A STARBURST HITS BANGALORE
A STARBURST HITS BANGALORE: Red Russian, Slippery Dick, Lord of Martini, Kiwi Spitzner, Elixir of Life, Polynesia, Red Eye, Kumkum Martini… all exotic names for innovative cocktails.
And the creative brains behind these cocktails were 22 bartenders from various hotels and clubs across Bangalore who had gathered to participate in the Belvedere Bartender Competition.
Sponsored by the luxury vodka Belvedere, this contest was an international platform for Indian bartenders to showcase their talent. Three outstanding bartenders, one each from Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore will be selected to represent India for the regional rounds in Hong Kong to compete with bartenders from across Asia and the rest of the world.
Says Ashwin Deo, managing director, Moët Hennessy, India, and Indian Sub-continent, “Ever since Moët Hennesssy came to India, its initiative has been to increase customer awareness, trade, education and accessibility of its brands. Belvedere, one of Hennessey’s offerings started the cocktail/martini culture in India and has taken it to further heights with the first international Belvedere competition that’s given local bartenders a global platform.”
Competing to make it to the regional rounds in Hong Kong, six out of 22 participants made it to the finals in Bangalore.
Theatre person Anish Trivedi, who short listed these six finalists says, “Bringing it down from 22 to six means I had to taste 44 cocktails. It was a lot of hard work, but finally it boils down to creativity, taste and presentation. With a cocktail, first comes the look, then aroma, taste and finally the sensation… you know the starburst that you get in your mouth.”
While finalists Ashok Suvarna, Shashikumar, Danny D’Silva, Raghunath, Manu Manikantan and Vijay Kumar Jayram battled on during the final round, fashion guru Prasad Bidapa, Pradeep Andrews from the bartender academy and Anish Trivedi sipped on a melange of colourful cocktails to arrive at a collective decision on the final winner.
“The cocktails were very nice. Using saffron was an unusual. I found that it enhances the taste,” says Prasad Bidapa.
“In a cocktail, it’s about taste, aroma and blend. For a bartender, it’s also about having good knowledge about his product.
Written by Linu on June 3rd, 2007 with
no comments.
Read more articles on Bangalore Buzz.
- [+] Digg: Feature this article
- [+] Del.icio.us: Bookmark this article
- [+] Furl: Bookmark this article