As the hotly contested competition made its way to Bristol we were once again treated to great drinks and banter.
BarLifeUK look forward to competitions in Bristol, the quality of the cocktails is always matched by superb camaraderie.
The Bristol contingent have very close relationships with those from Reading and Oxford and bartenders from those cities as well as Falmouth attended the heat at The Colour Inn.
When a competition offers each heat winner a place on a plane to the final in Ibiza you expect a fair amount of fun and Bristol had a lot to live up to after the Manchester and London heats produced great drinks and great fun for the judges.
The judging panel down in Bristol of Sarah Moorhead UK Brand Manager for Gin Mare, Jack Bevan one of Bristol’s top chefs from The Ethicurean and BarLifeUK were certainly not disappointed.
Each competitor had to produce an original drink inspired by Gin Mare’s Mediterranean roots and a twist on a Dirty Martini. The quality was superb with the Dirty Martini’s in particular being some of the best we have tasted in the competition so far.
Being a competition there has to be a winner, and after the judges totted up the scores in the sun with a cider in hand (it’s a tough life) Richard Tring from Milk Thistle just edged out Rachel Ramshall-Smith from The Colour Inn and David Gerrans from Hyde & Co as the winner.
Richard however unfortunately can’t make it to the final in Ibiza (some rubbish excuse about a Honeymoon) and Rachel is winging her way to Australia so David will be on the plane to represent the South West at the final in September.
The Drinks
Richard Tring – Milk Thistle, Bristol
Original Drink – Sunset Fix
- 50ml Gin Mare
- 20ml Lemon juice
- 15ml Simple syrup
- 5ml Pastis
- 10ml Campari
- Slice of orange (shaken with drink)
Served in a Coupette glass, ungarnished
Dirty Martini Twist – Iberian Bracer
- 50ml Gin Mare
- 15ml Pickled onion juice
- 15ml Manzanilla Sherry
- 2 Dashes orange bitters
Served in a Coupette glass, ungarnished
Rachel Ramshall-Smith – The Colour Inn, Bristol
Original Drink – Botanical Bellini
- 50ml Gin Mare
- 20ml Agave syrup
- Rosemary sprig- Don’t muddle
- Prosecco top
Shaken, served in flute, topped with Prosecco with a rosemary garnish
Dirthy Martini Twist – Dirty Mare
- 75ml Gin Mare
- Noilly Pratt Rinse – discard
- Pimento Olives – muddled
- Cherry tomato water
Stirred down with a pimento olive garnish
David Gerrans – Hyde & Co, Bristol
Original Drink – Dorada swizzle
- 55ml Gin Mare
- 10ml Galliano Balsamico
- 20ml Lemon juice
- 1 Large fresh strawberry
- 10ml Sugar syrup
- Small pinch sea salt
Swizzled in crushed ice
Dirty Martini Twist – Grubby Martini
- 60ml Gin Mare
- (flash infused gherkins using nitros oxide)
- 2.5ml Suze
- 35ml Cocci Americano
- Gherkin garnish
Stirred, served up.