The Meister Hunter competition is back and bigger than ever with two new heat locations.
We started our judging adventure in Liverpool, being one of the country’s most fun cities for a night out it was a very apt starting point for a Jägermeister competition. UK Brand Ambassador and the man behind Meister Hunter, Florian ‘Flo’ Beuren was, as always, on hand to set up ice cold shot machines and make sure there was plenty of drinks available for the competitors and all their supporters.
The mission for the day’s competitors was laid out for them, to produce two serves of their entered cocktail and free pour a 25ml shot of Jägermeister whilst entertaining the crowd, all in 5 minutes. The bartender who did the best job would be heading to London for the final and the chance to win £3K and become a member of the Hubertus Circle.
Joining BarLifeUK and Flo on the judging panel at the lovely 81 Ltd above the awesome Salt Dog Slims, was the Head of Global Marketing for Jägermeister, Nina Eggeling. We were primed, pumped and ready for action.
Chris Elliot from Liverpool’s Present Company kicked proceeding’s off and did so with a fantastic looking and tasting drink which saw the Jägermeister being paired with bartender favourite Apricot Brandy.
Shaun Hall from V&B once again showed his ability to take foraged goodies and turn them into a delicious ingredient, this time it was beach leaf which got the treatment. His serve, entitled Partition, saw the ice frozen at an angle into the glass giving the striking look which inspired the name.
Bold Street House’s Tom Sallis was the first of two bartenders inspired by tea. His teacup serve consisted of Jager, tea infusion, sweet vermouth and a champagne sugar syrup which looked and tasted great. The real excitement came in the form of the homemade scone which had Jägermeister in the dough, raisins and jam.
Last year’s Northern heat took place at Manchester’s Junior Jackson’s and Sebastian Grove was inspired by the hangover working the after party their gave him. His Bloody Mary twist would cure many ills that’s for sure. The liquid itself was delicious but it was the rock salt and paprika rim cunningly adhered with Korean BBQ sauce which really took it to the next level.
Also from Manchester, this time Science & Industry, Dionysios ‘Dio’ Tzorouchof surprised from straight out of the gate with fluid German, apparently he lived in Germany and this is where his love affair with Jägermeister started. His delicious cocktail saw El Dorado 8, Dry Curacao and cacao liqueur stirred down and served straight up.
However, there were two bartenders who stood out from the crowd during the judges deliberation. Jacob Bell of The Long Shot gave a fantastically entertaining presentation based on his love of Yorkshire Tea (he is a Yorkshire boy after all) with a drink which was served from a hand painted teapot. As he extolled his ‘Home truths and German booze’ he put together a drink which included an absolutely stunning homemade tea and raspberry syrup. He even finished off the presentation with a stag stamped biscuit.
In the end Jacob was pipped to the post by Erin Davies from The Pineapple Club who blew the ‘I’ve brought my own ice’ line out of the water when he announced for the free pour test ‘I brought my own speed pourer’. When it came to his drink, he was inspired by the 80’s party scene Jägermeister was such a part of and everyone’s favourite holiday cocktail, the Miami Vice. Jägermeister was combined with a strawberry, black pepper and lactic acid cordial stirred down and poured before a gilded pina colada liqueur was floated on top. Combine that beauty with a fantastic presentation full of great brand knowledge and he will be a force to be reckoned with at the final.
Onwards to London for the next heat but before then a big thanks to the 81 Ltd team for looking after us so well and to competitors and supporters for such a great day (and as it turned out evening!!).
Erin Davies – The Pineapple Club, Birmingham
Liquid Vice
45ml Jagermeister
35ml strawberry, black pepper and lactic acid cordial
10ml gilded pina colada liqueur
Stir down the first two ingredients, pour into a rocks glass and float the liqueur on top.