Ihave been a professional bartender for about 12 years. I began at small bars in Colombia after I finished training in mixology (professional term for bartending/mixing drinks) and flair bartending. In flair bartending, we’re taught how to entertain guests by manipulating bar tools and liquor bottles! It’s a lot of fun (grins).
I’m the head bartender at a prominent restaurant in Bogota called Foodo. I think it’s amazing that I could come here and teach the team everything I know about mixology and bartending.
I was lucky enough to study under world-class celebrity bartender Simone Caporale who gave lessons (as part of a Masterclass series) to promising bartenders like me.
The best part of bartending is that you can’t be defined by just one flair, because you need to be good at many; you can’t only be a mixologist, or only a flair bartender. You need to know the entire variety of drinks that can be made so you can experiment with them later. You need to know your classic signature cocktails – mojitos, martinis, margaritas, tequilas and a lot more – at the same time you also need to know how to use these as your base and mix up your own unique cocktails. So it’s fun and at the same time you learn loads.
In fact, I’ve worked at a place where they have 100 different varieties of margaritas!
I regularly experiment with a lot of drinks, but I experiment too much to name any of them. All I can do is probably number them as #1, #2 and so on. I haven’t been able to whip up the exact same mixes in India like I do in Colombia because it’s very hard to source a few ingredients. I had to use substitutes
and tweak the cocktails for an Indian palate!
In cocktails, you need a balance of flavours — be it sweet, sour or bitter — they all need to complement each other for a good cocktail; every drop of the drink should be an experience in itself. I especially like working with herbs and often make homemade gin back in Colombia. Over here, I’ve experimented with black cardamom, different salts such as white salt, brown salt and the like in my drinks. Back in Colombia, I used juniper, ginger and spices such as pepper in different combinations.
I taste my drinks after adding each ingredient to get the flavour and consistency right. Bartending can be really difficult because time is of the essence. You need to throw together ingredients the moment someone orders it and present it to them as fast as you can, and if they’re watching, you need to entertain them as well! Back in Colombia, I manage a group of 3-4 bartenders and a typical work day starts from 11.30 am, ending only in the wee hours of the morning next day, say 3.00 am.
Pub culture in Colombia is a bit more relaxed because you can drink all day in some places or even all night — but not so much in India. I like to unwind with a simple gin and tonic — I like it because it’s fresh and aromatic, but I never drink on the job.
I’ve served some proper famous Colombian celebrities, but perhaps one of the most famous that I got to mix drinks for is Manuel Elkin Patarroyo (the famous professor of immunology who first attempted to create a synthetic vaccine against malaria). He was old-school — he preferred whiskey with just a touch of water and soda!