Monkey Shoulder, a scotch for the new generation of whisky aficionados, brought its which brought together the most talented bartenders of India and let them showcase their prowess and art of bartending.
Ultimate Bartender Championship’s India leg to a roaring end at Paparazzi, New Delhi. The competition journeyed across the country challenging bartending ‘skills that pay the bills’ and saw Paramveer Singh emerge the ‘ultimate’ bartender’ at the India Grand Finale.
The championship’s India leg began in Kolkata and then moved on to the cities of Hyderabad, Goa, Mumbai, Bangalore, Gurgaon and Delhi. This year, the competition had over 250 contestants — who were tested on their unique techniques, insights, speed and skills behind the bar.
Bartenders got a chance to showcase bartending skills of industry knowledge, hospitality, pouring, nosing and stocktaking, too, at the competition, The event was hosted by Joe Petch, Monkey Shoulder’s Global Brand Ambassador. Commenting on his win, Paramveer said: “I’m very excited to win this prestigious industry competition, especially when you have the best of the best from the industry to compete with! This is such an extra-ordinary initiative by Monkey Shoulder: to get the most talented bartenders of the country to test their skills in this Grand Finale of Ultimate Bartender Championship in India.”
As the national winner of the grand finale, Paramveer has gained a coveted place in the world’s most prestigious cocktail event, Tales of the Cocktail at New Orleans with an all-expenses-paid trip. The two runners up, Chirag Pal and Jitender Singh will go to Camp Monkey to Paramveer Singh, WInner Ulltimate Bartender Chamionship India with Joe Petch, Global Brand Ambassador of Monkey Shoulder be held at Seville, Spain, for an education and engagement program by Monkey Shoulder.
Commenting on the championship, Shweta Jain, India marketing head at William Grant & Sons said: “Monkey Shoulder’s Ultimate Bartender Championship is a one-of-a-kind platform for developing today’s new age bartenders around the globe. At Paparazzi we saw a high-energy event, which has lifted all the bartending parameters! We are very excited with the success of the India season 2017. For Monkey Shoulder, the bartender is at the centre of a great drinking experience as it’s a 100 percent malt whisky made for mixing.”
As the Global Brand Ambassador for Monkey Shoulder Joe further said: “Monkey Shoulder’s Ultimate Bartending Championship a global bartender competition that recognizes the day-to-day ‘Skills that Pay the Bills’. It’s a competition designed by bartenders for bartenders … here we witnessed the highest level of bartending in India and can’t wait to see what happens next year!”
Monkey Shoulder is blended Scotch malt whisky produced by William Grant & Sons, an independent family-owned distiller headquartered in the United Kingdom and founded by William Grant in 1887.
The term “monkey shoulder” comes from the whisky making heritage — It’s a reference to a condition that maltmen developed sometimes while working long shifts, turning the barley by hand. The constant movement sometimes had a tendency to cause their arm to hang down a bit like a monkey’s — thus nicknamed ‘monkey shoulder’.
Whilst the maltmen at William Grant & Sons are among the few who still turn the barley manually, working conditions have changed which means this injury has been consigned to the past. However, thename Monkey Shoulder lives on as an affectionate tribute, to honour all the maltmen.