Help.A.Bartender

Some of you may recall reading my piece last month on my experience of The Kraken Black Ink Society competition. If not, shame on you, it can be found here: 


Competition Breeds...

One of the bartenders I had the pleasure of competing against (and later getting slightly tipsy with) was the ever-safe Ajax Kentish, pictured above. A big dude with an even bigger heart it seems because just the other night, he dropped me a line to ask for my help in raising some funds and awareness for a mission he holds close to his heart; Help.A.Bartender.


The story behind this is one we can all relate to in one way or another: Help.A.Bartender started off when Ajax found out that one of his friends Elias, who worked as a bartender in Greece, had a serious motorbike accident. The complications arising from that accident have left Elias in need of extensive surgery and further treatments but in order to get them he needs to pay between €30,000 - €50,000. Those of you reading this are, more-than-likely, in the bar/hospitality trade and we all now how that goes when it comes to the end of the week. 


Elias has sold most of what he has to pay for what he’s had done so far, so Ajax decided it's now his time to help. He'd been planning over the last two month to cycle to Athens from London within a month to raise money and now he confirms he will set off in just 2 and a half months. He's going to need a lot of help to get to his goal, including some more sponsors. If any of you out there in cyberspace read this and think you can help then please head over to Help.A.Bartender and soon http://www.helpabartender.com/, in the words of Ajax : "whether it be £1 or £20, whether it be £1,000 or £5,000, every bit helps. And I will be keeping you up to date with things I'v been doing and things you can do to help". Methods for donation will be up shortly.

This is a mammoth task for any one man to undertake, however, if we all give a little we can get Elias back on the mend. Ajax has even higher hopes for this endeavour, however, after this mission has been completed, he says there are other people who work in hospitality who could use a little help, and we might be able to do something about it. The first mission is for him to help out Elias, but where this venture goes after that could be somewhere very special indeed.

Please spread the word, keep a watchful eye on Ajax' progress and, if you can, please donate to the cause.

Good luck Ajax, expect my donation, I'll spread the word and any help I can provide up here in Scotland will be quickly given. 

Jodes

The Easter Egg Cup (sponsored by Caorunn Gin)

Sunday past saw the inaugural Easter Egg Cup cocktail competition at The Corpse & Cocktail, featuring both a singles round and a team challenge.

In the singles, bartenders were challenged to come up with an innovative cocktail inspired by one of Caorunn's 5 Celtic botanicals (rowan berry, Coul Blush apple, bog myrtle, dandelion and heather).  From all the entrants, 4 'wildcards' were asked to join 4 'invited' bartenders.  The 8 were then asked to make a short video of themselves introducing and creating their drink, followed by a still photograph.  The photos were then uploaded to Facebook to be voted on.  Almost 600 votes later, the final proceeded to take place.

Each bartender made a superb effort with techniques and ingredients such as scented scrolls, Islay new make spirit, whey and infused teas/syrups.

For the team challenge, the 8 bartenders were split into East and West teams, based on the geography of their bars.  A speed round and bad product challenge ensued, resulting in Team West being victorious.

After the team challenge, it was time for the singles awards.  3rd place went to independent consultant Milo Smith for his drink Druids Cure featuring Caorunn, Port, white grapefruit, heather honey, whey and a dandelion/raspberry syrup.  2nd place was awarded to Bobby Patience of highly-rated bar Dusk for Symphony No. 11, his take on the classic martini featuring bog myrtle-infused Noilly Prat served with a dandelion-scented scroll and a rowan berry-sweetened tincture.

Overall winner was 99's Mike McGinty with his drink Haugh's of Cromdale, heavily influenced by the red apple in Caorunn.  The drink was created with Calvados, dessert wine, lemon juice, Pink Lady syrup, muddled red apple and of course Caorunn, all shaken together in a heather-smoked Boston shaker.

Judges were Ervin Trykowski (Caorunn Brand Ambassador), Adrian Gomes (10 Dollar Shake) and Chris Tonner (Executive Chef of La Stella / The Courtyard restaurants).

For photos of the event, please check out The Corpse & Cocktails Facebook page.