Tulleeho Trainer Diaries - Cointreau Cocktail Adventures in Nashik and Aurangabad, with Priyanka Kandalkar

Cointreauversy in Wine Country and City of Heritage

This monsoon my work gave me an opportunity to visit two wonderful cities of Maharashtra - Aurangabad, a city of heritage and Nashik - India’s temple and wine city. Unwinding through the ghats of Kasara and feasting on nature makes me love my job all the more.  

The hospitality I received from the hotels and outlets I visited overwhelmed me. I was representing Remy Cointreau and conducting Cointreau and Mount Gay Rum trainings in Express Inn (Nashik), Speciality Restaurants Pvt. Ltd (Nashik), Vivanta by TAJ (Aurangabad) and LemonTree (Aurangabad)

The participants' enthusiasm was infectious, and their curiosity to know more about Cointreau knew no bounds. It took them by surprise to see the versatility Cointreau displayed in the form of the Cointreau Fizz, where it combined with simple ingredients like tea, mint, cucumber and basil.

 Speciality Restaurants, Nashik - Cointreau Basil Fizz

It was quite disheartening however to discover that the bars in most of the outlets did not have the right equipment and ingredients, too. Compared to bars in metros, the bar set up and equipment was very minimal. Using the right equipment and ingredients to make a cocktail decides whether the drink will be of good quality or not.  The one exception was Express Inn, Nashik, which had a good selection of alcohol as well as a proper bar set up. The bartenders here, too, also took extra efforts in creating some wonderful fruit garnishes for their cocktails. So along with Cointreau and Mount Gay product knowledge, I also stressed  on the importance of having the right equipment and ingredients in a bar.  

As a trainer, I felt that cities like Nashik and Aurangabad need to be focused on for conducting more beverage related training programs, and being situated in the wine region, a major influence of wine in the beverage menu and décor of the outlets was observed.
 

After 2 exhaustive days of fruitful training I am back in Mumbai, looking forward for some more exciting and Cointreauversial experiences.

Tulleeho!

Priyanka Kandalkar