Click the image to visit the Gosling's Rum website

Gosling’s Black Seal Rum is no exception, nestled as they are on the tropical island of Bermuda.

And, they would like to bring you and three of your bar team over to drink some Dark ‘N Stormys as god intended: On a Bermudian beach.

What arduous task do you have to complete to be in with a chance of winning this trip, I hear you ask?

Simple: Throw a party in honour of National Bermuda Day (NBD) on any day during the week of 24^th May*.

The best NDB party will win the trip for four, plus £1000 spending money.

The parties will be judged on:

• Bermudan-ness
• Originality
• Team & Customer participation
• Fancy Dress
• Attendance of the party
• Sales of Goslings Black Seal rum
• Any Press coverage
• Social Media Coverage

All you have to do to qualify is hold a kick ass Bermuda party plus put a Dark n Stormy on your menu or specials board for the month of May and of course stock Goslings Black Seal Rum.

To get involved, simply fill in the form below. Only 50 bars will be allowed to enter, so make sure you book your spot now*

*Win a trip to Bermuda Terms and Conditions

Want to find out who is rocking the quickest times or where you stand in the global scheme of things? Look no further.

Oh and if you want some tunes to listen too whilst your checking this out then check out the one and only Nick van Tiel’s Offical Rematch Mixtape.

Name                                   City                     Overall Time (including penalties)
Bobby Hiddleston          London             1:29 (1:24 + 5 sec penalty)
Steve Schneider                      New York              1:36 (1:21 + 15 sec penalty) 
Marco Nunes                         Brisbane               1:43 (1:33 + 10 sec penalty)
Johan Ekelund                      London                 1:51 (1:51 + No penalty)
Andreas Walters                  Sydney                  2:00
Johan Ekelund                     New York             2:03 (1:53 + 10 sec penalty)
Blake Ward                           Brisbane               2:04 (1:54 + 10 sec penalty)
Luke Redington                   Sydney                   2:05 (1:55 + 10 sec penalty)
David Beatty                          Sydney                  2.07
Matthew Dakers                   London                 2:07 (2:02 + 10 sec penalty)
Simon Hough                       Perth                     2:08 (2:03 +5 sec penalty)
Diato                                      Sydney                   2:09 (1.59 + 10 sec penalty)
Sean Show                            Brisbane               2:13 (2:13 + No penalty)
Jamie Kimber                       London                 2:16
Yael Vengroff                       New York              2:16 (2:06 + 10 sec penalty)
Bex Almqvist                         London                 2:19 (2:19 + No penalty)
Scott Marshall                      New York             2:21 (1:52 + 30 sec penalty)
Reece Griffiths                      Sydney                  2:21 (2.11 + 10 sec penalty)
Lanii Say                                Perth                     2:22 (2:12 + 10 sec penalty)
Matt Roberts                         London                 2:26 (2:16 + 10 sec penalty)
Dustin Davies                       Brisbane               2:28 (2:13 + 15 sec penalty)
Camilo Vilamill                     Brisbane               2:31 (2:31 + No penalty)
Tom Bulmer                          Sydney                    2:33 (2.28 + 5 sec penalty)
Jake Blanch                          London                  2:38 (2:33 + 5 sec penalty)
Jono Carr                              Sydney                   2:45 (2.40 + 5 sec penalty)
Jim Wrigley                          New York              2:51 (2:26 + 25 sec penalty)
Dan Aitkin                            Brisbane               2:53 (2:33 + 20 sec penalty)
Caitlyn Selkirk                      Perth                     2:54 (No penalty)
Steven Prassad                     Brisbane               2:56 (2:26 + 30 sec penalty)
Tom Price                              Sydney                  2:59 (2.44 + 15 sec penalty)
Lee Potter Cavanagh            London                 2:59 (2:54 + 5 sec penalty)
Kristian                                  London                 2:59 (2:54 + 5 sec penalty)
Frank Cisneros                     New York              3:03 (2:43 + 20 sec penalty)
Sasha Petraske                      New York              3:05 (2:45 + 20 sec penalty)
Tim Homewood                    London                 3:08 (3:03 + 5 sec penalty)
Joe Sinagra                            Perth                     3:10 (3:00 + 10 sec penalty)
Adam Delgiudice                 New York              3:17 (3:12 + 5 sec penalty)
Frenchy                                  London                 3:18 (3:13 + 5 sec penalty)
Ben Tous                               Sydney                    3:19 (3.04 + 15 sec penalty)
Dave Eiszele                         Brisbane               3:20 (3:05 + 15 sec penalty)
Oren Tony                             Brisbane                3:22 (3:09 + 15 sec penalty)
Lloyd Smith                          Perth                      3:26 (3:11 + 15 sec penalty)
Jillian Vose                            New York             3:27 (3:17 +10 sec penalty)
Dev Johnson                         New York              3:28 (3:03 + 25 sec penalty)
Brendon Osmers                   Brisbane               3:31 (3:26 + 5 sec penalty)
Jane Danger                         New York               3:33 (3:03 + 30 sec penalty)
Mickael Allan                        Brisbane                3:39 (3:19 + 20 sec penalty)
Chris D                                    London                 3:41 (3:21 + 20 sec penalty)
Tom Scott                              Melbourne            3:41
Ivy Mix                                   New York              3:47 (3:37 + 10 sec penalty)
Lou Dare                                Melbourne           3:48 (3:38 + 10 sec penalty)
Kenny Lim                           Perth                       4:08 (No penalty)
Patrick Walsh                      Melbourne            4:16
Adam Neal                           New Zealand         4:21
Joel Persson                         Melbourne            4:30
Steve Crozier                       Melbourne            4:37
Tom Kearney                       Perth                      4:41 (4:36 + 5 sec penalty)
Al Sotak                                New York               4:42 (4:27 + 15 sec penalty)
Priscilla Leong                    Melbourne            4:51:5
Lucinda Sterling                 New York               4:55 (4:25 + 30 sec penalty)
Kenny Utting                       Melbourne            5:03 (4:58 + 5 sec penalty)
Bill Bewsher                        Perth                       5:48 (No penalty)
Jack Sotti                             New Zealand         5:50
Mitch Keane                        Perth                      6:23 (6:07 + 15 sec penalty)
Egor Petrov                         New Zealand        6:37
Apoena Saporetti              New Zealand         6:40
Stu Hudson                           London                 DNF
Tim Martin                          New Zealand         Disqualified took out bottle & martini glass
Kris McKenna                      Melbourne            Disqualified for glass in well
Cam Timmins                     New Zealand         DNF
John Lemayer                     New York              Disqualified for broken glass
Scott Griffin                         Brisbane               Disqualified for broken glass
Steve                                       London                 Disqualified, took out ice well
Dave Jolly                            Brisbane               Disqualified for broken glass and bottle
Jason Littrell                       New York              DNF
Alex Barros                           New Zealand        DNF
Des Yatigammana               London                 DNF
Tomas Totn                          London                  DNF
Rodrigo Alves                       New Zealand        DNF
Rafael Reyes                         New York              DNF
Jay Jay                                   Sydney                   Broken glass – Disqualified.

