Interview: Boo Jing Heng, SG winner Diageo World Class 2016 - Men's Folio
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Interview: Boo Jing Heng, SG winner Diageo World Class 2016

  • By Rachel Ang

When drinking a cocktail, most people don’t think about how much work goes into the tipple. It sometimes just takes all of one huge gulp, another, and it’s gone. (Bartender, another round please.) What many imbibers don’t see is the precision and detail that was used to produce the perfect balance of flavours to please your palate. These creations are way out of the league for party drinking, where college kids pour half a glass of cheap vodka, top it up with cranberry juice, and chug to see who gets high fastest. For cocktail bartenders, every millilitre counts. 

And as if the precision and techniques of making each drink wasn’t enough to have to deal with, bartenders are also expected to do much more than just pump you full of well-balanced happy juice. There’s plenty of other skills that they need to have in order to make it in such a fast-paced and demanding industry, and the Diageo World Class Competition run every year is one way of seeing if you measure up. This year, our nation is represented by none other than home-grown bartender Boo Jing Heng from Jigger & Pony. 

Jing Heng photo

How did you come to be a bartender? 

I studied hotel management, and wanted to work for the best bar in Singapore four years ago, and I found Jigger & Pony online. Starting out was quite tough because I have no experience in bars, but I overcame it because I found mixing quite interesting, a bit like cooking. At first it was the alcohol [that brought me to bartending], but after that I realised that it’s actually the communication between you and your guests. You get to meet people from everywhere around the world, share your experience and even give you tips when you go overseas. I also enjoy knowing what my customers love, and mixing drinks for them. 

So that’s what you enjoy about your job. How about the challenges? 

One of the challenges is being a responsible bartender. You have to pace your guests’ drinking so they don’t drop. In terms of making the drinks, you have to practice all day, even shaking. One extra second will dilute the cocktail; 10 more seconds of stirring will make the cocktail taste too watered down. You have to keep practising. Of course it’s good if you have someone to guide you along, teach you how to stir properly, pour properly, elegantly. Aki [Eguchi] was the one who taught me most of the stuff, even mixing the flavours of the cocktail. A lot of flavours I did not understand, so I bought “The Flavour Thesaurus” by Niki Segnit – to me it’s like a dictionary – and started by reading through all the pages on common flavours like chocolate, strawberry… I learned how to pair it and what are the popular foods that use these two ingredients together to come up with a cocktail. 

How would you describe the cocktail scene in Singapore? 

I think it’s grown to the stage where the world knows what the Singapore cocktail industry is like. A few of the bars went to the top 50 best bars in the world, so it’s recognised now. We’re still growing, and have a lot to learn from other countries. 

How is it like as a local bartender in an industry filled with foreign talent? 

Many guest bartenders come and do guest shifts. Over here, we only focus on certain techniques (the Japanese style of bartending), and to be able to learn from them is my honour. Different styles, different techniques, even different flavours. Some of them use flavours which I didn’t even know at first. Two years ago there were shrubs. Vinegar in a cocktail? I was [thrown off]. 

Meeting Lochness 1Photo: Meeting Lochness

Congratulations on being the Singapore winner for the Diageo World Class Competition! What’s the experience been like so far?

There were four rounds before the regional finals in Bali. I had to make cocktails with Singleton (Meeting Lochness), Haig Club (King’s Crown) and put them on the bar menu and market it on Instagram and Facebook. Also a Bulleit Bourbon cocktail called The Lotus Prince, referencing Nezha. Then there was the Ketel One Brunch challenge, where I basically had to coordinate my own pop-up bar at Manhattan Bar and promote my two brunch drinks, the Corpse Reviver #325 (It’s Ketel One’s 325th anniversary this year), and Bloody Mariko, my twist on the Bloody Mary using Japanese ingredients. This drink was made to thank my mentor, who is Japanese, for helping me come so far. For the top 10 round, there were two challenges. I had to make three different cocktails to the themes of Retro (Darwin’s Fashion, a local-flavour twist on the Old Fashioned), Disco (Lychee Paradise, inspired by lychee martinis), and Future (Boo’ze #1). The last one was ready-made in a bottle, because in the future, maybe cocktails can be a substitute for coffee: you can have it anywhere, anytime, maybe from a vending machine. 

