MARGARITA master Adrian Mercieca is a mortgage broker by day but mixes drinks in his spare time, having started a new hobby business, Mobile Margaritas, to bring cocktails to parties.

“Mortgage broking can be a bit dry and, as I’d been a cocktail bartender for many years, I wanted to bring back that element of fun and create a hobby business mixing drinks, which had been an enjoyable part of my life,” he says.

Adrian says he lived in Port Douglas for five years after uni, where he worked at a bar renowned for its margaritas and also spent five years as an après bartender in Whistler, Canada.

Once he returned to Canberra, Adrian says he started working as a mortgage broker with his father. At the same time, he says he’s always loved mixing drinks and wanted to still be able to do that, too.

“In Queensland, I had to do the hard yards with months and months of lime squeezing, as they needed thousands of limes every week to keep up with the demand for margaritas,” he says.

“I wanted to be like Tom Cruise in ‘Cocktail’, and my love of mixing drinks started there – once I graduated from lime-squeezing and moved up the ranks as a fully qualified cocktail bartender.”

Adrian says he can bring everything needed to serve margaritas to guests at private parties, festivals or events, and he creates gin, rum and vodka cocktails, in mango, lime or strawberry flavours, as well as virgin drinks, too.

“Mixology is a real skillset, you need to understand flavour combinations, have good spirit and liqueur knowledge, and garnish and preparation techniques.

“There’s a theatrical element to the cocktail-making process, and making drinks that look amazing while creating a great vibe is part of what I love about it.”

Mobile Margaritas will be at the Multicultural Festival, opposite the Garema Place chess pit, February 17-19.