Maestro serves mixology philosophy in Bali

Javier De Las Muelas — a world-famous mixologist and CEO of Dry Cocktail Consulting and Bar in Barcelona, says when it comes to serving cocktails you must not mess around and only prepare drinks that you are confident with.

"[Creating a cocktail] is like math,"? he said to The Jakarta Post Travel during his visit to Sundara Restaurant & Bar, Bali, in June, with a knowing nod to the uniform worn by the bartenders at Dry Martini, which is similar to scientist’s lab-coat.

For him, the creation of cocktails is a formulaic process and despite a plethora of bartenders approaching the art in a slap dash haphazard way, to create a good cocktail you must measure everything.

At most bartender competitions, to prepare their concoctions the participants use a measuring cup for each ingredient. To find the correct measurement for certain drinks, a thorough and repetitive process is necessary. Mixologists spend their time combining ingredients to see well they react with other substances.

"It happens also with people; sometimes you connect with a person who is the complete opposite of you; and in other times it doesn’t work with a person that is exactly like you," Muelas said.

Muelas admits that cocktails are glamorous, but, the drink is never the sole focus of attention because the environment, the time and even the company are all of equal importance in this lifestyle.

That is why, in his book about cocktail drinking — Cocktails & Drinks Book — Muelas does not encourage pretentiousness, nor does he solely promote alcoholic drinks — there are also delicious non-alcoholic cocktails. He also includes the best time to enjoy a certain drink and what music to listen to; the book guides the reader how to make the best of your leisure time.

In tropical countries like Indonesia, for example, he said that people prefer sweeter and refreshing cocktails because of the region’s warm, sunny ambiance rather than the cooler climate often found in western countries

If you are curious about Muelas’ recipes are then you can visit the Sundara Restaurant & Bar at the Four Seasons Resort in Jimbaran, Bali. This place offers up a variety of cocktails courtesy of Muelas.

Maybe you can discover your next favorite cocktail here, or invent your own specialized order that could be as iconic as James Bond’s "shaken, not stirred" vodka martini.