TALK THE TALK 交流心得 / 14

THE GOODLIFE

In the 8 months that have passed since he was last in Hong Kong does he see many changes?

“Yes! Big, big changes to the cocktail scene. It’s

very fast, very hip, very avant garde here now. It’s a great scene.”

And a familiar one for Emile who grew up in glamorous Paris where his parents ran restaurants.

“I would go there after school and I liked the atmosphere, the buzz. That has carried on and I love going to work, I enjoy sharing what I know. It’s a great industry all over the world. I travel, meet many new people and learn something about their cultures and see many different places. And when it comes to work, I would !nd it very dif!cult to do something I don’t like doing.

“When I got into bartending I realised that to

most people cocktails spelled glamour. It’s an image that’s hard to resist.” Said the jovial Parisian.

“Lots of people enjoy the Mediterranean lifestyle, they see Paris and La Croisette (Cannes) as places with successful, attractive stars - a world highlighted by glamorous cocktails and beautiful people and they want that too.

“With cocktails everywhere, Wild Turkey is very popular, it has a lot of "avour because it’s made using low pro!le batching and uses fresh barrels only. The vanilla from the wood comes out well, so it is richer in taste and has fuller "avour because there’s no need to cut it as much as other bourbons. The new 101 is good, too. It has a different colour.

“When it comes to drinks many people prefer aperitifs like the Negroni, not too heavy and just enough sweetness. It’s good to start the evening with something like that - you may begin cocktails at 5 o’clock but by 11.00pm you still want to be sober enough to enjoy yourself! So you have cocktails and a few tapas and lots of conversations.

“I see a different attitude to cocktail bars now all over the place even in Australia where I spent some months teaching at the Alex Beaumont Hospitality

Training College. Alex is a great guy, he has inspired me a lot in life and in my career. He has his feet !rmly on the ground and understands what makes a good cocktail great! He has famous colleges in Parramatta NSW and in Sydney.”

(A fellow judge on the International bar competition circuit, Alex is a good friend of Bar Talk too!).

“Just as Wild Turkey is a premium product that makes an excellent cocktail, the same goes for Skyy vodka. What they have in common is purity. And because it’s so pure you avoid the hangover - unless of course you overdo it in excess.

“Skyy has endless possibilities for cocktails through its grain notes, it has taste! It’s dry, deeply "avoured and great for Martinis. Just the right balance for people who love the good life - the epicureans.”

International bartending personality Emile Chaillot !ew into town from France a short while ago to give local mixologists a few pointers on how to work with quality bourbon and vodka and spent some time catching up with Bar Talk.