Social media, as well as local publications, are bursting with all kinds of workshops, ranging from cooking to gardening to art. But, where do you go if you want to learn about wines and bars, and everything in between? Perhaps BarBoss is just the thing for you!
BarBoss, located in Sangolda, conducts cocktail workshops and wine tasting sessions, in addition to catering to all kinds of bar needs, including home delivery of handcrafted cocktail pre-mixes, full bar set up and operations across Goa (for big and small events), mixologists with international exposure and flair bartenders.
At the helm of affairs at Barboss is John D’Souza, who started his career in 1993, working with restaurants, starred hotels and international cruise lines, based in Europe. During the span of his career, he has travelled to more than 50 countries and tasted wines from across the globe.
A certified wine sommelier from the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) in London, John has hosted many tasting sessions, educating people on wine and food pairings as well as how to appreciate a wine. The tasting sessions at the Grape Escapade in 2017, 2018 and 2019 were hosted by him.
For the past 10 years, he has been training students at hotels, schools and bar academies in Goa. He says, “I have also been curating beverage menus and training staff at pubs and restaurants. I head a bar solutions company called Bar Boss (Sangolda) and we do bar-setups and operations for all types of events.”
MIXING & MORE
John has conducted several cocktail workshops wherein one can learn the basics of mixology. He adds, “My workshops are hands-on, so the participants take part in mixing drinks using different techniques, and also learn about garnishing using fresh fruit to enhance the presentation. We make good use of the local ingredients in our cocktails.”
The cocktail workshops are conducted for groups of 4 to 200 participants. For small groups, he generally has a set-up at their house or villa or even resorts for tourists. For bigger groups, the workshops are held in an open venue, or hall, and the group is divided into smaller groups with a mixologist guiding each.
The workshops are hands-on and each participant is involved in preparing exotic cocktails using different techniques like shaken, stirred, muddled, layered, flambé, etc. Recipes for the drinks are provided to the participants.
John adds, “In addition to classic cocktails, we also have our own curated menu which has twisted cocktails, savoury cocktails, dessert cocktails and even natural cocktails, prepared from fresh fruit, herbs and natural sweeteners.”
Some of the workshops that he has conducted include:
Cocktail Crazy Class at FB Academy (Porvorim) in May 2018
Bartending Crash Course of 4 days at FB Academy in June 2018
Essentials of Bartending at FB Academy in July 2018
Beverage Sessions at FB Academy in August 2018
2-day bar training session and cocktail workshop for staff at Palolem Beach Resort in November 2018
Mocktail workshop at BITS Pilani in November 2019
Online ‘Master the art of the cocktail from the comfort of your home’ in May 2020
Cocktail workshop (at a luxury villa in Siolim) in July 2022
Several private ones
A cocktail workshop for the clients of ClerksWell, a UK-based company, will be held on a catamaran on the Mandovi River in October 2022, while several other workshops have been scheduled for October and November for private clientele based in India and abroad.
For details of workshops, wine-tasting and more, check out barboss.in or contact +91 9657574485
