Looking at the bartending competition venue, Ji Dong finally understood that Du Sikang was not trying to take advantage of him out of modesty. From the arrangement of the thousands of expensive wines, he could tell that Du Sikang was determined to win. There was no doubt that as the president of the Bartenders Guild, he must be very familiar with these wines. The positions on the wine cabinets were definitely the most suitable for him. Such an advantage indeed needed to be balanced through a competition.
Du Sikang took off his coat and handed it to an old bartender. His expression had become solemn. What surprised Ji Dong was that Du Sikang was clearly feeling guilty and ashamed before, but when he saw the thousands of wines on the bartending table and the wine cabinets, all his emotions were replaced by fanaticism. It was a state that only bartenders at their level could understand. There was nothing but wine.
Ji Dong realized that he had underestimated the God of Wine. He saw the shadow of himself before he came to this world in Du Sikang. The title of the God of Wine was indeed well-deserved. He originally thought that the change in Du Sikang's mood would affect the bartending competition, but now it seemed that he had worried too much.
However, this was also the situation that Ji Dong hoped to see the most. After all, when he first came to this world, he had heard of the name of the God of Wine, Du Sikang. It could be said that before he came to this world, Du Sikang was the number one bartender in the Five Elements Continent. If this number one was defeated so easily, what would be the point of it? As the God of Wine, in a sense, he and Du Sikang were the same kind of people. They had absolute confidence in their bartending skills. As a bartender at the peak of his career, he would never lose this confidence. At this moment, he could finally compete with Du Sikang in a real sense.
It was also because of Du Sikang's gaze that the little bit of unhappiness in Ji Dong's heart disappeared. The God of Wine in front of him was willing to risk the burden of biting the hand that fed him to fight for the Source of Life. It could be seen how persistent he was towards wine. For wine, he could even give up everything, including his own reputation. Such a bartender was definitely worthy of respect.
Du Sikang made a gesture of invitation to Hyōhime and walked behind another bartending table. The light in his eyes became more and more intense. For many years, he had never felt such pressure in the bartending world. Now, the feeling was finally back. For him, this feeling was wonderful and what he was looking forward to. Only under such pressure could he fully display his bartending skills and even make a breakthrough. Of course, he did not think that this pressure was brought by Ji Dong. Instead, it was his desire for the thousand-year-old Source of Life. No matter how weak Ji Dong's bartending skills were, he would definitely do his best today to let the Source of Life fall into the hands of him and the Bartenders Guild without any regrets.
Ji Dong walked to the bartending table opposite Du Sikang and stood still. The two looked into each other's eyes. Du Sikang was surprised to find that although he did not see the same passion and persistence in Ji Dong's eyes, what he saw was unparalleled confidence, absolute confidence. His calm and clear eyes were bottomless, but he was not nervous at all. His whole person looked so calm.
"Mr. Ji Dong, please suggest a way to compete." Du Sikang said in a deep voice.
Ji Dong said, "Since it's a competition, we should show our bartending skills in all aspects. How about this, let's have three matches to determine the winner. Two wins out of three, what do you think?"
Du Sikang nodded and said, "No matter what kind of competition it is, I will let you decide."
"Alright." Ji Dong's eyes lit up. Just like Du Sikang, he had not felt this excited about bartending for a long time, even when he was facing Fury the Thunder Emperor. At that time, the tie between him and Fury was caused by himself. Although Fury's bartending skills were strong, there was still a slight gap between them. For a real top-notch bartender, even a slight gap was an insurmountable gap. Du Sikang, who was standing before him, represented the world's top bartending skills. Moreover, he had the Flaming Bar watching him. This bartending was also his gift to the Flaming Bar. He and the Flaming Bar were fated to be together because of bartending, so how could he not give it his all?
"For the first round, we will mix drinks with a single bottle. Each of us will choose our own base wine and ingredients. For the second round, we will compete with multiple bottles. Similarly, we will choose our own base wine and ingredients. For the last round, we will mix a glass of wine for each other to imitate. What do you think?"
After listening to Ji Dong's suggestion, Du Sikang's pupils contracted. It was not because Ji Dong's suggestion was harsh. On the contrary, the three methods Ji Dong suggested were the most common and fairest methods among bartenders. Was he really that confident?
Du Sikang took a deep breath. He could faintly feel that this young man in front of him might really be unique in bartending. However, how could he not be confident in himself? He was a genius bartender. From the time he entered the Bartenders Guild to becoming the God of Wine, it only took him ten years. For the past thirty years, no one in the bartending industry could surpass him. Naturally, no one could shake his position as the president of the Bartenders Guild.
"Alright, then let's begin." Du Sikang did not say much. Feeling the heat and intense excitement in his body, he had completely entered the zone.
The bartenders around them all widened their eyes. Du Ming and Du Xin 'er also knew that they could no longer interfere with the competition, so they just watched quietly from the side.
Only the Flaming Bar slowly walked to a place not far from Ji Dong's mixing table. She stared at him through the veil of her bamboo hat. Apart from Ji Dong himself, she was the only one present who had absolute confidence in Ji Dong.
Almost at the same time, Ji Dong and Du Sikang walked to the hand sanitizer next to their respective mixing tables and began to wash their hands seriously. Their palms, fingers, fingernails, and even every grain on their hands were carefully cleaned. If an outsider were to see them washing their hands like this, they would definitely snort in disgust. However, all the senior bartenders present understood that washing their hands was not only a sign of respect for bartending, but also to prevent any odor from affecting their judgment of the wine. Only with clean hands could one maintain the perfect fit and friction with the mixing pot. Who would be careless in such a high-level competition?
