Last Word Competition - Sian Ferguson (Winner)

Congratulations to Sian Ferguson of Ninety-Nine Bar & Kitchen for taking 1st place in the Aberdeen heat of the Last Word Twist competition by Chartreuse.  The two other finalists were Barry Hickey (Orchid) and Iain Selkirk (Dusk).  The round was judged on a number of initiatives including a mystery shopper, marketing and promotion, plus a tasting by the Brand Ambassador Matthew Dakers and myself, Adrian Gomes of 10 Dollar Shake.

Here's Sian's winning drink...

The Last Wynd

25ml Yellow Chartreuse

25ml Luxardo Maraschino liqueur
25ml Havana Club 3 yr old
25ml freshly-squeezed lime juice
Bar-spoon honey

[Shake and fine strain all ingredients into a chilled coupette.]

Bacardi Legacy 2012 Finalist...Dan Bovey

In the first part of our series on the three finalists of this year's Bacardi Legacy UK Finals, we welcome Dan Bovey, GM of Reading bar 'Sahara'.  We've actually been chatting to Dan since before he placed in the top 3 of 2012 (each of them has one year to promote their drink before the ultimate winner is announced at the 2013 finals).

Back in November last year, we asked Dan to give us an intro about himself, his drink and his hopes for the competition:

"My name is Dan and I manage a bar in Reading called Sahara.  I have been bartending for around 7 years.  This year is the second time I have made it into the Bacardi Legacy final and I think it has given me a fantastic opportunity to give the judges exactly what they want.  The idea for the competition is to create a classic cocktail that will have the same kind of staying power as the Daiquiri, Mojito and Cuba Libre.  I feel I have done this with my drink as it contains classic ingredients that have been around for a very long time; I imagine the classic bartenders in London like Ada Coleman or Harry Craddock would have used similar flavours in their drinks and that is why I settled on these.  It is also well-balanced and easily replicable, so could be made anywhere in the world.

I really hope the El Momento Perfecto goes down well this year as it's a fantastic competition to be involved in and a great chance to make a cocktail for my heroes, as well as get my name out there and further my career in the bar industry."

D-Day came on the 9th February as Dan and the six other finalists presented their drinks to the guest judges which included Ago Perrone (last year’s international winner) and mixology legends Audrey Saunders, Dale DeGroff and Peter Dorelli.  Along with Gordon Purnell from Edinburgh's Voodoo Rooms and Chris Moore from the Savoy Hotel in London, Dan came one step closer to the badge of Bacardi Legacy UK champion.  Follow his journey on the El Momento Perfecto Facebook page.

El Momento Perfecto

45ml Bacardi Superior
25ml Lillet Blanc
20ml Byrrh
10ml Campari
4 Dashes Orange Bitters
1 spoon Strong Marmalade

Stir over cubed ice, then strain into an old fashioned, garnished with a twist of lemon.

We tried this at last week's Corpse & Cocktail.  It's a fantastically-aromatic drink with heavy orange notes, with a sweetness that makes this very accessible.

Bacardi Legacy 2011 Winner...Zdenek Kastanek

Congratulations to Zdenek Kastanek of Quo Vadis, London for winning the 2011 UK Bacardi Legacy.

To explain the inspiration for his cocktail, Zdenek tells a little story. “Once upon a time there was a girl called Hermosa. Her mother was typically French: a bitter character on the surface, but really as sweet as honey. Her father was a Spanish sailor. He was rough like the ocean, but charismatic still and a good man. Hermosa lived a simple life in Cuba. Everybody loved her, the men for her beauty and big heart, and the women for her smile and optimism. Hermosa’s life was as sweet as an orange, until one day everything turned as sour as a lemon. Her family had to leave their home and move to Puerto Rico. However, the journey bound her family together. Hermosa grew up and met a charming and exotic man who smelled of almonds and oranges. The oranges reminded her of her happy life in Cuba and they fell in love.”

Zdenek was competing against May Kongsrivilai from the Bon Vivant in Edinburgh and Manchester's Jody Monteith of The Liquorists.  The overall winner from a year-long campaign of promoting each of their drinks was announced on 9th February 2012, along with the three most promising finalists of this year.  One of them, Dan Bovey from Sahara in Reading, is up next...

Firstly, here's Zdenek's drinks, 'La Hermosa':

60ml Bacardi Superior rum
20ml La Gitana manzanilla sherry
4 dashes Yellow Chartreuse
15ml Triple sec
15ml Orgeat syrup
25ml Freshly-squeezed lemon juice

Method: Build drink in a tall glass filled with crushed ice and swizzle.

Last Word Competition

Chartreuse have launched a competition in the UK to find the best twist on the classic cocktail – The Last Word.

For every great classic cocktail in the world there are dozens of twists on it floating around from the sublime Tommy’s Margarita to the not so sublime Frozen Banana Daiquiri. For Chartreuse the iconic cocktail is The Last Word (find out all about The Last Word in an article by Chartreuse Ambassador Matt Dakers here) and they are tasking UK bartenders with finding the next great twist.

There are some big shoes to fill with the most famous twist being The Last Ward by the one and only Phil Ward from New York (he swaps the gin and lime juice for rye and lemon juice). However such and iconic drink with such a rich history is perfect for you to have a play with.

