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Monday, September 11, 2006
The Other Swedish Ambassador
By Jigs Arquiza
“VODKA martini, shaken, not stirred.” Familiar words to a James Bond buff, but to any bartender, these words would be a dream come true. For Jonny Pälsson, self-confessed James Bond fanatic and consultant bartender for Absolut Vodka, serving James Bond his favorite drink would probably be a transcendental experience, almost like receiving a blessing from the Dalai Lama.
Multi-talented and multi-lingual, this fair-haired, blue-eyed individual from Sweden, the land of Vikings, Volvos and vodka, can be considered a renaissance man. Educated at Harvard and the University of Göteborg, he chose to broaden his horizons by taking management, marketing, journalism and writing courses. He also took advanced wine and liquor classes and enrolled at the Swedish Barschool and the Master School of Bartending in Ft. Lauderdale to further his knowledge.
Besides speaking several languages, among them Swedish, English, Spanish and German, he is also a proficient writer, having authored two books about drinks, “Cocktails” and “Grogs”. He has also written numerous articles about cocktails for different magazines. His know-how in mixing cocktails led to his being recognized as an expert in his field, which resulted in him teaching bartenders all over the world.
Jonny has also been involved in concocting drinks as well as putting together menus for bars and restaurants such as the Icebar in Stockholm. He was also responsible for arranging the Swedish Bartending Championships and the World Finals in Bartending. Aside from all this, he has held what he calls “positions of trust” in the Swedish Bartenders Guild, as treasurer, national education officer and chairman of the board.
While liquors and cocktails take up most of his time, he still actively pursues other interests. Along with physical fitness activities like swimming and running, he loves listening to music and takes pleasure in good food. He also admits to a love of photography.
Like the fictional spy character created by Ian Fleming, Jonny has also visited his share of cocktail bars, lounges and hotels, and much like James Bond, Jonny has traveled extensively around the world, going where his work takes him, visiting countries such as the USA, Norway, Spain and Singapore, with the Philippines as his latest destination, to hold the first Absolut Akademi Creative Drink Mixing session in Cebu.
In addition to being in charge of Absolut Vodka’s various bar-related projects, Jonny is also responsible for setting up Creative Drink Mixing sessions for bartenders all over the world. As the Absolut Ambassador, he hopes to educate local bartenders with the three core values important not only to the manufacture of Absolut Vodka but also to the art of mixing cocktails: clarity, simplicity and perfection. Jonny, however, applies these values to his life as well, believing in always being clear-cut and precise, keeping things simple, and most importantly, always striving for perfection.
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (September 11, 2006 issue)
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