* The live bit does rely on the organisers of each heat getting the times over to us, with the world of Rematch this may have a slight layback fueled delay to it…

Do you ever feel you miss out on the brand sponsored overseas trips because you don’t do competitions or don’t work in one of the ‘fashionable’ London venues? If so this is the competition for you.

The best room I have ever been in

The Buffalo Trace Migration competition is beautiful in its simplicity, all you have to do is collect corks from each bottle of Buffalo Trace you sell. Each cork gives you a place in the monthly draw to win prizes such as iPads, Xboxes and Apple TV’s and then all your corks are thrown into the hat for the grand draw in July and your chance to get on the Kentucky Trip.

BarLifeUK were lucky enough to get the opportunity to visit the Buffalo Trace Distillery last year thanks to Hi-Spirits and it is an opportunity not to be passed up – read all about it here

We had the time of our lives but the 4 day trip you lot can be vying for is even more impressive as it includes:

• A behind the scenes tour of Buffalo Trace
• A tutored tasting by Master Distiller Harlen Wheatley
• VIP day at Keeneland races
• Special invitation to the ‘White Dog Day’ celebration as the still gets cranked up for the new distilling season
• Party at Kingston Mines Blues Bar in Chicago

If you sell Buffalo Trace in your bar then you have every chance of getting on this trip (and if you don’t then I’d give Hi-Spirits a call). Don’t worry if your venue isn’t high volume as all it takes to win is one cork, there are also lots of ways of earning extra corks (you get 10 extra just for signing up!).

Signing up takes 2 minutes so jump on the Buffalo Migration website and get involved. We are already very jealous.

Taking place at the newly opened, gin palace inspired, pub The Blacksmith & The Toffeemaker the final saw bartenders from all over England and Scotland who had battled through their heats competing to take out the prize of a trip to Amsterdam and some spending cash.

What a very attractive bunch of people...

Each competitor had to make a Twisted Tradition cocktail which saw imaginations running wild with a host of infusions and syrups being utilised and a Simple Serve designed to be recreated easily in most bars.

In the end it was Robin Webb from 64th & Social in Clapham who took out the top spot with two fantastic drinks, one of which was served in Grandma Webb’s best bone china.

It was so close to call at the top and the quality of drinks so high that Sloane’s extended the prize pool to give not only second but also third place a spot on the trip.

