A visit to St Lucia is the prize for the winner of the Chairman’s Reserve Cocktail Competition, to be staged at The Northern Restaurant and Bar Show in Manchester on Wednesday 19th March at 3:15pm.
Bartenders should register their recipe by Friday 28th February, with the organiser Dave Marsland aka Drinks Enthusiast, who is working alongside Emporia Brands, the distributors for the St Lucia Distillers based rum here in the UK.
Competitors will be asked to submit to Dave one drink. The recipe must contain at least 25 ml of Chairman’s Reserve Finest St Lucia rum, with thereafter a free-reign to create a unique cocktail worthy of the grand prize. You will have a maximum time limit of 5 minutes on stage in which to re-create your cocktail for the judging panel.
The winner will visit St Lucia as the guest of St Lucia Distillers, who beat off the challenge from the world’s finest malt whisky and cognac distilleries to take the trophy for Individual Distiller of the Year at the International Spirits Challenge 2013. The visit will include rum training at this distinguished distillery, and the chance to share expertise with the island’s enthusiastic bartenders, as well as plenty of opportunity to find out why the beautiful island of St Lucia is one of the world’s favourite Caribbean destinations.
A member of the judging panel this year will be rum Captain, Lyndon Higginson of The Liars Club, Manchester, who enjoyed the last trip over to St Lucia. “The last time I judged a Chairman’s Reserve Cocktail Competition, the weather was a bit warmer than Manchester in March, and the entrants were so enthusiastic following training sessions with us. I am already envious of the winner, who will enjoy the Chairman’s XI experience in St Lucia later this year, visiting a world class distillery and meeting some great people.”
Entrants should email Dave Marsland at drinks_enthusiast@yahoo.co.uk with their recipe by midnight on Friday 28th February. Judges will pick their 5 favourites and their creators will be invited to demonstrate them at the Drinks Live stage at the Northern Restaurant and Bar Show. The following information is required within your submission:
Your name
Name and location of your work
Email address
Contact phone number
Cocktail name
Glassware
Ingredients in ml
Garnish
Chairman’s Reserve Finest St Lucia rum and basic bar equipment will be supplied at the final, with all other ingredients, garnishes and glassware to be provided by the competitor.
Judges will be scoring for knowledge on the Chairman’s Reserve brand, the appearance and presentation of the drink, the aromas of your cocktail and finally how it tastes.
The top 5 entrants will be contacted on March 5th and invited down to the final on March 19th.
DRINKS ENTHUSIAST 