DRINKING pure alcohol to the last drop is a devilish thing that can negatively affect a person’s mental state and give a bad name to drinking in general.Raphael Lochan is vowing to change this perception by creating an alternative to the rum drinking culture, which many would concur is decadent.

Lochan is the president of the Bartenders Association, an organisation he established in October 2014 with the objective of setting standards of excellence in bartendering services, and to promote healthy drinking habits.

As part of a wider effort to create a positive change in drinking lifestyle, Lochan will be staging the inaugural ‘Bartender Mixology’ competition which he intends to make an annual feature. This event is set for July 30 at the ever popular 704 Club, and in the Sky Lounge, to be exact.

Having spent more than a dozen years working in the tourism and hospitality industry in Barbados, the young businessman told this publication that consumption of pure alcohol is a nuisance.

The fact is well established that heavy consumption of alcohol is a major cause of domestic violence and accidents.
In fact, a study spearheaded by the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) has indicated that Guyanese from 15 years and older are the most prolific drinkers of pure alcohol in the world. Titled “Heavy drinking and violent behaviour in youths in Guyana”, the study indicated that, on average, Guyanese consumed some eight litres of pure alcohol per capita in 2010, compared to the global figure of 6.2 litres.

The study also found that about 15 per cent of male drinkers (10 per cent of the population aged 15-plus) engage in heavy episodic drinking. That is, they consume at least 60g of pure alcohol at least once per month.

The study also shows that not all risks to health come from disease, since, in the case of young people, a large number of risks comes from unintentional injuries and violence.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has been among other health organisations that have been at the forefront advocating for policies that address the relationship between alcohol use and violence.

Anti-social
Lochan has said it is a known fact that many men who drink heavily beat their wives, and many also perish in accidents.
This, he contended, happens because the drinks they consume make them anti-social rather than social. The answer to this plight, Lochan is convinced, is cocktail.

Drinking rum and downing bottle upon bottle of beer constitutes a life of hopelessness, he posited. He argues that Guyanese need to move away from the rum culture and embrace cocktail as the new culture in social interaction. This, he said is way better than the process of ‘emptying rum bottles’.

At cocktails, a man can take his spouse with him and enjoy a healthy evening out; but he can’t so do if he is going to drink rum, Lochan observed.

He conceded that some amount of alcohol is good for the system; and he said that cocktail, which is a blend of alcohol, botanicals and fruits, provides this sort of “lightening up”.

Three or four rounds, he said, are good enough; as persons should drink responsibly, leave their drinking places sound and sober, and wake up the next day bright and refreshed, ready for work.

This is how it should be, the businessman said; not persons staggering, swearing at others, beating their wives, being at risk of falling in a trench and possibly getting drowned, getting into an accident, or getting charged if caught by a policeman.

Bartenders who sell drinks to inebriate customers should be charged, he posited as he pointed out that slurring, wobbly customers who ask for more drink should be encouraged to buy food instead.

The Bartender Competition, which is expected to feature mostly Georgetown bartenders, will provide opportunity for persons so employed to showcase their skills in presenting a viable alternative to the rum-and-Coke tradition.

Lochan said the objective is to get persons to engage in clean, healthy recreation, and build a standard of excellence in bartendering service. This, he said, can be tied into the tourism package of giving visitors a quality and memorable experience when they visit Guyana.

By Tajeram Mohabir