The first round was concentrated in Islington with Zilouf’s, Stuart Binks taking the honours with his ‘monsieur, I beg your pardon’ – watch a video of him making it here.

The Aberdeen leg of the competition takes place over the month of February in your own bars.  To enter:

- Decide within your bar which bartender's original and unique recipe the team will get behind and push over the month.
- By any means neccesary, promote this cocktail to your guests during the month of February - Facebook, Twitter and point-of-sale are just some of the channels (this is NOT a sales/volume-based competition).
- Points will be awarded for the following: drink recipe and mystery shopper.  The point system is not disclosed.
- Drinks may be added to the cocktail menu for The Green Lounge at Orchid on Thursday 23rd February (doors 8pm).
- Any questions, email gomes@10dollarshake.com.
- Results will be announced at the end of February 2012.  All bars are welcome to enter.

The competition will be growing in the coming months with some fantastic prizes up for grabs (and a feature in Bar Life UK).  If you think you can have the last word send your recipes (and good quality photo) to gomes@10dollarshake.com by Friday 27th January.

Good luck!

2012 | More | Less

Some of our blog contributors have put together a list of various trends, categories and bartending habits (good and bad) that we’d like to see more or less of in 2012.  Thanks to Adrian Gomes (AG), James MacKay (JM), Tom Lawman (TL) and Mike McGinty (MM):

| More |

• Independent brands, with bartender support for these brands. (TL)
• Working flair, not to be confused with showmanship, adding to the guest experience, whilst not affecting speed of service.  Time and a place for everything when it comes to flair. (JM)
• Falernum. (JM / MM)
• Dress code – fix up, look sharp bartenders.  Not everyone has to adopt the speakeasy-style, but in the very least shirts and aprons, or other garments to distinguish yourself as the service-provider, not the service-user. (TL)
• Table service from bartenders and bars alike.  Let’s not get a complex about waiting on tables.  Take the initiative and ask your guests to take a seat whilst they wait for their drink.  You may notice the difference in tips. (TL)
• Cognac’s, Armangnac’s and eaux-de-vie’s.  Brandy is one of the oldest of all distilled spirits and such a diverse category.  Get tasting, get experimenting. (AG)

| Less |

• Japanese hard shake.  Whilst we admit it is a classy and well-thought out shaking technique, surely bartenders who would like to imitate this have better things to be doing with their time…(AG / TL)
• Less mixto tequilas (and Jose Cuervo) on the speed-rail.  Tequila is a growing category.  Expand your back-bar and offer a quality house pour. (JM)
• Elaborate drinks lists with poor execution by the venue management/team.  Applies to venues with illusions of grandeur but a poor recruitment and training policy.  Baby steps are the key. (JM / AG)
• Jagerbombs.  Yes we’ve all done them, but let’s cool it a bit on the speed-drinking front.  It’s not smart and it’s not cool…even if it used to be. (TL)
• Politics and trash-talk between bartenders.  Competitions are a great tool to learn more about the art of bartending. Winning is no substitution for making friends and networking.  Compared to most competitive activities, in this industry, it really is the taking part that counts. (AG)
• Bartender snobbery.  Yes, we’re all guilty of it from time to time.  Let’s try harder this year! (JM)

Comments are welcomed.  What would you like to see more or less of in 2012?  Disagree with our contributors?  Let us know.  Happy New Year!

10 Dollar Shake & 17th Letter Presents...Repeal!

The anniversary of the repeal of the Volstead Act is upon us again, albeit we're celebrating a day early so we can land on our usual Sunday night.  The 18th Amendment to the US Constitution, and the only amendment ever to be repealed.

If you look back to this time last year, we did a little write-up on the history.  The long and short of it all is that prohibition in the States was much more complicated than a few paragraphs can illustrate.  Take our advice and hunt down Ken Burns and Lynn Novick's documentary, 'Prohibition'.  In three episodes and five-and-a-half hours, the documentary runs the gauntlet from the rise of the temperance movement, the ratification of the 18th Amendment, the age of the speakeasy and subsequent gang warfare, and the eventual repeal.  I can't recommend it enough.  Sure, viewing time is steep but you'll gain a fantastically-detailed insight into the 'Noble Experiment'.

Education-aside, we always find a way to party so this Sunday we're holding our annual party, Repeal!.  Prohibition-era cocktails, live jazz courtesy of our house band The Corpse Revivers (17th Letter) and bartenders dressed appropriately in flat caps and braces.  Doors from 8pm, look forward to seeing all you fellas and broads...

Dopo Cena - The Disaronno Mixing Star

After a long trip to Manchester to compete in the Disaronno Mixing Star castings, I am pleased to say they liked my after dinner concoction, the Dopo Cena.  Winner of each UK and European casting proceeds to London next month to compete for a trip to LA and a potential part as a bartender in a US movie/TV series.  I'd be happy enough with the trip...!

Dopo Cena 

30ml Disaronno

30ml Kirschwasser

12.5ml Maraschino Liqueur

25ml Fresh Lemon Juice

5ml Sugar Syrup (2:1 Sugar to Water)

2 Dashes of Angostura Bitters

Shake and fine strain all ingredients into a chilled cocktail glass.

As my good friend Andy Stewart pointed out, it's basically an Amaretto Sour for grown-ups.  I tend to agree.