It’s been eight years since I’ve been a bartender and today I’m a bar manager at Blimey. I started off wanting to be a bartender, but had to start right at the bottom, washing and wiping drinking glasses. All my friends were bartenders and it sounded like great fun. Today I’m a bar manager, but I always like to go make a drink for my favourite people, who recognise me and enjoy the drinks I create.
I completely learnt on-the-job. I have completed my SSLC, and only now realise the value of holding a degree, which I don’t have. When I started off, at The Atria Hotel, getting into a bar was not as easy as it is now. Now people can Google and learn ‘how to make a mojito’. I would peep from inside the kitchen and see the bartender mixing and making a drink, be attracted to the colourful bottles and glasses and garnishes. Very soon I got promoted to steward, but was not allowed to talk to guests yet. I started learning about the hospitality industry, started working on my English-speaking skills.
When the bartender would be on leave, I would be asked to clean and stock the bar, shop for ingredients and soon I became assistant bartender at Bangalore Club’s Tiger Trails. That’s where I got to display my skills and I still remember the first drink I made was a Bloody Mary.
It’s a glamorous and fashionable job, but many people still don’t know what exactly it is. I believe there should be a reason, an inspiration and a history to each drink you create; the ingredients should gel well. I created something called the Vayamos Rey which won me the 6th place at the all-India level of the Bacardi Legacy Cocktail Competition in 2011. It means ‘Let’s Go, King” and I made it as a tribute to Bacardi, because he too started off struggling, like me. I mixed Bacardi with red wine and Indian spices.
I’ve worked across Zero G, Taica, and managed a bar called Aphrodite in Goa for a year when a client asked me to. I switch jobs a lot because I always look for an employer who gives me creative freedom to make what I want; most are very strict about serving what they decide on. They worry about equipment and ingredient costs. At Shiros I leant a lot of the procedures and rules for bartending. And now I have been with Skyye before joining Blimey. My family is happy with what I’ve been doing. I met my wife on the job in Goa, and now we have two kids.
I’ve also tried freelancing for a year, doing house parties and corporate parties; people would recognise me and call me and ask if I’ll do their birthday party or a friend’s. But freelancing is not sustainable as it’s very seasonal; New Year’s is the best time. The best part of the job is bringing a smile on people’s faces, making them happy. And as a bartender, you need to be disciplined, and always wear a smile.
I am from Bangalore and I’ve seen the city change a lot in recent years. Most of the people coming to pubs and bars are people from other states who are settled here. Earlier people would drink in their homes, and very few knew brands and what their drink was. I’ve seen a glamorous Bangalore where people always head out every night in search of something new.
I Am is a weekly column that features the men and women who make Bangalore what it is
