World Class Cocktail Competition 2016

By Niall Roeder.

World Class is the booze industry’s most respected bartending competition. It’s a chance for crafty bartenders across Oz to enter the cocktail colosseum and fight it out in front of a global audience. The losers are metaphorically slain and left to wallow in a pool of their own vermouth and the victor is crowned the champion of mixology for the next year… ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!

2016 will see the crowning of the World’s Best Bartender for the 8^th time. Swill artists daring enough to enter the gauntlet are required to complete a series of innovative cocktail challenges that are judged by the world’s most respected taste experts.

In the competition’s opening round, entrants are to submit a bespoke cocktail, for which a recipe, method, photo and story are to be included. We caught up with Alex “the Mix Kid” Clark to see what he whipped up for his entry:

My original entry, which got me through the first round, was a twist on a Silver Fizz. I called it The Botrytis Hero. I used Johnnie Walker Platinum as my base for the drink, then added south Australian botrytis, eucalyptus bitters, pine + madeira reduction, fresh juice granny smith apples, lemon peel, egg white and sparkling water. I then finished the drink with a gum leaf. The flavours were subtle and seductive, a very Moorish drink. The drink was appreciated as it got me through to the top 100 in Australia!

The second round is to sort out the men from boys, or in bar talk; separate the egg white from the pisco, the baileys from the schnapps, the mocktails from the cocktails. The bar is raised with a challenging brief based around something fun and new from an old school cocktail. It has to be both fun and innovative and easily brought to life in a venue during service.

For this I decided to twist one of my favourite classic gin cocktails, the Army & Navy, this drink is quite simply premium gin, fresh lemon juice and Orgeat Syrup (almond). It’s delicious and a favourite amongst bartenders.

Without meaning to, both my drinks ended up being quite patriotic, with the second entry becoming The Anzac’s Ale. I used Tanqueray Gin as my base, then added fresh lemon and orange juice, house-made red poppy flower spirit and topped with a house-made almond pale ale. Not forgetting my interactive garnish of a Two Up kip with two pennies. A fun updated approach to the Army & Navy cocktail. COME IN SPINNER!

Alex will be showcasing his cocktail creations on the new menu at Gowings Bar & Grill at QT Sydney.