As the first ever Delhi Cocktail Week concludes, founder Archit Singhal explains to Riya Sharma that besides educating the customers about their cocktails, he wants to provide bartenders a platform to learn about the mixing techniques
Swirling martini glasses, pouring whiskey for guests, blending, layering drinks with their techniques and, not to forget, a projector showing links between history of mankind and alcohol was the base of the masterclass by bartender guests — Zac Abott, Hemant Pathak and Ulysses Vidalat at ITC Sheraton, Saket. We attended the masterclass by Australian bartender Abott, who with his presentation tried to show the link between alcohol and mankind. “The technique of making alcohol may differ but it has always been there. If you talk about India, even the ancient texts also talk about the negative impacts of alcohol but nobody can deny its presence,” he shared.
Talking more about his masterclass, which was part of the Delhi Cocktail Week, he elaborated on the need for bartenders to be confident. “Confidence is the trick. If I hand you a drink and say, ‘Here’s your mojito’ and start looking away, there is no way in hell that you are going to like that drink even if it is amazing. But, if I turn around and say ‘I am presenting your Bacardi 1880 from France, if you like it any more sweet or sour then please let me know. We will fix it up straightaway’ you’re going to love it,” he demonstrated.
He further shared with us that after leaving the Army, he wanted money and that is how he landed up being a bartender. He explained, “I left the Army, and I needed money. A friend of mine worked at a night club, and when I saw the bartenders, I noticed that they had an amazing time. That was when I took up the work and trust me, I am the luckiest man in the world. A bartender is the aristocrat of the working class. We have connections with both — the richest of men and the poor as well. I have what they want — I have my knowledge, history and drinks. I can please them both. It is a wonderful career.”
But, what does he think of the condition of bartenders in our country, we askedIJ “They should have knowledge about their drinks for sure. They are scared because Indian guests are not easy to deal with but for me, that is fun. That makes you a better person because you are scared to make a mistake and you let it pass. They need confidence and articulation. They should be educated about their drinks in both Hindi and English,” he replied.
Elaborating more on the concept, the founder of DCW, Archit Singhal said, “ We started thinking about this concept last year but we though it was too early to take it forward. But, if you see Delhi’s culture today, it has bar based lounges and pubs and they have picked up really well. We want to be a part of the Delhi circuit in terms of educating the customers.”
As part of the concept, people could buy wrist bands worth Rs599, Rs1,099 and Rs5,499 and avail unlimited cocktails each worth Rs200 and Rs400 (inclusive of taxes) from a pre-selected menu of signature cocktails of restaurant associated with them. “It happened at 128 outlets of Central Delhi, South Delhi and Gurgaon and it was difficult for us to convince people to buy these bands and try different cocktails at different venues. But when they bought the band, they understood the worth and were ready to explore,” he shared.
The week long celebrations not only involved drinking sessions and exploring different lounges by patrons but it also had masterclasses, pub crawls and game nights. “The thing is, you may like Kingfisher but you don’t know how it is made. Every drink has a history and variety so we are providing that information to our customers. We have specific classes focussed on bartenders. So, it is not only commercially driven. We are making our bartenders learn the ropes,” Singhal added.
But, when we went for the masterclass, we were confused because the level of participation was not what we had expected. “That is a challenge for me but slowly we are getting to it. My target is not to sell out these sessions completely but to give a platform to people. My point is if I don’t do it, how will people know about itIJ You have to take a risk. We inspire bartenders to talk about their experiences, so we have masterclasses talking about bartending techniques,” he concluded.