With his menacing arms, large tattoo and pony tail, mixologist Nils Boese looks like he’s been in many bar fights. “No, I love my customers,” he laughs.
The bartender from Hildesheim, Germany, was in the city recently, to break a few myths about Jägermeister— the potent drink from that dark green bottle that we have all come to associate with shots, wild partying and horrifying hangovers. “A lot goes into producing it. It has a complex taste that works in many cocktails. It can be used for much more than just shots,” he says at Pulse (Radisson Blu, Egmore), between demonstrating a variety of Jägermeister-centred concoctions.
A bartender for 25 years now, Nils has been travelling the world, experimenting with different types of alcohol and mixes. In between, he manages to run a charming little bar of his own in Hildesheim. “It’s a small space and can seat 12 people. It’s called Manhattan and I’ve run it for 18 years. It’s only open when I am in the city,” he says. So, people need an appointment with Nils if they wish to visit. “What sets it apart is that the bar doesn’t have a menu.
I stock around 700 different spirits. People just tell me what they feel like drinking... something that’s not too sweet and not too sour. I create a drink and surprise them,” he says.
It can get challenging to come up with new flavours and mixes. Bartenders often spend months trying to put together influences that sometimes bomb. But suddenly, he says, there come moments when they stumble upon the perfect drink. “Though honestly, in the cocktail universe, there is nothing new except the forgotten,” he laughs.
According to him, vodka is a great base. He describes it as a neutral canvas which one can colour, using his/her inspiration. “Jägermeister and dark rums are the other great bases,” adds the 45-year-old.
Before coming to Chennai, Nils was in Mumbai and Delhi, and will go to Bangalore from here. His feedback on Indian cocktails? They are too sweet. “Something to do with the general sweet tooth of people here maybe,” he says. “A good drink should be balanced, harmonious and complex.”
While people have their favourite spirits, the ones that are trending right now in Europe and the US are vodka, gin and bourbon. Gin, in particular, he says is getting stronger in terms of variety. “Rum is going to be the next big thing. I have been emphasising on this for a while now,” he says. The Indian market, however, still likes its scotch. As for tequila? Despite all those Saturday night shots, it is still in a limbo.
