MONIN Cup 2022 grand finale on August 3 in New Delhi

Mumbai recently witnessed a spectacular show of bartenders and mixologists from Western India putting their best foot forward to present cocktails to judges at the MONIN Cup competition held at London Taxi restaurant, Lower Parel.  The four winners from the west region will compete in the coveted national finale in Delhi on August 3, 2022. One among the winners from India will hold the prestigious title of representing India in the international grand finale in France at the end of 2022.

This year’s MONIN Cup is on the theme “Sharing memorable moments’’ where participants are expected to use their creativity, skill, passion, and inventiveness to develop a memorable cocktail moment.

The first round of the Mumbai edition saw fourteen participants preparing delicious cocktails with premium MONIN syrups to outdo their peers. Out of these, six contenders were selected for the second round where they were given a mystery box from which they had to select five ingredients to make their cocktails.

Participants were judged based on presentation, creativity, mixing skills, the balance of all the elements along with following their recipe with correct measurements. The judges selected the winners based on their story behind the recipe and its link with the competition theme. Mumbai event saw a tie in the finals for the first runners-up trophy with two of the contestants sharing the position.

Following are the winners from MONIN Cup 2022 Mumbai edition: Winner – Akshay Waghmare, Bartender at Pass Code Only, Mumbai; First runners up- Sumit Mehra, Bartender/Chef & Harshad Nimbalkar, Mixologist at Conrad Pune; Second runner up- Hemali Bendre, Bartender at Bombay Canteen, Mumbai.

The contestants were guided and judged by established names in the industry, Vaniitha Jaiin (Founder, The Perfect Pour), Raul Raghav (Chief Adventurist, Tamras Gin) and Afzal Kaba:- National Lead, Diageo Bar Academy.

Commenting on the MONIN Cup 2022, Germain Araud, Managing Director, Monin India said, “The Indian F&B industry has so much hidden talent. We have seen numerous talents emerging post the pandemic where people sitting at home showcased their creativity. Now it is time to bring them onto the professional stage. Our objective is to showcase that talent and select the most skilled mixologist in India. The contest encourages experimenting and creating new experiences – something all of us are eager to do after the pandemic. We are on the hunt for the best mixologist- one who knows how to touch the right senses.”

With this strong hope and to rekindle the passion for mixology, the MONIN Cup 2022 will be conducted across key cities in India. Commenced in July, the first stop was in Kolkata followed by the second stop in Bengaluru, with the third in Mumbai and concluding in August in New Delhi.

Participants are either professional bartenders or students from bar schools aged between 21-27 years. As part of the competition, participants will have to explain their choice of recipe and MONIN flavours. The recipes presented must include a minimum of 10ml of at least one product from MONIN’s wide flavour profiles across categories including Le Sirop de MONIN, Le Fruit de MONIN to Le Frappe de Monin. One can also mix a combination of MONIN products if required.