Who says anything and everything cannot be raised to the level of high art these days?
Way back in time, our folks who did not want to take neat shots of their variety of locally-brewed alcoholic beverages flavoured their drinks with ginger, ‘atadwe’, ‘prekese’, ‘hwentea’, lemon and various tree roots.
All they wanted was their drinks to taste a certain way. They were not interested in foisting any grand titles on themselves for their mixing skills. How they have missed out on being called mixologists.
Now accepted almost worldwide, the term mixology generally refers to a more refined, higher study of the art and craft of mixing cocktails and drinks than the everyday actions of a bartender.
With professional schools now available and supported usually by hospitality-related outfits, mixologists study the common and popular cocktails but also specialise in how to concoct new exotic drinks and name them appropriately.
They also have greater industry knowledge and tend to work in more upscale food and beverage establishments. Above all, they command higher salaries than ordinary bartenders.
So it was almost an event when France-based Italian mixologist, Andrea Fidora, came to town last Tuesday, June 24, by courtesy of the century-old French liqueurs and syrups producer, Monin, to showcase his mixing skills and the massive range of cocktails that can be created with Monin products.
Fidora was already busily assembling his various herbs, syrups, fruit mixers, cherry tomatoes, strawberry puree, ice cubes, chocolate chips, green apples, ginger and other elements for his exhibition as guests walked in at the FireFly Lounge Bar, Osu R.E. in Accra.
The guests had been invited to “a live mixology featuring the award-winning Andrea Fidora. Ultimate creativity.” The atmosphere was, therefore, like a live show with an audience which even clapped at some stages of the mixing process.
Fidora himself served out his concoctions to the guests, some of whom were seeing a mixologist live at work for the first time.
The work of a mixologist, at least as demonstrated by Fidora, seems to be fun though requisite skills come into play.
As the guests sampled the mixologist’s creations with Monin products and nodded with approval, some of them might have been wondering if they were just having a drink or imbibing works of art.
