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Photo: Sampath Kumar G. P.

ENCHANTING SPIRIT The Frenchman is amazed by the aroma of cocktails that have a vocabulary of their own

“It’s been almost 20 years in the industry and I’ve done everything in phases — from consulting for restaurants, beverage-and-cocktail-making, training, handling equipment, and even developing an attitude,” says the Asia Brand Ambassador for Grand Marnier, a 152-year-old liqueur made from macerated bitter orange peels from the West Indies.

This is Jubien’s second visit to India after eight years. “I have a lot of Indian friends in London – I learnt to play carrom from them!” says Jubien who is currently based in Shanghai. “I see India in its food culture, which is very distinctive. There is a perfect combination of flavours – fresh, raw ingredients of herbs and spices in the food. And this is exactly the perfect blend when it comes to the art of mixology.”

“I am only satisfied with the best,” confesses this workaholic about work and attitude. “Managing a team is like managing an army, which is very demanding.” He continues, “It’s very important to work on your communication skills and talk to people and be both passionate and a professional at work.” He adds, “You have to be alive all the time otherwise your team will start sleeping.”

He is amazed by the aroma of cocktails which have a vocabulary of their own. “It’s my job to brew passion and transmit it. And I just love it”. He feels that blending is a lifestyle in itself. “You have to interact with people over the table, with celebrities and with Mr. or Ms. Everyone.” He notes the importance of learning about people, which results in learning about oneself. “Though I thought I was shy, I am not shy in front of 50 people.”

He also stresses the need for blenders and bartenders to go to outlets wherever you are and find out what’s in the market. You need to know about the drinking and eating habits of the population to be able to introduce your brand.”

“There are basically three ingredients that go into a cocktail – spirit, flavour and sugar. It could be a prestigious cognac for the spirit, wild oranges, which have different nectar, for the flavour.” Jubien says that after blending, it’s important to store it in age-old casks to mature so that the wooden flavours get induced into the final product. “After that, you can add some spice like sweet vanilla,” says Jubien a master-blender of 1,000 recipes in cocktails.

He feels that a good bartender has to be excited all the time, want to learn and take their jobs seriously. “There is always something to do, you can never stop. Nothing is easy – this job is for hard workers who have respect for the team, work on teamwork, consistency and just work and smile.”

Then Guillaume makes a drink in brisk, swift movements – cracking an egg, pouring the egg white and some sweet lime, measures a teaspoon of sugar, gives it a hard shake and adds some ice. He hands over the sour drink and says, “Don’t just try it, drink it!”

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