Andrii Osypchuk, head bartender at Blase, fine-tuned his winning cocktail by seeking feedback from guests on his concoction.
Andrii Osypchuk won the Belvedere Cocktail Competition earlier last month, seeing off all competition to take top honours.
The Ukranian bartender plies his trade at Blasé, a speakeasy jazz bar at Cavalli Club in Dubai.
“Ever since the six finalists were announced, I began practicing to make the perfect cocktail. I worked on my presentation and perfecting the taste for about an hour every day. I would then serve it to our guests and receive feedback from them,” Osypchuk said.
Osypchuk would incorporate that feedback into fine-tuning his concoction. “Guests said that they would like the cocktail to have a gentle fruity flavour that includes crème de pêches. People enjoy their drink when its light, which encourages them to have a few more,” he smiled.
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Osypchuk impressed the judges with his winning cocktail that he called ‘Julia Martini’ — a name inspired by a loved one, coupled with the James Bond theme.
“My winning drink comprised Belvedere, Coco Americana, and peach liqueur with just a few drops of absinthe,” he revealed.
Focusing on making a good impression, he also decided to invite the drink’s namesake to the stage during his presentation, an act that he feels swayed the competition in his favour.
Osypchuk has been in charge of Blasé since December 2014 and the Belvedere competition represents his second win in Dubai contests.
“I participated in a Jameson contest six months ago, in which I took one of the top honours. I then participated in a Johnnie Walker contest that was not too successful,” he explained.
The head bartender feels that cocktail contests such as these are very important for bar and nightlife professionals.
“In Dubai, I won my first contest, didn’t do too well in the next and came back strong in the Belvedere edition. Competitions are extremely important and challenge you to do better, to keep innovating your drinks and learning new skills. You also start thinking about new ingredients you can put into cocktails. Although I did not win the Johnnie Walker contest, I learnt a lot,” he shared.
Osypchuk forecasts a major uptake of vodka in Dubai’s bar and nightlife scene.
“The demand for vodka-based drinks has gone up as compared to gin and tonic based cocktails. Another trend that has emerged recently is guests opting to have neat vodka. We have a healthy mix of wines and cocktails, but we generally focus on providing the latter,” he divulged.
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