Life is never too boring for a happy-go-lucky bartender like Tim Etherington-Judge, who recently gave the City its own signature cocktail.
Vivanta by Taj has associated with Diageo Reserve to invent 'Fuse 2.0', a collection of six innovative cocktails like 'Berry Ristretto' for Bangalore, 'Rasam Mary' for Chennai and 'Chamomile Mar-tea-ni' for New Delhi, among others.
Being the brand ambassador for Diageo, Tim was brought on board and did a great job inventing locally flavoured drinks. Bangalore's cocktail is based on South Indian coffee, which is mixed with 'Ketel One' vodka from Holland, along with some 'Monin Cassis', to give it a subtle sweetness.
One would expect a bartender, who has travelled the world, to introduce a taste of the West to his drinks. Instead, he chooses to do just the opposite. "I'm trying to get Indian bartenders to have the confidence to make drinks with the Indian flavour. I don't see much point of them copying what's been done overseas. Indian food is so famous all over the world. Why shouldn't its cocktails be equally famous?" questions Tim.
In the past, he used to be a man of varied passions — he studied interior designing but managed a beach resort in the UK. It was there that his interest in bartending started brewing and the love for cocktails began to find a place in his life. Now, it seems to be his only obsession. "When I'm not bartending, I'm either reading cocktail books and blogs or drinking cocktails at bars," he confesses.
While he loves what he does anywhere he goes, he observes that there is not a very strong bartending community here. "Globally, there's a strong bartending community. I know bartenders in every city in every country and I know they'll look after me, take me out drinking and show me the town if I visit. But in India, bartenders work six days a week and there's no time to really socialise.
There's no time to build a community," he says.
One of the biggest steps he has taken was to start the 'Bombay Cocktail Club', a bunch of people who like cocktails who get together, learn to make some of them and just have a jolly time. "It was something I started to educate consumers and just have fun making cocktails. I wanted to give them the knowledge to go to a bar and demand a better drink," shares the young bartender.
When asked who he would want to serve one of his cocktails to, he immediately responded, "I would have loved to serve a cocktail to Winston Churchill. I'd have to give him a dirty martini or a 'Johnnie Walker Black Label'."
This was his sixth visit to the City. "I always enjoy coming here. With the early closing time, it does have its set of restrictions. But every time I come, there's always something new opening, which is awesome," says Tim.
Vivanta by Taj has associated with Diageo Reserve to invent 'Fuse 2.0', a collection of six innovative cocktails like 'Berry Ristretto' for Bangalore, 'Rasam Mary' for Chennai and 'Chamomile Mar-tea-ni' for New Delhi, among others.
Being the brand ambassador for Diageo, Tim was brought on board and did a great job inventing locally flavoured drinks. Bangalore's cocktail is based on South Indian coffee, which is mixed with 'Ketel One' vodka from Holland, along with some 'Monin Cassis', to give it a subtle sweetness.
One would expect a bartender, who has travelled the world, to introduce a taste of the West to his drinks. Instead, he chooses to do just the opposite. "I'm trying to get Indian bartenders to have the confidence to make drinks with the Indian flavour. I don't see much point of them copying what's been done overseas. Indian food is so famous all over the world. Why shouldn't its cocktails be equally famous?" questions Tim.
In the past, he used to be a man of varied passions — he studied interior designing but managed a beach resort in the UK. It was there that his interest in bartending started brewing and the love for cocktails began to find a place in his life. Now, it seems to be his only obsession. "When I'm not bartending, I'm either reading cocktail books and blogs or drinking cocktails at bars," he confesses.
While he loves what he does anywhere he goes, he observes that there is not a very strong bartending community here. "Globally, there's a strong bartending community. I know bartenders in every city in every country and I know they'll look after me, take me out drinking and show me the town if I visit. But in India, bartenders work six days a week and there's no time to really socialise.
There's no time to build a community," he says.
One of the biggest steps he has taken was to start the 'Bombay Cocktail Club', a bunch of people who like cocktails who get together, learn to make some of them and just have a jolly time. "It was something I started to educate consumers and just have fun making cocktails. I wanted to give them the knowledge to go to a bar and demand a better drink," shares the young bartender.
When asked who he would want to serve one of his cocktails to, he immediately responded, "I would have loved to serve a cocktail to Winston Churchill. I'd have to give him a dirty martini or a 'Johnnie Walker Black Label'."
This was his sixth visit to the City. "I always enjoy coming here. With the early closing time, it does have its set of restrictions. But every time I come, there's always something new opening, which is awesome," says Tim.