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Bartenders Kiko and Pedro Gurreiro on life behind the bar
‘There’s no middle road’
Photo: K. Gopinathan
MORE THAN MIXING Kiko and Pedro feel a bartender should have a good grasp of knowledge and culture because he is expected to talk about all things
Bartenders Kiko and Pedro Gurreiro are two of the best at what they do, veterans of the art of mixology, flair bartending and everything else that goes into making the perfect drinking experience. The duo were in Bangalore as part of a four-day event
organised by the Red Bull Bartender Academy to share with the city’s bartenders the secrets of a great career behind the bar. As the duo chatted on the ins and outs of the bartending profession, RAKESH MEHAR took frantic notes.
Pedro: This is the first time that I’ve been to India. It’s a very nice country with a very different culture.
Kiko: With this trip I have been to 40 countries around the world. And I’ve realised that you can’t say whether some country is better or worse than another. They’re just different. You just have to accept some things that you can’t fight. But yes, India has a lot of good places and good people.
(On bartending and flair)
Kiko: Bartending always starts off like a game. You get to be the centre of attention, and people look at you and talk to you. It’s a lot of fun. But after the initial excitement, you either love bartending or you hate it. There’s no middle road.
Pedro: It always starts the same way, but if you are interested, you have to go out and find the knowledge.
Kiko: Bartending isn’t just about mixing a vodka and orange juice, it’s about observing a kind of culture. A bartender has to be the kind of person who goes out and searches out new things; he is constantly upgrading his skills.
Pedro: We usually say that one of the most important things for the bartender to know is psychology of his customers.
Kiko: A bartender has to know a couple of things besides psychology. He should have a good grasp of knowledge and culture because he is expected to talk about all things, not just stand at the bar and serve drinks. He has to understand the place he is working in and create a perfect marketing operation.
The best way for a bartender to learn and upgrade skills is to travel around the world and analyse the foods and drinking cultures of different cities. We believe that the bar is a liquid kitchen and you should analyse bar requests like you analyse food. Then you can take the best and most logical system out of each country.
Pedro: You can do flair bartending at the right time and in the right crowd. But the most important things are knowledge and techniques. Having good techniques with a little flair skill is better than being good at flair without knowing any techniques.
Kiko: Flair bartending is all about upselling your product. Flair is good for a person who is full of knowledge. It is important to show your skills with flair because flair is about creating good vibes, not just throwing bottles up in the air. But I would say that flair is the least important thing for a bartender. I suggest that guys travel first and upgrade important skills and knowledge.
(On Indian bartenders the duo has encountered)
Kiko: Well, you know, India is huge. India is like Europe, actually India is much more than Europe.
Pedro: There are a lot of people here.
Kiko: And every city is different. Different city, different systems. But there are a lot of skills here. What I would suggest is that Indian bartenders get more professional. They shouldn’t just serve drinks, they should be complete bartenders.
Pedro: The most important thing is that bartenders here are very interested. They are more willing to learn.
(On being trainers for the Red Bull Bartending Academy)
Kiko: We will always be bartenders. But at the moment we’re trainers. We miss being behind the bar. Miss that magic of being in touch with the customers, of being the centre of attention. But it is also good to share your knowledge with other people.
Pedro: With bartenders, it’s always a question of being or not being one. There’s no in between. But training is also a nice job; it gives you the opportunity to tell the world about your job. We’re lucky to get this opportunity to share information with other bartenders. It’s always important to share.
Kiko: Friends who care, share right? We’re lucky and we get to see London, Tokyo, the world. And we bring this big bag of background and experience. But we’re always cooperating. We want to share information. So all our training sessions are open discussions where people arrive at their own conclusions. We typically talk about techniques, mixology, systems from around the world. Basically we have fun during the sessions.
Pedro: Which is the most important thing.
Kiko: Yes, so it’s a very interactive operation. We don’t try to talk for three hours, we try to give out a vibe, give out our passion and love for the job.
Pedro: It’s all about giving out our love.
Kiko:
(laughing) Not ‘our love’, our love for the bar.
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