Those honours went to Matteo Corsalini from the new 34 Restaurant in Mayfair and (continuing her stellar start to the competition year) Ash Bovey from Sahara Bar in Reading. They will be joining Rob and BarLifeUK on the trip to Amsterdam in June.

Whilst the bone china was a great serve vessel, it was eclipsed by one of the most original we have seen for a long time. Benji Purslow from Ziloufs in Islington rocked out two bath tubs from a dolls house to serve his fantastic Hans Birthday Bath in, pure ginius (sorry).

As mentioned the quality of the drinks was superb from all the competitors and the judges (Gary Sharpen from The Cocktail Lovers, Joel Harrison from Caskstrength and Joel Constantino the Brand Ambassador from Sloane’s along with BarLifeUK) would happily have ordered most of them again and again.

They’ll be news on, what is sure to be a quiet and relaxing trip to Amsterdam, in the coming weeks but in the meantime massive congratulations to everyone who entered and have a go at remaking the winning drinks below:

Winner – Robin Webb, 64th & Social

I'm still dreaming of those macaroons

Grandma Sloane’s Tea Time Tipple

• 50ml Sloane’s Gin (steeped in Vanilla Rose pouching (black tea) for 10 mins, no need to heat)
• 25ml Lemon juice
• 10ml Rose syrup
• 2 Dashes Angostura Bitters
• Egg white
• Violet atomiser

Dry shake, shake with ice and fine strain into Grandma’s best bone china. Spray atomiser and serve with two vanilla macaroons.

Sloane Ranger

• 50ml Sloane’s Gin
• 25ml Lemon juice
• 20ml King’s Ginger
• 3 Dashes of rhubarb bitters
• 1 Barspoon of Ginger & Rhubarb jam

Shaken and fine strain over cubed ice.

Second place – Matteo Corsalini, Restaurant 34

Matteo showing how the long pour should be done

The Botany Cocktail

• 45ml Sloane’s Gin
• 15ml Martini Bianco
• 15ml Suze Gentian Liqueur
• 15ml Elderflower cordial
• 2 Drops of Dandelion & Burdock Bitters
• Fresh mint, lemon thyme and lemon verbena

Stir all ingredients with ice in a mixing glass for no more than 15 seconds and double strain into a frozen coupette. Garnish with a lemon balm leaf.

Twenty-First Century Cocktail

• 45ml Sloane’s Gin
• 20ml Americano Cocchi Aperitivo
• 15ml Bols Crème de Cacao White
• 15ml Lemon juice
• 2 Drops of Master of Malt Chocolate Bitters

Shake and double strain into a flute glass. Garnish with lemon twist and chocolate caviar on the side.

Third place – Ash Bovey, Sahara Bar

Ash and the nations smiliest shake

A Natural Curiosity

• 60ml Sloane’s Gin
• 15ml Home-made coriander seed/lemon rind syrup*
• 7.5ml Green Chartreuse
• 3 Dashes Bitter Truth Orange Bitters
• 3 Dashes Angostura Bitters
• 4-6 Mint leaves

Shake all ingredients like a ninja, fine strain into pre-chilled coupette garnish with a lemon zest.
*Coriander seed/lemon rind syrup method – make a 2:1 ration sugar syrup, whilst still warm add two barspoons of coriander seeds and the rind of one fresh lemon. Leave to steep for 3-4 days then remove.

Sir Hans Solo

• 60ml Sloane’s Gin
• 5ml Maraschino
• 15ml Lemon juice
• 30ml Fresh pressed apple juice

Shake all ingredients and pour into old-fashioned glass filled with cubed ice. Garnish with apple fan.

Ali Dedianko at the Tales of the Cocktail Rematch in 2011

You might not guess it to look at us, but BarLifeUK has a musical past.

We’ve played the Marquee Club and the odd festival, and have seen terror in a bandmate’s eye as he steps on stage in front of a baying crowd of drunk hooligans.

We’ve felt creeping numbness in our fingers and know the fear of a sudden blank mind when stage fright robs you of the ability to do something you can normally do in your sleep – all in front of an audience.

Competing in Rematch Beeyatch is worse.

We’ve witnessed it on three continents, and have seen some big bold boys fall apart under the pressure. So whoever wins the latest iteration of the Rematch Car Crash will be the owner of some pretty big cojones (even if it is a girl), and a large pile of money.

For the uninitiated, Rematch is a Tiki speed comp. Initially beginning as a way of settling some trash-talking between Paul Mant and Tim Stones, it grew into what is now a world-wide competition.

NVT: Free armpit-hair garnish with every cocktail

There are no sponsors, just bartenders with £50 in their pocket. You pay your entry fee, receive the drink specs and smash them out on the night as quickly as you can. The winner takes the pot and probably the biggest rights to bragging in the industry. Until someone younger and fitter beats your time.

