The Cocktail Ponders of Miss Bella Rouge Pt 11- Cocktail Competitions
The Cocktail Ponders of Miss Bella Rouge
Pt 11
Firstly i'm pretty angry with myself for not posting for 4 months now! Its hard to keep up with work at the bar and home time where i can sit in peace with a strong Gin and write my blog....
Cocktail Competition news!
Over the past few months i've really been encouraging my team to enter as many cocktail competitions as possible. Its easy to miss them and often you have to do some research before you even find out when they are happening...which in my eyes is totally wrong. Id like to see more brands engaging personally with the trade more. On this note at Circo we have made a few steps to get Bath involved in the bigger cocktail scene and attempt to put Bath firmly on the cocktail map.
I have recently set up a facebook page for Bath Bartenders, (https://www.facebook.com/groups/215294961977275/) a place for the on and off trade to find out competition information and keep up to date with trends and jobs in the area. It working pretty well so far and its a great platform to get people involved in friendly (and some serious) competitions in the area.
Grant Spicer at Circo has initiated plans to start a Bath Bartending league. Starting in January 2014 we have enrolled different brands to 'sponsor' each months competition. The brands donate 1 bottle to the winner, and 1 bottle to go into a prize pot for the overall winner at the end of the year...needless to say all the slots have already been filled with companies such as Eau De Vie, Brown Forman and Diageo. The winning bartenders receive points for their bar and the final competition will be in December next year. Rather excited to get the bigger brands involved, get some quality staff training, and hang out making drinks with the great bartending folk of Bath!
October saw The Great Bath Feast, a whole week of food and drink related events and merriment in lots of locations over the city. Chris and Christian and Independent Spirit of Bath organised the Great Bath Feast Cocktail Competition as a finale to the whole week's' events. Cellar Trends sponsored the event which was held in the specially built marquee outside the Roman Baths and the Pump Rooms. I was excited about this competition as it gave the people of Bath an insight into the hard work and skill that the great Bartenders of Bath have to offer. The specification was based on Bath Heritage, and what the Great Bath Feast meant to you. The cocktail had to include Chase Rhubarb Vodka ( i was rather happy about this!) Its such a fantastic spirit, triple distilled with Rhubarb Compote! I was so happy to win the competition and my prizes were a bottle of Chase Rhubarb Vodka, Chase Smoked Vodka (limited edition) a bottle of Williams Chase Elegant Gin and a trip to the distillery with two friends..and cocktail bragging rights in Bath too!
My Cocktail:
The Assembly
I wanted the drink to reflect the coming together of culture and ingredients that we had seen throughout the week with Chefs from all over the country using interesting and unusual ingredients to cook up a storm for the crowds.
50ml Chase Rhubarb
2 drops home-made Grapefruit and Pink Peppercorn bitters
1 whole Limequat
10ml Sugar Syrup
10ml Rhubarb and Ginger compote oil. (made with a home-made reduction of ginger and rhubarb and vegetable oil.
1 egg white
Rimmed Lemon Sherbet Coupette with a limequat wheel.
Alongside the Cocktail i decided to make some simple canapes, it was the Great Bath FEAST after all!
The canapes:
Rhubarb and Ginger Compote Jellies topped with icing sugar and Limequat
Compote and home made custard tarts with grated almonds.
This cocktail was light and had a creamy mouthfeel made with the oil and the egg, the sherbert rim was morish and zingy! With all of this in mind i also put on some music to accompany my style of mixology (i'm a little eccentric and slightly extrovert if you hadn't gathered already!) I believe i put on a cracking show for the audience and the cocktail wasn't half bad either! I was so happy to be able to go back to my team and tell them all about it, i was determined to win the competition and the entrants were not easy to beat!
Other competitions in the past few months around our area have been the Remy Martin Competition that Bartender at Circo Callum Siddons won! His first ever competition saw the Circo team at Haus bar in Bristol with Callum winning three very special bottles of Remy. His cocktail was The Cornish Fling...a Remy and Raspberry concoction served with his own mother's home made scones with jam and cream. The judges wanted a 'disruptive' cocktail and this certainly was. It was so interesting to see how the spec for competitions is deconstructed and the entrants drinks were all very different. Nice to have a win in Bristol and to show the bars over there what we are made of!
