Mixology gets a new platform in India with Scottish malt brand Monkey Shoulder’s tour of India in pursuit of the country’s best bartender and to prove the massively underrated industry is much more than pouring a drink. The Hyderabad leg of the tour took place at Glocal Junction, Jubilee Hills.
Jackson Rajan, Brand Manager for Monkey Shoulder, explains that the global competition is set with equal parameters for every contestant. While being a thrill-filled tour, the contest also debunks the notion that bartending is a very complex craft. “It is not about making cocktails,” states contest host Pankaj Balachandran , “It’s about the three main aspects of bartending — their hospitality, their knowledge, their skills. This competition is about what they do on a day-to-day basis.”
What it entails
Each round is carefully planned — a quiz round where contestants are asked about origins of alcohols, a ‘chemistry round’ consisting of the Mixiodic Table, a free-pouring round where contestants are asked to pour specific measurements purely by sight, a nosing test where they are asked to identify drinks by smell, a hospitality test and, finally, a round-building test in which bartenders create up-to-standard drinks in time-constrained environments.
HYDERABAD ,TELANGANA, 04/04/2017: Host Ultimate Bartender Championship India by Monkey Shoulder, Pankaj Balachandran participation at the Skills that pay the bills at Glocal Junction in Hyderabad on Tuesday. --Photo: Nagara Gopal
With Goa, Delhi, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Gurgaon and Mumbai also participating in the challenge, Jackson and Pankaj agree that each city has its own personality which keeps the whole tour exhilarating. Jackson shares, “In Hyderabad, I expected a lot of energy and interest in the rounds of pouring, nosing and cocktail construction while in Kolkata we saw plenty of excitement in the general knowledge round. This contest is about every little thing bartenders do that people take for granted. For us, bartenders are the centre of our world, like rockstars, because they are the ones pouring the drinks people love and we want to showcase the skill and talent with this platform.”
HYDERABAD ,TELANGANA, 04/04/2017: Brand Manager- Monkey Shoulder, Jackson Rajan participation at the Skills that pay the bills at Glocal Junction in Hyderabad on Tuesday. --Photo: Nagara Gopal
Originally starting his career as a sommelier, Pankaj’s current position as a Managing Partner of beverage consultancy Bar Back Collective shows his unending reverence for the bartending industry. “In India, the industry is kind of ignored, while if you go to Singapore or New York, it is very evolved. The staff are extremely knowledgeable and have real passion for what they do. In India, it has not reached this point yet, but I see it booming in the next two years. I wanted to run this competition as a host because this competition is all about the bartender. The contest is a very quirky way to getting a single malt to do stuff like this. Single malts are seen as a serious beverage and a lot of single malt drinkers say you should not mix a malt into a cocktail, but Monkey Shoulder, being a blended malt, gives you the freedom. The ideology is very easy — do what you want to do. In this competition, there’s no room for favourites. It’s about the bartender who does it right. In Hyderabad, Monkey Shoulder isn’t very well-known either because it’s the first time we are bringing the challenge to the city, so as a host I’m a little easy on them. But I keep all the contestants on their toes.”
Matter of prestige
While many people consider bartending to be a last-ditch occupation, there is a lot that goes into it. The study of mixology within bartending comes down to molecular gastronomy, consisting of the understanding the acidity levels, the infusing of ingredients, enhancing flavours and the final presentation. There is, of course, the showmanship of creating art and science in a glass which is where the rockstar element steps in, thanks to the avant-garde eclecticism embraced from the first pour to the final sip.
For Pankaj, the perfect drink is multi-sensory. “When I go to order a drink and wait at the bar, I observe the bartender’s attitude while he prepares it. If he’s confident and knows what he’s doing, that says a lot and that itself makes my day because I know the drink will be good. It has to be a good-looking product, it has to smell good and it has to be balanced, which is the most important element.”
Hyderabad’s contestants worked ardently in a competitively charged atmosphere in order to seize the prize title of Best Bartender, proving that their work is integral to their living. After a five-hour battle, contest winner Jit Mukherjee shares his excitement, “I’m thrilled to win this prestigious industry competition, especially when you compete and win from amongst the best in the industry. A superb initiative to get the most talented bartenders of our city to test their skills.”
Straight up Indian Institute of Bartending in Chennai and Indian Professional Bartending Academy in Mumbai offer recognised formal degree courses in mixology.
