A series of fun and immersive workshops will give a chance to bartenders, bar and beverage managers to engage with some of the brightest minds in the Indian industry through demos, tastings, and cocktail knowledge sharing.
Masterclasses
-
View Profile
Rohan Jelkie
The Blend Programme Manager, Beam Suntory India
The Effects of Terroir on Whisk(e)yThe Effects of Terroir on Whisk(e)y
While talking wine, sommeliers and bartenders obsess over the word ‘terroir’ and how it influences the wine world. What if we told you that the very same concept affects your favourite glass of Malt, Bourbon and Blended Scotch? The different elements of nature come together in creating the minute nuances in whisky that defines the beverage it eventually becomes. Join Rohan Jelkie, The Blend Programme Manager at Beam Suntory India as he takes you through an immersive experience in terroir and its effect on the worlds most loved spirit.
Date: Tuesday, 15th October
Time: 3:30 – 5:00 pm
Venue: Together at 12th, Le Meridien Hotel, GurgaonTo register call – Keshav Thapa |+91 84478 51921
Rohan Jelkie
The Blend Programme Manager, Beam Suntory India
Rohan comes from a family that discusses lunch over breakfast, dinner over lunch and the year’s Christmas menu over dinner. While his qualifications on paper are as a chef, he found his true calling in all things liquid during his final year of hotel schooling.
Having started with hotels and then later moving on to freelance bartending for a while, Rohan saw an opportunity to take up beverage education as a full time career. Since then, for a little over a decade now, he has worked with and consulted for leading hotel chains and Alcobev brands. A certified trainer for the WSET Level 1 & 2 courses in India, Rohan holds a Level 3 advanced certification in Wines and Spirits from the Wines & Spirits Education Trust of the U.K. and a certification from the L’École du Vin (The Bordeaux Wine School). He also completed his Tea Sommelier’s course from the Twinnings Tea Academy in London & Andover, U.K. An avid travel buff, he’s made his way through vineyards, breweries and distilleries through Europe and The U.S.
In his years of experience Rohan has conducted training programs for leading Alcobev companies including Pernod Ricard India, Remy Cointreau India, Untied Spirits, United Breweries, United Vintners And Diageo Middle East. He has also been a beverage trainer for the management training programs of the ITC Hotels group, Oberoi Hotels and the Taj Hotels, having led the beverage training for the Taj Management Training Programme for 6 years. He has also conducted trainings extensively in Sri Lanka, Bahrain and the SAARC region.
He was the first Indian speaker to present a seminar at the 10th anniversary edition of the Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans. The Tales of the Cocktail is the world’s foremost drinks festival and annual gathering of Bartenders and Drinks Industry experts.
All of this led him to land his assignment as the Brand Ambassador at Moët Hennessy for India and the SAARC Region. For just under five years Rohan led all consumer and trade facing trainings, tastings, events and advocacy for the group’s luxury Wines, Champagnes and Spirits portfolio in the region.
Rohan has also worked as an independent wines & spirit consultant and trainer working to enhance and shape the bar and beverage industry in India and working with select Indian spirit & beer producers to help shape the craft drinks movement in the country.
He is currently the Blend Programme Manager at Beam Suntory India. The Blend is Beam Suntory’s global bartender engagement platform focused on supporting & celebrating the bartender journey.
And in all of this, when he is not busy educating, traveling or mixing, you will find him at a neighbourhood bar, drink in hand, cloaked in his alter ego – The Thirsty Tippler.
-
View Profile
Ajay Nayyar
Reserve Brand Ambassador, Diageo India
Staying Single - Simplicity in CocktailsStaying Single - Simplicity in Cocktails
Ajay Nayyar and Vikram KU will demonstrate how vodka is the ideal canvas on which to mix a masterpiece. The Masterclass will focus on how to extract flavour and maximise yield from a single ingredient to create “3-dimensional cocktails” as well as the sustainable benefits of seasonality and how we should support the local production of exceptional cocktails.
Date: Thursday, 17th October
Time: 3:00 – 5:00 pm
Venue: The Hong Kong Club, Andaz Hotel, AerocityTo register call – Keshav Thapa |+91 84478 51921
Ajay Nayyar
Reserve Brand Ambassador, Diageo India
Ajay brings with him 12 years of experience in the Food & Beverage operations, Cocktail Bars, Wine Bars, Training and advocacy roles. His journey began by making a pilgrimage to the spiritual capital of whisky, Scotland. He spent four weeks educating himself with the assistance of some of the most experienced whisky makers, experts and ambassadors. He shares his enthusiasm and knowledge by giving talks & tastings around the Scotch Category and by conducting training programmes and Masterclasses for Diageo. He has been to many of Diageo distilleries in Scotland, some of the most famous in the world like Lagavulin and Talisker, and traced the processes & intricacies behind the world’s most popular spirit. During his free time he loves sipping Smoky Old Fashioned made with Talisker 10 years old and reading whisky books.
Instagram- Sokeepwalking
-
View Profile
Vikram K.U
Reserve Brand Ambassador, Diageo India
Staying Single - Simplicity in CocktailsStaying Single - Simplicity in Cocktails
Ajay Nayyar and Vikram KU will demonstrate how vodka is the ideal canvas on which to mix a masterpiece. The Masterclass will focus on how to extract flavour and maximise yield from a single ingredient to create “3-dimensional cocktails” as well as the sustainable benefits of seasonality and how we should support the local production of exceptional cocktails.
Date: Thursday, 17th October
Time: 3:00 – 5:00 pm
Venue: The Hong Kong Club, Andaz Hotel, AerocityTo register call – Keshav Thapa |+91 84478 51921
Vikram K.U
Reserve Brand Ambassador, Diageo India
Vikram represents a product or service and interacts with a specific target audience on behalf of Diageo. He can be useful for many communications and branding purposes, like raising awareness, generating leads, customer acquisition, and bolstering overall images.
Vikram K.U is widely credited for reinventing the traditional five-star hotel bar experience, making it relevant for 21st Century tastes and sensibilities. Attention to detail, playful presentation and exceptional approach to service are all hallmarks of Vikram’s unique approach to bartending.
Vikram has 6 years of experience working behind the bar with his last assignment being American whiskey Brand ambassador India/Nepal Bhutan. He has also worked with Blue Bar, Taj Palace Hotel, Delhi and the Hotel Leela Kempinski, Gurgaon earlier. He earned his B.Sc. (Hotel and Hospitality Management) from Monarch International College and most recently was the winner of first ever North American whiskey challenge organised in 2016. Vikram was the 2nd Runner Up in INDIA in Diageo World Class Competition 2016, India’s Top 12 best Mixologist in India by Diageo world class 2017.