Rematch Beeyatch has been quite mercurial of late, with the odd heat popping up in Australia and in the US at Tales of the Cocktail.

However, they have got their shit well and truly together this year, and have organised a co-ordinated, international frenzy of heats, all taking place on May 14^th. There are seven cities involved around the world, with the UK Rematch taking place at London’s Trailer Happiness.

Each heat winner will get their stake back, but the bartender with the fastest global time will win the pot. There are spaces for over 100 competitors, so the pot will be substantial.

It would be pretty tragic if the overall winner isn’t a UK bartender and Rematch goes the way of football, cricket and all the other sports we invented – dominated by foreigners.

So your country needs you.

To enter the UK Rematch Beeyatch, contact Max at Trailer Happiness, keep the 14^th free and start practicing your four-bottle-pours.

Want to be here?

The Swizzle is one of the most iconic rum drinks in the world and El Dorado Rum would like you to invent your own twist for a chance to win a trip to the distillery (and a whole lot more – we’ve been told skinny dipping with Piranhas took place on the last trip!).

Using the form below we are asking you to send us your Swizzle recipe before Midday 16th May, once received we will be announcing the competitors going through to the 5 national heats which will be taking place between the 28th May & 14th June.

Once the heat competitors have been announced on the 16th May they will be expected to promote their drink in their bar in the run-up to the comp. Evidence of this promotion through photo’s, videos, explanations etc will be expected at the heats.

The Swizzle recipes MUST contain the following elements – El Dorado Rum, something sweet, something bitter, something sour and something non-alcoholic before being swizzled. The rest is up to you.

Award winning Global Brand Ambassador for El Dorado Stefanie Holt has written a piece on the History of the Swizzle here to give you some background information and help with your creations.

Get your creative hats on and give yourself a chance to win this awesome prize.

Heats will be judged using the following criteria:

• Name – 10 points
• Appearance – 15
• Aroma – 10
• Taste – 30
• Technique – 10
• Promotion of drink at bar – 10
• Knowledge – 15

Alex Proudfoot

Cocktail competitions hosted by liqueur brands often spark an extra level of creativity in competitors.

This happens because the brand needs to be well represented in the drink, but as ever balance of flavour is paramount.

To achieve both aims, and create a recipe that can stand up outside of the competition, bartenders really have to think about flavour, and sometimes look to unusual ingredients.

The UK final of the Domaine de Canton competition, held last week at the Shaftsbury Avenue London Cocktail Club, proved to be a case in point, with some incredible drinks offered to the judges, along with some really first rate food pairing.

The stakes were high, too, as the ultimate aim was to follow in the footsteps of last year’s winner, Stuart Fritz, who represented the UK at the global final in St. Martin, which he went on to win, pocketing $10,000 in the process.

Jake Burger

There were four or five drinks that were universally rated by the competition judges, and in the final count, there was just half a point separating first and second place.

Alex Proudfoot, fresh from his recent heat-win during the Appleton Estate Bartender Challenge,  presented the Merchant Milk Punch, which was one of the best that BarLifeUK have tasted this year, and took a completely different and original approach to using Domaine de Canton in a cocktail.

Second place went to The Portobello Star’s Jake Burger. It was great to see him on the competition stage again and his presentation skills remain some of the best on the circuit.

A special mention was made to Luca Missaglia of Quo Vadis who was also right on the money. Neither Jake or Luca put a foot wrong, they were just narrowly beaten by a fantastic drink from Alex.

The drinks

Alex Proudfoot, Raoul’s Bar: The Merchant Milk Punch

• 50ml Almond milk
• 50ml Domaine de Canton
• 25ml Bols Genever
• 10ml Dry Curacao
• 2 Large dashes Peychuad’s bitters

Combine and shake briefly with cubed ice. Double strain and dust with grated nutmeg,

Jake Burger, The Portobello Star: The Dingaling

• 25ml A.E. Dor VSOP Cognac
• 25 Lillet Blanc
• 25ml Domaine de Canton

Mist glass with orange flower water and fill with ice to chill. Combine ingredients and shake. Strain over hand-cracked ice. Crown with a layer of mineral water, garnish with an orange twist and a mint sprig.

Luca Missaglia, Quo Vadis: Aperitif de Canton

• 25ml Licorice infusion (grain spirit)
• 25ml Bergamot
• 45ml Domaine de Canton

Shake, double strain. Garnish with bergamot zest. Served with a plate of Quo Vadis oysters.

Sian’s Ferguson’s winning cocktail from the Aberdeen heat of the Chartreuse Last Word Competition is here for your viewing pleasure.