Last month saw the Nikka Whisky Comp at The McDonald Bath Spa Hotel with a few guys from Circo Entering. Scott McCabe from Circo won with a cocktail called The Ashleigh Rose. A sweet elderflower and whisky drink with prosecco! Gorgeous! It was a tough day with two rounds to the competition hosted by Eau De Vie and Scott pulled it out of the bag!
Go team!
I have decided to enter a very special competition this year....
Diageo World Class! http://www.diageo.com/en-row/Pages/default.aspx
I think i am ready to try out for the big guns! You have to be in it to win it right?
Diageo World Class is a world wide competition that sees bartenders all over the world battle it out for the chance to win Best Bartender in the world! There are numerous rounds to the competition and last week i was judged on the first stage.
My cocktail:
The Shiuanaba
Based on traditional Guatemalan folklore this cocktail is based on the tale of The Shiuanaba, a shapeshifting spirit seen bathing naked in dark waters. The Shiuanaba is a temptress, a seemingly beautiful woman from behind who lures unfaithful men to her side, only to turn and reveal a ghostly face of a skull or horse.
This tale has been told for centuries in Guatemala to young men, steering them on a path of loyalty and faithfulness. Alongside Guatemalan culture this gave me a basis to work around.
The cocktail comprises of a Ron Zacapa and Acacia honeycomb Old Fashioned. Stirred with a globe ice ball till gently diluted. The main drink is then paired with a sumptuous foam based on Guatemalan Candy. Using Almonds, Vostizza Currants, Prunes, Cassia Bark, Ron Zacapa and Acacia Honeycomb. I then steeps this mix for 5 days till it is then smoked with Meadowsweet and Hiccory wood chips to produce a sweet, Christmas-like maceration.
This then has water added to it, blended, strained and mixed with molecular agents (Maltodextrin) and charged in a Syphon to produce a creamy and sweet blend of fruit, Spices,nut and Rum. Served with flamed orange oils and Bay Leaves.
Support me and my cocktail Quest....Like and Share on facebook and ill keep you up to date with whats going on https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Shiuanaba-Isabella-Newmans-Diageo-World-Class-2014-entry/218741411639459?id=218741411639459&sk=info
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Twitter @bellanewman1 @Circobarbath
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| Ron Zacapa Limitada! Gorgeous..only 400 bottles for the uk! |
Catch up with last years competiton at http://www.foodnetwork.co.uk/article/world-class-bartender-of-the-year.html
During Bristol Cocktail week i fortunately had a day off when Colin Dunn from Diageo was hosting a whisky tasting at The Milk Thistle. Colin in an enigmatic and enthusiastic Whisky Guru who i admire not only for his wealth of knowledge but the way he can hold a room. He kept 25 of us in a room for 5 hours drinking the most fantastic whisky...and no one was drunk...incredible!
We tried some fabulously rare whiskies including my favorite a Port Dundas 20yo that resembled a hearty rum like spirit. Just to die for! After my extensive day of research i took my knowledge back to circo where we then held a Rare Whisky Tasting for the public. It was so exciting to see peoples faces trying these exquisite spirits. Other whiskies included Ardbog, Glengrant 50th Edition, Octomore (Peatiest whisky in the world) and many others.
I decided to base my drink around the first time i ever met Colin, at Imbibe Live in London where he was judging the Bartenders v Sommeliers competition. He was sat infront of me during the Johnnie Walker Blue Blazer round and he gave me an 80 year old bottle of Talisker to try! How could a girl refuse!
My drink consisted of Makers Mark, Port Dundas 20yo, Honey and Byrrh with a thyme sprig. I used two teacups to blaze the mixture from one cup to the other whilst it was aerating. Gorgeous Simple and scrummy. I came third in the Comp and won myself a bottle of Johnnie Walker Gold! Fabulous.
All in all ive come to realise just how important cocktail competitions are in the industry, not only does it give the brand the opportunity to connect with the people who are selling their product, but it gives you a real sense of comradery, achievement and team playing. The guys at Circo are so enthusiastic about learning what they can about the industry and different products and its so great to be a part of it. As a manager i'm forever trying to encourage and expand the knowledge of my team and nothing is better to me than one of them coming to me all excited to tell me something new....awesome.
Thats it for now folks...thanks for reading. Toodles. BR xXx
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