The copyrights of more than 20 books on cocktail-mixing techniques by teacher Nguyen Xuan Ra were given to Da Nang’s Dong A University during its celebrations to mark the 31^st anniversary of Vietnamese Teacher's Day (20 November). 

The 94-year-old teacher, who has lived at 37 Ngo Gia Tu Street for 18 years, is very famous in Vietnamese culinary culture.  He is considered to be Viet Nam’s first-ever artisan with impressive experience in dispensing soft drinks, and even a “wizard” amongst Viet Nam’s cocktail makers.

Mr Ra’s copyrighted books were compiled during his 20 years of teaching at the Ha Noi Travel and Tourism Training School.  Some of them focus on waiter/waitress skills and competencies, whilst others feature mixing techniques and selected recipes to create delicious international and Vietnamese-style cocktails.  The aim is to provide readers with useful references for their cocktail making.

Teacher Nguyen Xuan Ra

After retiring in 1996, Mr Ra decided to live in Da Nang with his daughter, and helped her to open a bar named Aloha in Ngo Gia Tu Street’s Hoang Yen Hotel.  At that time, this local bar attracted a large number of visitors thanks to Mr Ra’s impressive cocktail-mixing talents.  Most notably, apart from Vietnamese guests, the venue became popular with many foreigners. 

When visiting the bar, customers were deeply impressed by the unique and delicious tastes of its drinks.  Amongst them were Mr Jacques Marnier from France, along with Mr Aid and Mr Kipping from the Netherlands.  After enjoying cocktails at Aloha, the 3 foreigners, who are known wine experts, contacted Mr Ra to exchange and share their tips and experiences of creating cocktails.  Since then, Mr Kipping has kept in touch with Mr Ra and presented him with a number of useful reference documents which have helped the old man to improve his skills.

Over the 1997-1998 period, the city saw many bars opening and, as a result, many people decided to learn cocktail mixing from Mr Ra.

In an attempt to promote the mass production of Vietnamese ingredients for use in cocktails, in late 2012 the old teacher cooperated with the Hanoi Liquor Joint Stock Company (Halico) to produce many different kinds of wine.  These included vodka, brandy, and whisky, along with liqueurs flavoured with coffee, anise and cherries.