Bacardi Legacy Cocktail Competition (BLCC) is one of the most prestigious cocktail competitions in the world, inviting bartenders to create an original cocktail with Bacardi rum as its main ingredient. Bartenders from all over the world participate in the hopes of winning the competition and having their drink reach cocktail enthusiasts across the globe.
Vedant Mehra participated in BLCC 2019 and emerged as the National Winner at the competitions. Here are a few excerpts from Unsobered’s interview with him.
You began your career as a wedding planner, and at one of the weddings you went behind the bar for the first time. What encouraged you to switch careers and pursue bartending?
At one of the weddings that I was working on in the city of Udaipur, the bartenders didn’t show up on time for the party. It was a small gathering of close friends and family, and as it was the first day of festivities, I decided to get behind the bar with a few colleagues and bartend for the night. Having little knowledge of alcohol, I was still able to run the bar successfully by serving straight drinks and shots.
I worked for almost 8 hours straight but didn’t feel tired one bit. I even ended up making friends with all the guests. Post the wedding season, my company partner and I decided to take a break from wedding planning for a couple of months. During that time, I read up on bartending and looked for good bartending courses. A lot of research concluded The European Bartender School of Las Vegas to be the best fit for me.
I convinced my family that I wanted to study bartending to feed my curious soul. But post bartending school and topping the course, I was 100% sure that I wanted to become a bartender!
I bartended professionally at a bar in a Vegas nightclub one night and that is when I knew there was no looking back for me.
In how many bartending competitions have you participated, and what did you learn from each one of them?
I have participated in eight to nine competitions over the past three years. The learning varies from person to person, I believe.
As I was new in the industry, I learnt a lot about how the alcohol industry operated. I saw the efforts liquor companies would put in indirectly marketing their brands throughout the year. Soon, I realised that a few big players controlled the entire market and due to strict government regulations, the situation was going to remain the same in the future.
But there were few extremely important things I learnt that my fellow bartenders should know about:
1. Skills pay bills – Practice, practice and practice as there’s no other way to refine your skills.
2. Always look your best. Don’t just dress up on the day of the competition but during the entire duration of it, especially when you are interacting with someone from BLCC.
3. Reading the competition rules and guidelines is extremely important. Often, we get carried away in the excitement of the competition and make some blunders that cost us the win.
4. Compete to win. A lot of bartenders believe that they should just participate in all competitions to gain experience. I believe one must participate with an attitude to win.
5. Watch the tapes of previous competitions and follow the former winners’ journey. Observe and learn from their presentations and re-watch the videos of your own performances to improve your presentation skills.
You participated in the Bacardi Legacy Cocktail Challenge with your cocktail ‘Limitless’. Tell us about the trials and errors behind the scenes.
The competition asks participants to create a cocktail that can be replicated anywhere in the world and is worthy of entering the league of classic cocktails like the Mojito and Daiquiri.
While working on my cocktail’s recipe, I wanted to use a common ingredient which would be available all over the world. During the R&D process, I liked the flavour of banana with Bacardi rum. So, I worked with them to create a delicious cocktail.
During this process, I was throwing away a heap of banana peels and this bothered me. One day, I was walking outside the bar I used to work at in Bangalore and spotted a bhajiya/pakoda vendor. The lady running the stall was serving fried banana peels and the sight was a lightbulb moment.
She told me that the peel is entirely edible and I rushed to the bar to create a drink with the banana peel as an ingredient. After trying out different recipes, I found the best method was to take off the sweet rind of the peel and make a reduction out of it. I planned to use the outer skin of the peel as a garnish instead.
The banana peel syrup worked beautifully with Bacardi rum and that is how my cocktail ‘Limitless’ was born.
Tell us a little about your experience at BLCC.
Honestly, the whole experience was life changing. Winning the competition in India was the biggest surprise for me as I was skeptical of my promotional capabilities. The fact that I was chosen to represent my country was extremely humbling and gratifying for me. I received huge support from the entire bartending community that was following my journey at the Global Finals in Amsterdam. It was great!
Meeting participants from around 45 countries was amazing too and I ended up making friends from all over the world. The way Bacardi pampered us in Amsterdam showed us how grand of an impact BLCC has on the industry. Such experiences expose you to a whole new world and motivate you to be a better bartender everyday!
What was the biggest challenge you faced while competing?
The biggest challenge I faced at the competition was in promoting my cocktail. The final rounds required us to go out to promote and sell our drinks at bars. We were required to promote the cocktail extensively on social media as well.
Even though it proved to be a big challenge for me, I was able to tackle it well and achieve top scores internationally.
You won the National Finals. How has it helped you in your career?
It’s been a great journey. Post the competition, I’ve worked extensively with liquor companies in launching their new brands, organising events with them and conducting training sessions for my fellow bartenders. The competition provided me with visibility and exposure. I received a lot of opportunities from bars all over the country as well. At one point, it was almost unbelievable as every new bar I admired started to approach me to work with them.
It’s a great feeling! But I have decided to take some time off from the industry to analyze what I want to do next. All I can tell you is that great things are happening in terms of my career growth, and I’ll be able to discuss that later.
As most competition winners do, is opening your own bar next on your list?
Opening a bar is currently not on the list. Frankly, I feel it’s not the right time to open a bar in the cities that I’m familiar with. I also feel I have a lot more to learn and experience before I take a big step like that.
At this point, I’m more focused on visiting international bars because I want to improve my skill set and knowledge. I’m currently working on a plan which will allow me to travel for work. The spirit industry is growing at a tremendous speed right now, compelling me to want to be associated with an international brand – either a bar or a liquor company.
Answers have been edited for clarity.
