If everybody who walks into a bar liked to have his/her drink simple and straight, a bartender would have almost nothing to do. But many don’t even know what it is that they would like. Much of the job is deciding on a drink for
every individual — even the most inarticulate of them — apart from getting the measures and ingredients right and starting all over again. Being a bartender is like being a chef, except there’s some showboating expected, even as he handles a bloody expensive vintage blend.
For Pankaj Kumar, beverage manager at the JW Marriott, Mumbai, a bartender must wear many hats, at every point in time. “More than anything else though, he must really enjoy his job and be passionate about it. Because even as the whole world around him is partying, he’s working. He is dealing with big stars and serving the who’s who of the city. Also, he needs to be cheering up ones who’re feeling low, using flair to entertain the guests, and generally, being the nerve centre of the party,” Pankaj says.
Rohan Coutinho, among the city’s top bartenders, who has worked with various renowned bars and clubs across the country, says the technical knowledge of the bartender also counts for a lot. “You need to serve an exceptional drink with perfectly blended ingredients that suits the customer's requirements. You have to know your product and recipes perfectly. Flair is an icing on the cake, but not compulsory. In fact, many bars don’t allow flair at all. But if the guest likes it and flair would get him to return, then you do flair," Coutinho says.
But flair is something that does draw people in, both as customers to the bar and also as aspirants to the profession. Sachin Gowda, 24, who mesmerised his way to win the recently held Skyy Global Flair Challenge, an All-India bartending contest, says he likes to focus on flair. “I’ve been working at a Pune hotel for the last two years, and I feel it’s flair that sets one bartender apart from another. Mixology is something one can pick up by studying recipes and books. Flair is more difficult to come by,” Gowda says.
For those whose bartending knowledge came from that Tom Cruise starrer Cocktail, here’s a line by Uncle Pat that explains the job better than anything else: “You outwork, outthink, outscheme and outmanoeuvre. You make no friends. You trust nobody. And you make damn sure you’re the smartest guy in the room whenever subject of money comes up.”