Bisht Wins Pune Round Of Monkey Shoulder Bartender Championship

Ultimate Bartender Championship by Monkey shoulders
All contestants with Pankaj Balachandran - Brand Ambassador, Monkey Shoulder India

Narendra Singh Bisht won the Pune round of the Ultimate Bartender Championship by Monkey Shoulder held at Elephant & Co, Kalyani Nagar.

Monkey Shoulder, a scotch for the new generation of whisky aficionados, brings the 2018 season of ‘Ultimate Bartender Championship’ to India. 

This competition will journey across the country challenging bartending ‘skills that pay the bills.’

The India leg of the championship moved to Pune, from Goa and Mumbai, to be followed by Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and then to Gurgaon, Delhi and Chandigarh. The contest was hosted by the Monkey Shoulder India Brand Ambassador Pankaj Balachandran over a daylong session on bartending skills of ingredient knowledge, mixing, pouring, and nosing and stock taking.

The participants were tested on their unique techniques, insights, speed and skills behind the bar. This year, the competition has 550 contestants from the various parts of India competing for a spot to go to the most sought after and top notch Global industry event, The Athens Bar Show. The winner also takes home a very exclusive ride with a fully curated and customised 500 CC bike.

Commenting on his win  Mr Bisht said,   “I am so excited to win this contest by competing with the best bartenders of Pune. This competition such a  great initiative by Monkey Shoulder.  A big thanks to Monkey Shoulder for holding such an event and giving us a chance to go to one of the biggest international bar shows.”

Bisht and Latesh Kotiyar will go for the India Grand finale on June 28 in New Delhi. The national winner of the grand finale will gain a coveted place in the Athens Bar Show with an all expenses paid trip.

Commenting on this championship, Mr Balachandran said, “We are committed to empowering our friends in the bartender community to deliver memorable consumer experiences. A high energy industry event, it promises to lift all bartending parameters that make it an epic competition.

“Monkey Shoulder is 100 percent malt made for mixing. This competition resonate the Monkey shoulder values of versatility and free spirited smoothness which has made it a preferred drink with bartenders around the world.”

Monkey Shoulder is produced by William Grant & Sons, an independent family-owned distiller headquartered in the UK and founded by William Grant in 1887.

Today, the global premium spirits company is run by the fifth generation of his family and distils some of the world’s leading brands of Scotch whisky, including the world’s most awarded single malt Glenfiddich, The Balvenie range of handcrafted single malts and the world’s third-largest blended Scotch, Grant’s as well as other iconic spirits brands such as Hendrick’s Gin, and Sailor Jerry, and Tullamore DEW Irish Whiskey.