BAJAN SUN MAGAZINE
OCT 2014
THE
BARTENDER
Nikos
Arvanitis
D
ear My Beautiful Barbados,
I am Nikos Arvanitis of Patra, Greece. I am currently a
Bartender at Abbey’s Bar, but have been working behind bars for
approximately nine years. Very quickly I understood that the bar is
not just a hobby, and it is not just a job. It's something bigger. It's a
passion. It's a love.
Being committed to my passion, I attended two private schools to
study the bar and the culture of the classic drinks and cocktails. I
worked six to seven times a week behind a bar. I tried to be better,
progressive and most of all polite to the customers. I took part in
some cocktail competitions and I traveled a lot. I visited many bars
in my country to speak with other bartenders and observed their
techniques, and of course, read books, books and more books. A lot
of our reading was about drinks and bartending. My biggest love is
rum. I love rum, I respect rum, I love to drink it, and I love to work
with it in my cocktails. But, most of all the history of this drink is
something that changed my life - a past with pain, blood, deaths, a
past to remind us that rum is directly connected with the dark face
of humanity. The Caribbean Sea and islands is my second home.
My dream is to visit all the islands, from the biggest to the smallest.
Some time back, a friend, who worked in the navy, sent me a bottle
of Mount Gay Extra Old rum from Barbados for my birthday. This
rum was new to me and I didn't know it.
However, I read everything about it, and of course I read
everything about Barbados, the history of the island and how
important rum was to the history of Barbados. I believe that if you
want to learn everything about something you love, you must travel
to the place where it was born. So, I organized a two week trip to
Barbados carded for January 2015 with the Bajan Association of
Rum Shops (B.A.R.S. Inc.); where I will be able to experience the
rum heritage and culture while in Barbados and visit local rum
distilleries, your bars, rum shops and the beaches of course.
I will have the opportunity to work in one of your local bars to
make cocktails and showcase my skills as a bartender representing
Greece. I am also excited for you to witness first hand, very
professional bartenders from my country, who love your culture,
your products and most of all respect your history and nation.
Greek bartending is very strong and we love our job. I want to
extend special thanks to Franklyn Parris and the Bajan Association
of Rum Shops (B.A.R.S. Inc.).
See
you
Love, Nikos Arvanitis
soon
in
Barbados!
www.bajansunonline.com/MAGAZINE/ | [email protected] | @BajanSunOnline