There is a lot more on offer than a trip to the US, Old Forester are giving you the chance to be part of bourbon history.
Normally we like to build suspense before revealing the details of a competition prize. But with one as big as this, we couldn’t help but let the cat out of the bag a little earlier than we should.
Over in Kentucky Old Forester is building a new distillery, news made even more impressive by the sheer history of the brand and their old distillery. Not only is it the only bourbon continuously distilled and marketed by the founding family before, during and after prohibition but the new distillery is located in the same spot George Garvin Brown made Old Forester between 1900 and 1919.
Whilst new micro-distilleries might be appearing in the US quicker than rubbish TV boxset series, the countries large established brands don’t often decide to rebuild one of their distilleries every day.
Old Forester is giving the winners of this competition the chance to have their names immortalised on a commemorative plaque, to be signed by the winners and displayed in the distillery for all to see.
Let’s give that a moment to sink in shall we? You, in fact three of you, our lucky BarLifeUK readers, will be having your names literally engraved in bourbon history. There for generations of bartenders and whiskey enthusiasts to see. The phrase ‘money can’t buy’ was invented for this prize.
Of course you will get to do all the other Kentucky treats and as anyone who has been there will tell you, simply walking the streets, soaking up the history and marveling the numerous impressive back bars is a trip you’ll never forget. In fact we have even heard rumours of a jaunt to a horse track whilst you’re there too, but let’s face it being a piece of bourbon history does kind of trump that.
Repeal Day
Time to look at how you can win this epic prize. Here is the brief from Old Forester:
Imagine you are in the Deep South of the US of A. Prohibition has been repealed – create a celebratory cocktail to mark this monumental event in drinking history.
Briefs don’t get much better than that. You can let your creative juices flow however don’t think it has to be a prohibition style drink. We had a chat to Brown Forman’s Whisky Ambassador Tom Vernon who explained:
‘There are plenty of classic drinks that celebrate momentous events in history; that doesn’t mean they are limited to using ingredients and styles from that time. This competition is to find cocktails that celebrate this historic event; modern ingredients and skills are not to be ruled out.’
‘There are many areas to draw on when looking for inspiration for your drink, think Mob Gangsters, Roaring 20’s, ‘Mad Men’, wartime efforts, pre/during/post prohibition provenance and the boom of American Culture.’
How’s that for a load of inspiration?
The rules look like this:
- All recipes must be based on Old Forester 86 Proof Bourbon (this is the only American Whiskey allowed)
- A minimum of 35ml of Old Forester must be used
- A maximum of 6 ingredients must be used (not including garnish)
- 1 ingredient maximum can be homemade
- The maximum quantity of alcohol permitted is the equivalent of 50ml at 43% ABV
You will be scored on:
- Appearance (out of 20 points)
- Aroma (out of 10 points)
- Taste (out of 40 points)
- Story (out of 20 points)
- Name (out of 10 points)
The regional heats will be taking place in the following cities:
Liverpool – Nov 24th (Tuesday) Berry & Rye
Manchester – Nov 25th (Wednesday) – Cane & Grain
Leeds – Nov 26th (Thursday) – Epernay
Leicester – Dec 3rd (Thursday) – Haycock & Tailbar Associates
London – Dec 8th (Wednesday) – Bourne & Hollingsworth Rathbone
Edinburgh – January 14th (Thursday) – tbc
Bristol – January 19th (Tuesday) – Milk Thistle
Right we’ll leave you alone now to grab a bottle of Old Forester and some inspiration. To enter, or for more information about the competition, head to the Old Forester Repeal Day Cocktail Competition website and entry deadline is November 16th.
How to enter:
Click here to enter on Old Forester’s Repeal Day Cocktail Competition website you’ll also find the full terms & conditions there.