Sian Ferguson from Ninety-Nice Bar & Kitchen in Aberdeen not only beat all the boys she also got to star in her very own video and here it is. If you want to follow in her footsteps then get your Green on and enter the Chartreuse Last Word competition. More details here.

In the end it was James Drummond from Ricks Bar who got the nod with his superb, The Sounds of Silence.

Matthew Dakers the UK Chartreuse Brand Ambassador (or Mr Green as he is rapidly becoming known) had this to say:

‘The 2nd heat of the ‘Who will have the last word?’ competition saw the best Edinburgh had to offer! But this competition is not straight forward and doesn’t simply just require making 1 cocktail! Having a mystery shopper helping with the judging, it gives us an inside look into what a regular consumer experiences.

The mystery shopper commented on how helpful the bartender was. James wasn’t even serving them but it shows the great team work that ricks have. The drink itself was a great twist, combining chocolate, chartreuse and sour. All the other bars had great drinks, and it wasn’t easy deciding a winner.

Congratulations James. You can see his video here very soon!’

The mystery shopper (or drinker presumably) is an often overlooked judging criteria in cocktail competitions but as Mr Green points out it gives an often hard to quantify view through the consumers eyes.

The mystery shopper on this occasion gave this feedback:

David Smillie - mysterious or creepy? We'll let you decide.

Initial Greeting – Excellent. Lovely friendly barman. Cocktail menus given and water offered. Very quiet, no one else at the bar.

Speed in Suggestion – Clue word of chartreuse gave the barman the opportunity to mention they had various chartreuse cocktails, but if I wanted something different, he had a fabulous cocktail that he and a colleague had put together … The Sounds of Silence! He asked if I was ok with egg white. He was very passionate about the drink.

Quality of drink – Beautiful …. Had 3 during the evening.

Congratulations go out to James and whilst we leave him to go and buy a new shirt ready for his moment in front of the camera to film his creation (if you can’t wait to see his video to get the specs of the drink then click here) let’s move on to announcing the finalists in the next city, Glasgow.

The First Time Cocktail – David Smillie, Booly Mardys

• 20ml Green Chartreuse
• 20ml Aperol
• 20ml St Germaine
• 20ml Pink grapefruit juice

Shake, strain. Garnish with grapefruit twist.

I think for this comp it’s important to keep with the key points of why the Last Word is so popular. It’s simplicity and the fact that it balances with equal parts. So my creation stays with 4 ingredients at equal parts of all 4.

The Fairground – Dean Evans, The Finnieston Bar & Restaurant

Dean Evans - shaking it like a man..... apparently.

• 25ml Yellow Chartreuse
• 25ml Bols Genever
• 25ml lime juice
• 20ml Crème de Peche

Shaken like a man and served in a coupe with a super cherry garnish.

I wanted to do something lighter and slightly sweeter than the original, using Yellow Chartreuse and Creme de Peche does this very well and both combine amazingly. The slight increase in sweetness takes none of the complexity away from it either, as for the Genever it gives the drink a nice rounded mouth feel. I found London dry gin to abrasive with the sweetness whilst the malty character of Genever offered a more balanced flavour. As for the lemon instead of lime, well lime is dry and tart and clashes whereas lemon works wonders.

My reason for wanting to increase sweetness and lightness comes down to sales, you could say the original is an acquired taste and this offers all the complexity and depth of flavour as the original but has more mass appeal and is currently my most popular drink on the menu. I’ve found it’s a great drink to introduce Chartreuse to the tamest of palates.

I called it The Fairground because of the elaborate flavour profile, it reminded me of the fair. People tend to be drawn to names of drinks they associate with their childhood if that makes any sense? It seems to work!

The cherry is the most appropriate garnish as it is a final treat when you finish and it gives the drink a nice colour.

The Unsinkable? – Aidan Bowie, Blythswood Square Hotel

Aidan Bowie letting his entry sink in....

• 25ml Green Chartreuse
• 25ml Merlet Peach Liqueur
• 25ml Lemon juice
• 25ml Manzanilla Sherry
• 2 Dashes celery bitters

The “Unsinkable?” is based on a dessert served on The Titanic – a green chartreuse jelly with spiced peaches. The Unsinkable plays on the tragedy of The Titanic and commemorates its 100th anniversary this year drawing on the idea of ”famous last words” where the ship was widely marketed as ”unsinkable”, a feat it infamously did not live up to.

“The Unsinkable?” while recreating the dessert served that evening, is enhanced by a hint of sea air bitterness by using celery bitters and salty Manzanilla Sherry. The drink was designed to highlight Chartreuse as the main ingredient, complimenting the peach liqueur and lemon juice giving a delicious light summery drink. It was important to create a drink which appeals to a broad spectrum of taste and looks aesthetically pleasing.