So you’re not only tested on drinks creation and presentation, but marketing and event coordination as well. Anything else? 

We also had a speed challenge, where we had to make 10 drinks in 10 minutes. We had three weeks to a month to plan and practise for timing for this challenge. My drinks were all twists on the classics, except for one drink called El Diablo, which I specially created for one of the judges. I made Blue Blazer and Ramos; basically, time-consuming drinks to wow the guests. Blue Blazer needs to be heated up, flamed, and you have to throw it (like teh tarik) with flames. The Ramos Gin Fizz needs a lot of ingredients, and you have to wait for the foam to settle down before you top it up more to raise the foam again. The classic recipe also says 12 people to shake for one minute each, but for us we shake it twice, once with ice, and a dry shake after. The results of these two challenges combined give the top four. 

Singapore's Top 4 representationPhoto: Singapore Top Four 2016

Who made it this year? 

Kino Soh, Sin Kim Shin, me and Tom Hogan. 

What did you have to do at the South East Asian finals? 

We went to Bali and we had several challenges, one of which was the classic five-style challenge. I created the Song of the Sea: a Gin & Tonic Gimlet Fizz that tastes like a martini. These two cocktails, even though they seem simple, are actually the top six hardest cocktails to perfect. Gimlet used to be drunk a lot by sailors to cure scurvy, and also I felt, when you’re seasick and you get songs playing in your head so, okay, Song of the Sea. There was also a local flavour challenge, where I created a red bean cocktail called A Lovely Affair. For this, I told them about my trip to Japan to learn from [Hidetsugu] Ueno for a week. My mom cooked red bean soup for me to bring there, and after eating it, I felt like home was still with me in Japan. So here I blended Azuki beans with sake to make a puree. Added coconut cream for texture, like with bobo chacha. Red bean is also a common dessert in weddings, and I’m getting married next year, so I presented the drink in traditional Chinese tea cups. 

Boo Jing Heng_DIAGEO World Class Regional Finals Bali 2016_2Photo: Boo presenting A Lovely Affair

Was that it for the finals? 

This was just day one! Two of the four from each country are selected to go on to day two, so Tom and I were selected. We basically couldn’t prepare anything for day two, because the first challenge in the morning is a mystery challenge, which turned out to be a theory test of about 50 questions, after which you have three taste tests: vodka, gin and whisky, where you have to identify the different labels. 

In the afternoon, we had another speed challenge. It’s very strict, and they confiscate your phone. Once you’re in the venue, there are eight judges: two at the sides to judge your techniques and skills, and the other six ordering like customers at the bar. You get four minutes of prep time, and then you have five minutes to do all the six drinks. I didn’t manage to complete everything; I only made four drinks, but it was because I had performed a magic trick with a deck of cards. I had also borrowed a bill folder from the bar the night before, and I drew up my own receipt, complete with the header, address, telephone number. 

Singapore Winner

How did you feel when your name was announced? 

I was really shocked. In Jigger & Pony, there’s a picture with me and the two cocktails that I served at the finals, and that photo captured my expression when they announced the Singapore winner. This is the third year that I’ve joined. The first time was two years ago in 2014, the year that Peter Chua (28 HongKong Street) won. I just wanted the experience, because it takes a lot of practice, and I wanted to start training for Diageo. The second year, I won the Singapore Rising Star award. There was actually no such award; they came up with it at the last minute because my score and Steve’s (the 2015 winner) was very close. It was a good experience, and I learned more from others, so this year was like “All in!” 

So it’s the global round next. 

Yes, I’ll be in Miami in the last week of September. I’m not allowed to talk about the challenge yet, but there will be the best bartenders from 60 over countries. 

After four years of experience, what words of advice or encouragement do you have for other locals who want to come into bartending as a career? 

Three things are important: Knowledge of your spirits, willingness to sacrifice your time off to practise techniques, and socialising with as many bartenders as you can to learn different things. It’s about how much effort you put in. 


Photo credits: Jigger & Pony