Almost at the same time, they finished washing their hands and returned to their mixing tables at the same time. Both of them took out an identical crystal mixing pot. Since it was a fair competition, the competition was about techniques and bartending skills, not bartending tools. Therefore, all the tools used in this competition were exactly the same.
Up until this moment, everything that the two Gods of Wine had done was practically a mirror image. Their eyes met, and in the next moment, they began their first round of mixing at the same time.
Du Sikang did not even need to use his eyes to see clearly the position of each bottle in the liquor cabinet behind him. This was what he was best at, and it was also the position of his liquor cabinet. Without turning his head, he swung his arm backward as if it was broken. In a flash, three bottles of wine appeared on the mixing table in front of him.
However, to Du Sikang's surprise, Ji Dong did not turn his head either. He did not even move his hand. Three faint red lights flashed, and three bottles of wine appeared on the mixing table in front of him. These three bottles were exactly the same as Du Sikang's.
However, Du Sikang did not think about how Ji Dong had done it. At this moment, Ji Dong was no longer in his eyes, only the three bottles of wine in front of him.
Like Du Sikang, Ji Dong's gaze fell on the three bottles of wine. This was the first time he had seen the liquor cabinet behind him, but when he swept his gaze over it, his mental strength, which had undergone ten rounds of metamorphosis, had firmly remembered the position of each bottle. The reason why he had chosen the same wine as Du Sikang was because he wanted to compete with his opponent in the same bartending.
The three base wines that Du Sikang had chosen were vodka, Cointreau orange flavored wine, and Almond Brandy. These were three completely different wines.
Vodka was similar to filtered alcohol mixed with purified water. It did not have any additional taste and was widely used as a base wine. However, it was only used to dilute other base wines and condiments to produce a supplementary effect.
Cointreau orange-flavored wine was also known as Cointreau orange-flavored liqueur. It had the sweet and sour taste of oranges, and was a type of liqueur that was the core ingredient of many famous cocktails. To obtain the perfect Cointreau, one had to distill the essence of the sweet and bitter orange peel, and then mix it with high-quality alcohol, sugar, and water. Finally, the final product would be an absolute premium wine with an alcohol content of 40%. The entire process was carefully selected to ensure the purity and moderate taste.
As a result, Cointreau's taste was very unique. It was mellow and rich. Although the mixture was balanced, it was strong yet gentle, cool yet warm, and bitter yet sweet. It was a refreshing taste experience. When it was poured into the glass for the first time, it presented a sparkling and translucent luster. However, after adding ice, it would turn milky white, accompanied by a light floral and fruity fragrance, followed by a thick orange fragrance. The overall feeling was cool, subtle, and complicated, lingering for a long time.
Obviously, there was a fixed gap between Ji Dong and Du Sikang, and that was the latter did not possess the ability to make ice. This was a congenital disadvantage. But even without opening the bottle, Ji Dong could feel the absolute perfection of this bottle of Cointreau.
The last base wine was almond brandy. Most brandy referred to distilled wine, but this almond brandy was a distilled wine made from almonds. It was more complicated to make, but it also had a unique taste. The strong taste carried a faint almond aroma. Although it wasn't as famous as the Jundo orange-flavored wine, there was no doubt that it was an exceptional fine wine. It was just that it would never appear alone as a base wine.
Three different base wines with different tastes and origins naturally brought about ever-changing cocktails. Bartenders could use different techniques to create different results. Next, the staff had already sent the ingredients to Ji Dong and Du Sikang. They didn't even need to be told, as the staff of the Bartender Guild knew exactly what to mix with the same ingredients.
There were two ingredients: red pomegranate syrup and special grape juice.
The cocktail made from these three base wines and two ingredients was the famous Midnight Sunshine. It was also a cocktail that Ji Dong had made for the Flaming Bar in the past. Perhaps it was because of telepathy, this was one of the cocktails that Ji Dong wanted to choose in the first round. Since Du Sikang had chosen it, there was no reason for Ji Dong to choose anything else.
The bottle cap was opened at the same time. Both Ji Dong and Du Sikang's hands were very steady. Four tenths of vodka, two tenths of Cointreau, two tenths of almond brandy, one tenth of red pomegranate syrup, and one tenth of lemon juice. There was no difference in the amount that they added into the bottle, and not a single drop fell on the mixing table.
The mixture of three different base liquors and two different ingredients sparkled in the crystal mixer under the light from outside. The murky liquid mixed with each other.
The moment the bottle cap was closed, both Ji Dong and Du Sikang stopped moving. Surprisingly, they appeared in the mirror again and closed their eyes at the same time. Everyone could not help but become nervous at this moment, because they knew that this pinnacle duel was finally about to begin.
The mirror was broken in the next moment. Both of them raised their hands almost at the same time. The difference was that Ji Dong only raised his right hand, while Du Sikang raised both of his hands.
Ji Dong's right hand swept towards the bottom of the crystal mixer like lightning. In an instant, there was a flash of brilliance, and the mixer spun rapidly in the air.
However, what Du Sikang did was completely different. He pressed both of his hands towards the mixer in the air, and two dense streams of black water magic surged out, one in front and one behind. Under the effect of these two streams of magic, the mixer spun rapidly on the mixing table like a spinning top.
From the beginning of the duel, both of them displayed their completely different mixing styles. Ji Dong mainly relied on his pure skills, while Du Sikang, the God of Wine, combined his mixing skills with his magic. At this moment, the curtains of this battle for the title of the God of Wine began. Until this moment, only the person from the Flaming Bar believed that Ji Dong would definitely win. Among the others, only Du Ming had some confidence in Ji Dong.
The same mixer, the same mixture, at this moment, began to blossom with dazzling brilliance.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