Grand Marnier’s Le Grand Bal was one of last year’s highlights, so we are looking forward to their latest project, the Sunset Hours Parisian Chic Competition.

Essentially, Grand Marnier want you to come up with a summer drink based on Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge.

You will join the team for a day to discover more about the history and production of the liqueur during a session led by Julien Lafond, UK Brand Ambassador, and sample the different cuvees and cocktails that Grand Marnier offers.

This Session will be followed by the Grand Marnier Sharing Drinks Competition, during which bartenders will be asked to demonstrate their skill by creating a sharing drink/long drink featuring Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge.

The Winners from each heat (Edinburgh, Manchester, London East, London West and Bristol) will go to the final in London to find out who will be crowned the Grand Marnier Sharing Drink Competition 2012 grand winner.

Competition Terms and Conditions

• The bar needs to be stocking Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge
• The sharing drinks/Long drink recipe has to be easily replicable in Bars
• No more than 4 ingredients
• The recipe can be presented as a sharing drink for 4 people or as a single long drink
• No homemade ingredients
• The ingredients have to be easily sourced, suppliers in the UK or supermarkets
• A minimum of 40ml of Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge for one serve (long drink) or 160ml minimum for a sharing drink
• There will be 5 Heats: Edinburgh, Manchester, London East End, London West End and Bristol
• The person that collects the most points during the Each Heat will win the heat and qualify for the final in London
• Each Heat will be judged by Grand Marnier UK Brand Ambassador, Julien Lafond and another judge
• There will be 1 wild card given to a non-finalist participant, which will be decided through volume after his cocktail has been listed in his bar
• A minimum of 200 cocktails will be required to enter the Wild Card draw that will be decided by collecting supplier invoices and sales report
• The 6 Finalists can offer their serve/sharer on their menu or as a cocktail of the month at least a month prior to the event with extra points given to the one that sold the most
• The finalists will have their drinks up on the Grand Marnier UK Facebook page, promoting it as a great Summer Long Drink with Grand Marnier with their name and the name of the Bar/Company during the time of the competition
• The Grand Final will be held in London in a venue TBC in June 2012, between the 6 finalists.
• The Finalist that gets the most points over the final will be crowned The Grand Winner 2012 and win a trip for two to the Home Of Grand Marnier in Bourg Charentes. (Dates subjects to availability to be arranged with Julien Lafond.)
• The Second will win a Bottle of Grand Marnier Cent Cinquantenaire
• The Third will win a Bottle of Grand Marnier Centenaire
• All recipes will become property of Marnier Lapostolle Family.

Becky Davies on her way to winning the comp

BarLifeUK love judging competitions in Manchester (but not necessarily the way we feel the morning after), because the standard is always first rate.

The Gin Mare Manchester heat, held last week at the Boutique Bar Show, was no exception, and gave us the opportunity to taste some of the best competition drinks we’ve sipped in a while.

Tasked with creating a Dirty Martini twist and an original, Mediterranean-inspired cocktail, the winner of the heat would secure a seat on the plane to Ibiza later in the year.

The Gin Mare villa in Ibiza will host the UK final in order to select one bartender who will go on to represent the UK in the World final held there later in the week.

Susie Wong

Judged by BarLifeUK, CASK Liquid Marketing (UK distributor of Gin Mare) big cheese, Stuart Ekins, and renowned cocktail historian and author, Anistatia Miller, the Manchester heat set the bar very high for the coming UK qualifiers in Leeds, London and Edinburgh.

Aside from the drinks, we were very impressed by the standard of presentation.

None of the competitors were fazed by the noisy conditions of the exhibition competition stage, and everyone had clearly done a lot of homework on the brand.

Charlene Holt

Props go to Manchester’s bartenders who clearly know how to approach a competition… There are  a few Southern ‘tenders who could learn a thing or two from their Northern colleagues in this arena.

The score sheets showed that the judges unanimously scored Becky highest, although we have to say the difference between first place and third was very small.

So we offer huge congratulations to Sandinista’s Becky Davies for a well-deserved first place on her cocktail competition debut.

Honorable mentions also go to Susie Wong who came in second, and Charlene Holt who placed third. It is great to see the region’s top-notch female bartenders leading the way in competitions.

If you would like to enter one of the coming Gin Mare Mediterranean Inspirations heats, click here.

