Passionate and skilled in whisky brand education, development and marketing, James Cordiner joins Bacardi as Dewar’s Whisky brand ambassador for north and east India. On April 29, James created some curated whisky cocktails as he took over The Bar at The Oberoi Grand for an evening. Growing up in Craigellachie, Speyside, Scotland, James has been brewing his passion for the whisky industry since 2011 when he first started working with Pernod Ricard as a distillery guide. Alongside his other academic pursuits, the Scottish bartender has experience working across distilleries in Glenlivet, Strathisla, Aberlour, Glenfarclas and Glenfiddich, and bar experience across some of Scotland’s best whisky bars and VIP hospitality venues.A well-travelled speaker with a knack for engaging people in conversations, James has also held positions as the UK brand ambassador with Chivas Regal, brand ambassador for The Balvenie in Southeast Asia and international whisky sales ambassador at Macaloney’s Distillery in Vancouver Island. Over his career, he has built an impressive whisky collection of over 400 bottles.
Apart from being a passionate mixologist, James holds a graduate degree in veterinary bioscience and a postgraduate degree in biomedical science from Glasgow University. He completed his MSc in brewing and distilling with entrepreneurship at Heriot-Watt University.
Here are a few of the cocktails that James created for t2!
(l-r) Cinnamon Sour is a sweet and spicy twist to whisky sour, made with Dewar’s 12YO, a burst of cinnamon, lemon juice, egg white and aromatic bitters. The perfect way to cool down in the hot weather is a Summer Orchard Highball made with Dewar’s 12YO Scotch shaken with fresh apple juice and lime juice and topped with ginger ale