THE DAY T2 MIXED UP THINGS... ER, DRINKS
The only ‘drink’ I’ve ever mixed is rum with Coke or whisky with water. But I womanned up and stepped up to cocktail-mixing for a day. Okay, for one drink.
Full disclosure? Shantanu Sengupta, the brand ambassador for United Spirits in eastern India, recently dropped in at Shisha BSE to teach us, the uninitiated, a thing or two about mixing.
Being a chronic butterfingers, I nervously stepped behind the bar counter, trying not to get spooked by people looking closely. And here’s how I raised the bar.
Step 1: Trying to remember every word of Shantanu’s instructions, I grip the neck of the heavy Smirnoff bottle. Feel scared, look confident — that’s my mantra.
Step 2: I grab the jigger with my left hand (yes, since I was behind the bar I could call it that, but you normal lot can continue calling it a peg measure) and dole out the vodka, being extra careful not to spill any as I pour it into the Mason jar. Success. Confidence level soaring.
Step 3: Discover that the sugar syrup has a mind of its own. It spills all over my hands, the counter and even my white top. Urghh. Win some, lose some.
Step 4: Grab the shovel to take out ice. Get corrected sternly. “We call it a scoop.” The photographer goes on overdrive, making me extra nervous as I try to balance ice cubes on the scoop and load them into the jar.
Step 5: Top it up with Red Bull (familiar territory in sight) and taste my drink just like bartenders do it. It’s sweet. I hand it over to the mix master and he tastes and says: “It’s bound to be sweet, you made the drink after all.”
Step 6: Muster up all my swag and announce, “Ladies and gentlemen, presenting Smirnoff Power Play!”
Shantanu Sengupta kills it behind the counter at the Smirnoff Diageo cocktail making workshop in Shisha BSE. Watch how he grips the bottle and the peg measure (‘jigger’ for bartenders). And if you want to throw the best cocktail party ever, go by what he says:
• One thing to keep in mind while making cocktails is balance. Balance the sweet (sugar syrup) with sour (lemon juice), strong (alcohol) with weak (soda or juice).
• Always taste your cocktails.
• Know your alcohol. For instance, vodka mixes well with everything as it has no distinct flavour of its own.
• Some basic ingredients you need are ice, sugar syrup, fruit juices and the good stuff — alcohol. That’s all! Always stock up on ice ahead of the party. You can’t scrimp on ice while making cocktails. Stock up on stirrers and straws too.
• A variety of glasses always helps — short, tall and the classic Martini glass.
• You can’t put ice in a Martini glass as it will bump into your nose while drinking, so you chill it instead. How to do that? Pour some ice and soda into the glass and let it be for a minute. Now pour the soda and it’s done!
• Everybody consumes with their eye first. So to make your drink look pretty, some basic fruits and accessories like the classic umbrella always help.
Tip: A Martini is never sweet unless your guest wants it that way.
Deborima Ganguly
Pictures: B. Halder
(L-R) Abir Chatterjee, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Dev, EFL co-promoter Kalyan Sarkar, designers Sharbari Datta, Abhishek Dutta, Mona Lamba and Pali Sachdev, EFL co-promoter Namit Bajoria and EFL mastermind Arijit Dutta gathered around the table to cut the celebratory cake of Eastern Fashion Legacy Chapter 1, presented by Kutchina in association with t2. Held on the terrace of Priya cinema on April 6, the party was a fun affair.
Text: Riddhima Khanna
Pictures: Rashbehari Das
BUSINESS AND BRAINSTORMING, WITH THE TELEGRAPH
It was time to brush up on corporate terms and general knowledge and put on the thinking caps yet again at the 20th edition of Emami Corporate Management Quiz 2016 in association with The Telegraph, presented by Calcutta Club and MCC Chamber of Commerce & Industry. Eight teams, representing city corporates, made it to the finals of the prestigious quiz after a gruelling qualifying written round. The best part? The quiz started with the teams retaining 25 per cent of their scores in the qualifying round.
The quiz consisted of four rounds — warm up, grid, audiovisual and subject — hosted by quizmaster Suman Kumar Mukerjee. It sure tickled the grey cells of the teams from corporates such as Linc Pen & Plastics, Hindusthan Motors, L&T Metallurgical, Ezii Grocery, Edible Agro, SREI Infrastructure, DHC (Desai Haribhakti and Co.) and Institute of Chartered Accountants (Eastern).
learn with t2
What is the term used for people who are more interested in their mobiles than their surroundings?
Phubbing (phone-snubbing).
What is the practice of examining merchandise in the market and then buying them online called?
Showrooming.
This is a Chinese cell phone already increasing in popularity. Name it and explain the last two letters of the brand name.
Xiaomi; ‘mi’ stands for mobile Internet.
Name (full names) the duo?
Yoko Ono and Geetali Norah Jones Shankar.
This is the Procter and Gamble headquarters. Where is it situated? Pantene, a P&G brand just assigned a new ambassador. Name the celebrity.
Cincinnati, Ohio. Selena Gomez.
Name the company based on the logo. Who are the founders and what does the company do?
Rocket Internet, founded by Alexander, Marc and Oliver Samwer. They build online start-ups and own shares of many e-tail businesses like Jabong and Foodpanda.
Team Ezii Grocery, a start-up represented by Rabi Sankar Saha (second from right) and Sampad Mishra (first from left), were way ahead of the other seven teams throughout the duration of the quiz. Rabi, who has been quizzing since school, was a one-man answering machine, with his teammate Sampad serving as the perfect partner. “Quizzing is how I unwind. When we were younger, research meant running to the library, but now thanks to the Internet, everything is in the palm of our hands. Social media helps too, with different friends with various hobbies sharing articles on a variety of topics,” said the man who loves to read and devours newspapers cover to cover to stay updated on business news. The team walked away with a cool Rs 70,000 and a trophy.
Quizmaster Suman Kumar Mukerjee was the perfect mix of serious, fun and witty, making the quiz an enjoyable experience for both the audience as well as the contestants. He gave the teams enough clues and encouraged them to attempt answering but was also strict about sticking to the time limit for answering questions. “This corporate quiz is for quite advanced quizzers and is a very prestigious quiz,” he said.
Text: DG
Pictures: Anindya Shankar Ray