The Drinks

Becky Davies

Original Drink – Salt of the Sea

• 50ml Gin Mare
• 12.5ml Velvet Falernum
• 25ml Lemon juice
• 12.5ml Gomme
• Absinthe sugar drip
• Egg white
• Lemon zest
• Spiced salt

Combine. Dry shake then wet shake. Serve in a martini glass

Dirty Martini Twist – Rose Mare

• 60ml Gin Mare
• 20ml Campari
• 10ml Crème d’Apricot
• Cracked pepper

Susie Wong

Original Drink – Calypso Goddess

• 40ml Gin Mare
• 20ml Ginger Wine
• 10ml Cointreau
• 35ml Orange Juice
• 35ml Sunraysia Carrot Juice

Dirty Martini Twist – Inari

• 50ml Gin Mare
• 20ml Sawanotsuru Sake
• 10ml Dry vermouth
• 15ml Olive brine

Charlene Holt

Original Drink – Sea of Tranquility

• 50ml Gin Mare
• 6-8 Basil leaves
• 1 Stick celery
• 15ml Gomme
• 15ml Freshly squeezed lime juice
• 40ml Eager pressed apple juice
• Dash celery bitters
• Thai fish sauce

Muddle celery with celery bitters, lime and secret ingredient, tear basil leaves and gently bruise, add Gin Mare, gomme and apple juice, shake and strain into chilled vintage glassware and garnish with celery ribbons.

Dirty Martini Twist – Rado Rose

• 60ml Gin Mare
• 20ml Noilly Prat
• 1 Dash celery bitters
• 1 Sprig of rosemary
• 1 Spoon olive brine

Stir all ingredients together, fine strain into a chilled Martini glass, lemon zest (discard) and garnish with rosemary infused olives.

Rachel Ramshall-Smith on her way to winning an honourable mention during the Bristol heat

BarLifeUK have travelled the length and breadth of the UK with the Appleton Estate Bartender Challenge, judging heats, drinking Mai Tais and generally immersing ourselves in the country’s various bar communities.

It’s fair to say that everyone takes this competition seriously; it’s one of the ones that bartenders want to win. The regional heats reflected this, and they were pretty rigorous.

Each competitor had to make three drinks: one Vic’s Mai Tai, one classic rum cocktail pulled at random from a hat, and their own original drink, which was to be presented with a full GP breakdown and justification.

But before they even walked behind the bar, competitors also had to complete a written rum test. The combination of the test and the prospect of making an un-rehearsed cocktail from the hat was pretty hardcore, and it foxed a few individuals. As did knowing the correct specs for a Vic’s Mai Tai… We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again:

If you are going to enter a comp, read the specs and make sure you’ve learned everything you need to learn!

What you can't see is that Jamie has his tongue out and socks off in an effort to add the scores

The regional heats were something of a surprise and quite different to any rum comp we’ve judged before. With the notable exception of Bristol (twin-blender-Miami-Vice-twist action, sun lamps and sand boxes for the judges’ feet) there was very little ‘tiki-madness’.

And again, with the notable exception of East London (8, before we lost count, much to a hungover JJ’s chagrin), there were very few ‘shots for the judges’. Is this a sign that rum is growing up? Who knows, although to be honest, we did miss the madness a little.

However as they say, cream (or Coco Lopez) always rises to the top, and eight finalists won their heats and will be going on to the two-day UK final in June (Details on the final will follow shortly).

The UK Finalists

• London West: Joshua Reynolds, Pollen Street Social
• Bristol: Richard Tring, Milk Thistle
• London / South: Alex Proudfoot, Raoul’s Oxford
• Leeds: Jamie Stephenson, Corridor Manchester
• London East: Stuart Hudson, Hawksmoor & Lee Potter Cavanagh, Hix
• Edinburgh: Murray Drysdale, Rick’s & Kevin Griffin, The Raconteur

The Winning Drinks

Joshua Reynold – Queen’s Estate

• 50ml Appleton VX
• 20ml Dubonnet Rouge
• 15ml Benedictine
• 2 dashes St Elizabeth Allspice Dram

Garnish (Pink Grapefruit Twist, Discarded.) Served – Coupette

Richard Tring – the Bristol Connection

• 50ml Appleton VX
• 15ml Amer picon
• 10ml Cider syrup
• 2 dash Orange bitters

Stir, serve in a coupette glass with a Grapefruit garnish

Alex Proudfoot – The Karstaway

• 60ml Appleton VX
• 25ml Lillet Blanc
• 10ml Orange shrub (home made)
• 1 Dash Angostura bitters

Stir and serve over ice. Garnish with lemon twist and ground coriander seeds

Jamie Stephenson – Dreadlock Holiday

• 60ml Appleton VX
• 25ml Monin banana puree
• 25ml Coconut milk
• 8 Dash Angostura bitters
• 10ml Monin cinnamon syrup
• Dash egg white

Shake all ingredients well and strain into a chilled compete. Garnish with banana slices

Stuart Hudson – Cockpit Cocktail

• 50ml Appleton VX
• 10ml Aperol
• 10ml Cherry Heering
• 5ml Kamm & Sons
• 2 Dash orange bitters

Combine ingredients, throw and strain. Come on, it’s Hudson. What did you expect?

