The exhibitor registrations are closed for booth enquiry for next year Contact Rajeev Naresh at NareshR@md-india.com
Vinit has one of the best jobs and certainly the most envious one in Brown-Forman. He is the Brand Ambassador for Jack Daniel's for the Indian Subcontinent. This basically means everything to do with drinks, cocktail recipes, and all things on both sides of the bar. The key areas where Vinit creates magic are developing skills among the bar professionals through brand training & education, creating delightful experiences with consumers through whiskey tasting & mixology workshops, and innovating to give shape to new cocktail recipes & menus.
Vinit has worked for brands Like Taj Hotels, JW Marriott & Four Seasons and has for over 4 years delivered more than 800 brand training, and mixology sessions across 4 Countries.
Growing up in the heart of Speyside, Lewis has been surrounded by famous distilleries and has a close & long association with the whisky industry. His family grew barley that was used for making whisky. After graduating with a degree in engineering, he followed the barley on the next stage of its journey and started work at a local maltings as an engineer. The final destination for both Lewis & the barley was Strathisla distillery, the 'Home of Chivas Regal', where Lewis became a guide. With over 14 years working in the hospitality industry around the world, Lewis brings his experience and passion of Scotch whisky to India where he shares the story of Ballantine's from grain to glass, one dram at a time.
Charlie McCarthy worked for many years as a consultant to spirit brands and high-end venues. With a career as a cocktail bartender stretching back to 2004, Charlie learned his craft behind some of London’s best bars, going on to develop a specialism in event bartending, where his imaginative approach and relaxed delivery earned him a stint as UK brand ambassador for Hendrick’s Gin, in turn leading to more advocacy and consultancy work for brands such as Grey Goose, Bombay Sapphire, Glenfiddich and Glendalough.
Charlie has a wealth of experience delivering masterclasses throughout Europe, training bartenders in 5 star hotel bars from Washington DC to Mexico, and designing cocktail menus, for World Duty Free, Tullamore DEW & many high-profile international bar openings. He is qualified to deliver WSET spirits qualifications up to Level 3, and is delighted to champion WSET spirits qualifications.
Alex has been with the WSET since 2016 and is a WSET Certified Educator qualified to teach the WSET Level 1, 2 and 3 Awards in Wines. He currently oversees the commercial aspects of business development across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and India as a whole and also directly looks after WSET's Indian and African markets.
Lazaro Sandoval began his career with the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service and previously served as Agricultural Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires. He has worked in different program areas prior to his overseas assignments. He began in the Office of Global Analysis as an economist where he analyzed global livestock and poultry markets and trade. He was also an economist at the Office of Agreements and Scientific Affairs where he conducted analysis in support of WTO Doha Round negotiations in cooperation with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
One of the only Indian winemakers with an extensive knowledge of Indian viticulture and winemaking , with over 23 years of experience of making some of the best wines produced in India, under the most challenging vine growing conditions. A wine taster, wine consultant and wine professional , who has worked in all winemaking functions with excellent knowledge of viticulture, quality control, and almost every style of winemaking.
A wine enthusiast, educator and sommelier, Abhinav serves as the Brand Ambassador for wines at Pernod Ricard India. Abhinav spent 2 years in Adelaide, the wine capital of Australia for his Master’s Degree in Wine Business before joining Pernod Ricard Winemakers in Sydney. Abhinav has hosted wine tastings, events and dinners in over 9 countries and now is working towards building a vibrant wine culture in India. He is WSET Level 3 in Wines certified and an Introductory Sommelier from the Court of Master Sommeliers and has also worked a wine vintage with Jacob’s Creek and St. Hugo Wines, 2018 in Barossa, South Australia.
Smriti is an engineer with a background in Global Sales in Mumbai where she was in the CEO’s youngest top achievers club and a part of the company’s next generation leadership program. After a successful sales stint, her passion drove her to move into the luxury industry. Smriti was introduced to the world of Scotch by her aunt who poured her the very first dram of The Glenlivet 12 following an international trip in 2014.
Michael D’Souza started his career working as a supervisor in a Molasses-based distillery, thereafter monitoring all aspects of production, from the distilling to the bottling of the final product. He is currently Master Distiller of John Distilleries where he samples batches and barrels, filled with the excitement of vetting and creating exquisite expressions. In addition to his Distilling and Blending skills, Michael has got extensive global Brand Ambassadorial experience promoting Paul John Single Malts across the globe. His greatest joy is the appreciation his whiskies receive and winning the Icons of Whiskies 2017 Master Distiller/Blender is one of his most memorable achievements.
Jeet Rana is an award-winning mixologist and the Head Ambassador at Stranger & Sons. Jeet is a professional flair bartender who is known for introducing trends that shake up the monotony of the mixology industry. His innovative and contemporary approach has seen him conceptualize menus for establishments like Arth Mumbai & Pune, Sancho’s Mumbai, Whisky Samba Gurgaon and The Kimono Club New Delhi. With big plans for the brand, Jeet makes no secret of his goals: Take Stranger & Sons to the world and with it, Indian-inspired riffs on the Gibson and Gimlet.
Feruzan Bilimoria is an award-winning mixologist and Brand Ambassador at Stranger & Sons. Feruzan leads the Women In The Industry brand initiative. The brand consciously uses its platform to promote and support women that are redefining the industry, and Feruzan is the changemaker that champions these efforts. She is responsible for developing the pickle and cordial recipes that make Stranger & Sons’ signature cocktails.
Academy Chair at The World's Best Vineyards, Member of the GWC International Experts Panel, Country Ambassador of International Wine Challenge and Executive Director of Global Women of Wine. Founder and Executive Director of Winifera
Pankaj is the Brand Advocacy Manager for Jack Daniel's for the Indian Subcontinent. This basically means everything to do with drinks, cocktail recipes, and all things on both sides of the bar. The key areas where Pankaj creates magic are developing capability & skills among the bar professionals through brand training & education, creating delightful experiences with consumers through whiskey tasting & mixology workshops and innovating to give shape to new cocktail recipes & menus. He has delivered more than 1000 brand tastings, training, and mixology sessions across more than 10 countries.
Vikram set up Tulleeho, a drinks website and firmly established it as India's pre-eminent beverage education and training company. Tulleeho has helped co-create a platform called 30 Best Bars India, whose intent is to award and recognise the top bars in India. He was part of the core team which helped bring out the Tulleeho Book of Cocktails in 2011 (Westland), with the second edition released by Bloomsbury in 2019.
A life-changing internship at Nashik’s Vallée de Vin winery, compelled Kaushal to consider winemaking as a full-time career. With a strong education in Winemaking and a Master’s in Viticulture and Oenology from Montpellier SupAgro University, France and Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Portugal, Kaushal was chosen by Chandon’s Early Career Winemaker Programme, and earned the opportunity to play assistant winemaker at Chandon’s India and Brazil wineries, for a year each. After gleaning three years of hands-on experience, Kaushal was promoted to his current position at Chandon India.
Sonal Holland MW is a distinguished writer, wine commentator and a highly respected and in-demand international speaker with ventures in wine and beverage education, consultancy, consumer research, imports and wine retail. Sonal Holland is the first in India to acquire the globally coveted title of ‘Master of Wine’. Sonal Holland MW has recently been appointed as South Australia’s Wine Program Ambassador for India.