo, Nicholas Ord, USL Diageo Reserve Brand Ambassador, Jamie Walker, USL Diageo Reserve Brand Ambassador, Serhan Kusakisizoglu, Director of Corporate Projects, Shangri La, Nicole Faria, ex Miss Earth 2010 and Manu Chandra, Chef Partner Toast & Tonic (Bangalore), Monkey Bar (Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai), The Fatty Bao (Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai), and Executive Chef Olive Beach, Bangalore.

I'll let you go with this amazing Video. This was the moment they announced the winner. Take a minute to watch the video and you will know what I meant when I said that I just loved the support and encouragement they gave each other. More than what they did for themselves.