Lee Potter Cavanagh – The Bend Down

• 50ml Appleton 12YO
• 2 dashes chocolate bitters
• 2 Dashes orange bitters
• 10ml Demerara sugar syrup
• 5 Coffee beans

Garnish with a flamed cinnamon quill and orange twist. Serve with a side of Hix Oyster Stout

Murray Drysdale – RumImporter

• 40ml Appleton 8YO
• 15ml Flying Dog Porter reduction (4 parts water to 1 part sugar – reduce)
• 12.5ml PX Sherry
• 5 Drops liquorice bitters
• 5 Drops Angostura bitters

Stir down over block ice. Serve straight up in a coupe with an orange twist

Kevin Griffin – Suppertime with Shakespear

• 40ml Appleton 8YO
• 15ml Licor 43
• 15ml Mantineia Sherry (smoked with pink grapefruit zest and Granny Smith apple smoke)

Stir down over block ice. Serve over balled ice in a teacup, with a side of good quality ginger cake.

The G’Vine Gin Connoisseur Program (GCP) takes place over several different sections each earning you points towards the prize of a trip to Cognac for 5 days with Gaz Regan, Philip Duff and the other finalists.

This could be you in June 2012

The first section is a three part exam online which you have until the 1st May to complete.

The second gives everyone two options. The first is to attend the Preliminaries Rounds being held in London on April 10th at Paramount, Soho, and Edinburgh on April 12th. At these sessions you will get to hear one of Philip Duffs legendary gin talks followed by a gin nosing and tasting challenge. Finally there is a G’Vine Signature Cocktail Challenge blind judged.

BarLifeUK attended last year’s preliminaries round and we highly recommend coming along to one of them if you’re free, however if you can’t make it along G’Vine have your back.

You have the opportunity to make a cartoon using Philip Duffs favourite fun poking internet tool xrtranormal.com Your cartoon must incorporate G’Vine, the French Classics theme and of course be funny – an example is below for you to see. You have until April 30th to get your cartoons in.

The Cognac trip is a storming prize so log onto the G’Vine GCP website now, get yourself registered and hopefully we’ll see you at the preliminaries. If not we look forward to seeing your Xtranormal cartoons.

Bulldog Gin are asking bartenders to invent what they think Bulldog’s signature serve should be. The name of the drink is the Bulldog Gin London Lemonade – the rest is up to you, however we suggest that you keep it simple.

Then from the 16th April through to May 31st you will be judged on sales of the drink through your bar alongside the cocktails taste, presentation and reasons why your serve should win.

The UK’s top 5 will then compete together at the London final in June, with the winner flying to Tales of the Cocktail to be part of the Bulldog Gin experience.

At Tales itself Bulldog will be showcasing the winning serves from all of its major markets including the US, UK and Spain. You will be serving your drink to a select crowd of cocktail and culinary media and trade personalities at the high-end Bulldog London Lemonade Loft at the epicentre of the whole week the Hotel Monteleone.

Nick Worthington the Appleton UK Brand Manager pointed out:
‘This is a fantastic opportunity for a bartender to be involved in one of the biggest events in the bar world’s calendar and to rub shoulders with the good and great from across the world.’

BarLifeUK was lucky enough to go last year and it really is one hell of an experience (as we wrote about here) so all we can say is get involved and give yourself a chance to get on that plane.

If you are interested in getting involved contact your local J.Wray & Nephew Brand Representative or call them on 020 7953 3808.

Launched in 2010 the Mixing Star competition was launched with 650 bartenders from 9 countries competing for the ultimate prize of a being a bartender on the US TV show ‘How I Met Your Mother’.

Get your Bollywood on people

This year the comp is extending the entries to 10 different countries including, of course, the UK. Disaronno are looking for someone to conceive a cocktail that fully personifies the brands versatility and mixability as well as an ability to shine in front of the camera.

The prize itself is a corker with the UK winner flying out to Berlin in July to take on the winners from around the world. Take out the Berlin final and you will be flying to Mumbai, India for a tour of the most famous Bollywood film studios and play the role of ‘star bartender’ in a Bollywood production. On top of all of that you will be featured in an international cocktail guide, ‘Disaronno Hall of Fame 2012’.

To enter this awesome comp head to www.themixingstar.com to register your Disaronno signature cocktail. These cocktails will then be judged by a panel of experts and judged on balance of elements, creativity and originality.

The top cocktails creators will then be invited along to a regional casting, set up to resemble a real casting Bollywood movie set, where you will be expected to prepare your signature cocktail plus a classic Disaronno Sour.

Why the Dickens you are still reading this story is beyond me, get inventing and get entering – how many times in your life do you get the chance to be in a Bollywood production?