“How time flies…” is something many of us say at the beginning and end of our year-end conversations with acquaintances, friends, family and partners. It feels as though it was only yesterday that I wrote our thank-you message and farewell to 2016. So yes, time really does fly…
Exactly a year ago, we were sitting in our office planning our dreams and goals for 2017. I am sincerely grateful for every one we managed to fulfil, and for all the challenges my colleagues and I successfully overcame together. Thank you for that, too, Martin and Alex!
Once again, we kept our promise to organise regular courses in the world of drinks, and their number magically matched last year’s total: exactly 47. Around 500 graduates of our bartending, barista and sommelier courses can now order, prepare, enjoy and assess their favourite drinks with greater confidence. We are delighted — although we still have a demanding 7,000 years ahead of us before we manage to educate the whole of Slovakia… 🙂
This year, we continued investing in our own education so that we could share the latest discoveries from the world of drinks with you. It began with our year-long collaboration with InBar&Restaurant magazine, where we shared our knowledge of different filter coffee brewing methods and introduced you to several excellent Slovak roasters. May and June brought more travel. Alex spent a week in Berlin at CoLab, an educational and experiential event designed to connect and support the coffee community in its host city. It takes place in two different European cities each year, and we hope it will soon come to Bratislava. Still in love with premium spirits, I boarded a plane in the opposite direction and flew to Armenia, the home of Ararat brandy.
Over four days of tastings, conversations and workshops, we discovered almost all the secrets of the Yerevan Brandy Company and one of the world’s finest brandies. That visit also helped us organise tastings and share the story of the brand with guests at balls, theatre premieres, company parties and cultural events.
Shortly afterwards, Budapest hosted the world barista championships as part of the international World of Coffee exhibition. We were especially delighted by Martin Hudák’s success: he took first place in coffee cocktail preparation in the Coffee in Good Spirits category.
Of course, we also attended Whisky Fest in Bratislava and the very first Slovak Bar Show in Banská Bystrica. What looked like a modest project surprised us with an enormous turnout of excellent bartenders, baristas and members of the public. We would like to thank the organisers and wish them every success with future editions, which will undoubtedly be even more special.
Each of the hundred events we catered for, where you could taste our drinks, was unique and special, and I am grateful we could be part of them. All those weddings, unusual parties, training sessions across Slovakia, filming days, golf events and exhibitions… Simply put, 2017 was a wonderful year, but it passed faster than we were used to. Anyone working in hospitality will surely agree: time in the company of good drinks and great people really does fly. Our course partners are an essential part of that company, helping us do our work even better, and we thank them for it.
I wish all of you the very best for 2018: personal success, joy and fulfilled resolutions. May strength, good coffee and fine spirits accompany every step you take!
Best wishes,
Maroš Petrikovič
CEO of Dream Cocktail & Academy
