Cocktails Should be the Right Blend of Emotions
Founder, Cocktail Jockey
He was never inclined towards classical cocktails. In fact, Vineet says he always believed in innovating new cocktails. He is confident that the next Mojito like concoction should come from an Indian mixologist.
He hails from a family of IAS and IPS officers. His role model is his grandfather Dr. PR Mishra, a scientist and a Padmashree awardee. Despite strong opposition to his choice of profession, Vineet Mishra preferred to swim against the tide. He listened to the deep recesses of his mind and did hotel management. He began his career with Taj Hotels, in Goa where he got great hands-on cocktail making experience.
He came back to Chandigarh to start Cocktail Jockey Bar Academy. There were problems galore as it was the first bar academy of Punjab. He started working with liquor brands… Meanwhile his father was still not happy with his career choice. To add to his woes, one day his father caught him with almost two cases of assorted vodka in his room and it was really difficult to make him understand what it was for.
“Then, in 2009 my first interview appeared in a newspaper followed by interviews in Page 3 of Hindustan Times and after that a few TV interviews also got aired. A few national dailies approached me to write cocktail columns for their Saturday edition. It was then that my father realised that I was doing a decent job. To my surprise he took my newspaper interviews to his colleagues at work to show them about the work I was doing,” says Vineet with latent excitement.
Enriched by his foreign trips and assignments in India, Vineet came to the realisition of the common problem of those youth in India who want to pursue a career in bartending but fail because of family pressure. Hence, he started a YouTube channel where he disseminates information about all sorts of beverages, and tips and techniques on bartending so that they can learn it from DIY videos. He is also making these videos in Hindi and as of date, has uploaded nearly 300 informative videos on the channel Cocktail Jockey.
