National bartender competition adds colour to monsoon flavour in Nilgiris
The hospitality sector knows that the bartender is an important person in the field.
Ooty: The two-day ultimate bartender championship, a national competition, which concluded here at Savoy- IHCL SeleQtions hotel here on Thursday night brought flair to the monsoon.
When modern Nilgiris is celebrating its bicentenary and the Savoy hotel has entered its 190th year, this competition, which is organized by the UK-based 'Monkey Shoulder', global name in scotch whisky, added British-era sheen and spice to the hill environs.
In the developing world with tourism and hospitality in the forefront, bartending skills are necessary tools to deal with valued customers of domestic and foreign origin. The hospitality sector knows that the bartender is an important person in the field who besides specializing in cocktails, juggling techniques and bar-tending flair, is good at management skills. Bartenders, who are mixology experts, are able to mix hundreds of types of drinks to please customers quickly and accurately. While bartending as a profession is catching across the globe, this competition, its 4th edition, but the first time in Ooty, proves that the
hills have entered into the new era competition mode involving beverages.
Pankaj Balachandran, India brand ambassador for Monkey Shoulder said, “The competition titled the Monkey Shoulder Ultimate Bartender Championship specializes in enhancing the skills of bartenders. This year, we focused on honing skills of sustainability, wellness and global trends. The competition was spread over three weeks and eight city-level contests earlier, where 600 competitors took part, to find the top 20 bartenders in the country who competed for top honours at the finals held in Savoy Hotel in Ooty. The competition saw enthusiastic participation across cities in India, capturing the spirit of Skills that Pay the Bills,” he noted.
Joe Petch, Monkey Shoulder Global brand ambassador said, “The Monkey Shoulder Ultimate Bartender Championship has been recognizing bartenders from across the globe for over half a decade. Consumers are on the lookout for experiences that leave a mark, and this usually stems from impeccable quality and great service. This means that a bartender's skill set has to continuously evolve, and this is exactly what the championship relays. This competition in India, successfully brought together different elements that helped hone bartenders' skills from knowledge building sessions to decoding consumer preference to crafting the perfect drink,” he noted.
The final session here, which extended up to mid-night on Thursday, saw the competition held in five categories, that include quiz-to test bar-tending know-how, pouring-to measure the speed and accuracy using five drinks, nosing to identify the liquor and its brand, table service to establish a clear standard of service and the perfect serve to work out the cost and gross profit. The final challenge in cocktail making to create a perfect drink against the clock was held for the top three scorers.
While Yash Shinde (Pune), Abishek Chawla (New Delhi) and Sahil Negi (New Delhi) entered the top 3 spots in the competition, the latter won the championship to become the best bartender in the country.
Testing skills of top 3 scorers
Ginger Monkey, Monkey Splash, Monkey Cola, Iary Old Fashioned, Boulevardier, Daiquiri, Expresso Martini, Monkey Pencillin, Negroni, Monkey Sour, Monkey Colada, Rob Ray, were the cocktails where whisky, ginger, orange wedge, soda, coke, sugar syup, angostura bitters, orange peel, sweet vermouth, campari, lime, coffee beans, gin, torino, egg white, coconut water, pineapple juice, cinnamon were to be mixed in right proportions for different combinations of cocktails to test the skills of the top three scorers in the final round.
Lone woman contender: bartending is interesting and challenging job
Sahil Negi (New Delhi) who was crowned the champion at the Monkey Shoulder Ultimate bartender championship, booked his ticket to take part in the “London Cocktail Week” in October, which will be attended by the best from the global bartending industry. Working with popular bars such as Perch Wine and Coffee bar and 361 degree for the past 3 years, he was one of the top scorers from the north region. Sahil Negi said that bartending is his true love and it feels like all the endless nights that he spent training and improving his skills have finally paid off. “The two days in Ooty were curated with eye-opening sessions from wellness to sustainability and global trends by global personalities which will enhance my skills,” he added.
Ms.Aarti from Bengaluru, the lone woman contender in the competition, said that the passion for bartending propelled her to try her hand in this profession. “It is challenging, yet interesting. It helps me to connect with people and helps to see the world through the customer. This job teaches one how to be perfect, hospitable and skilful,” she said and added that woman need not hesitate to take up this profession as it is part of hotel management.
Ritesh Choudhary, General Manager of Savoy- IHCL SeleQtions at Ooty, said that the hotel provided the perfect platform for the competition. “From now onward the hotel will focus on food and beverages to make a distinctive mark,” he added.