Diageo World Class Prep and a Smoked Ginger and Chilli Syrup- The Cocktail Ponders Pt 12

The Cocktail Ponders of Miss Bella- Rouge pt 12

The Shiuanaba in action

Diageo World Class Regionals are fast approaching! (5 days!) and i thought i would share with you some ideas I've had for the competition. It's by far the biggest competition i have ever entered and I've been revising lots to ensure my performance is as slick as possible.

The competition is heavily promotion based, right from the get go, which is unusual to me. The Judges are looking for you to tell them things they don't even know about the brands so there is a lot of back work to be done before you even start thinking about the cocktails. It's great as i tend to gain better ideas from really understanding the brands and inspiration can come from anything from where the spirit is from, what its made of, or something a little more obscure.

The competition comprises of three rounds, the first where you create your cocktail that first won you a place in the regionals. This cocktail was judged in house by a Diageo rep and scored professionally. My cocktail The Shiuanaba (Shee-you-an-ah-bah) or Siguanaba is a Ron Zacapa based cocktail with a foam to accompany it made in the style of Guatemalan candy. (rather yummy!) Its been flying out of the bar and i can't keep up the demand for the foam at the moment! This round is where you are to articulate your creativity and reasoning behind each element of your drink. Something i really enjoy doing.

The second round is going to be fun! Its the Mystery Box! We are each given unusual ingredients from a mystery box containing 6 ingredients,and we must each make a drink using a Diageo Reserve Brand Spirit with only 4 of these ingredients. Wowzers! I'm thinking as obscure as pickled eggs and marmite.

The last round is Cocktails Against the Clock.
We must each make up to 6 cocktails in 8 minutes. The drinks are our own choice and naturally I've got a couple of tricks up my sleeve!

The round i am most concerned about is this one, i have been practicing but you never know what might happen if you drop a Boston mid way through! I have even tried different stirring techniques where i can use my elbow and my hand to stir two drinks at a time (didn't work very well but a fun idea nevertheless). This is what its all about, creativity, flair and fun!

For three of the drinks for this round i have some fun things i have made.

One of these is a spiced and smoked Angostura and ginger syrup that im going to carbonate and make a Rumbullion Dark and Stormy with. The term 'Rumbullion' means 'riotous good time' and was actually coined by Devonians in the 15th Century. They also used to call Rum 'Kill-Devill' and that's what i've decided to call this cocktail.

The syrup is golden brown and gorgeous, spicy and fragrant. It will go perfectly with the Rumbullion rum (professor Cornelius Ampleforths.. get it at www.masterofmalt.com ) , which it's self is like liquid Christmas! Too yummy for words.

How to make a Spiced and smoked Ginger and Angostura Syrup:

Grate your ginger and lime

add Angostura Bitters

Whack it all in a pan of water and sugar

Cover with foil and smoke!

200g of Granulated sugar

200g of Demerera sugar

3.5 Pints boiling water

Set on a high heat and bring the water and sugar to the boil until the sugar has all dissolved.

Juice one lime and the zest of another 2. Place into a bowl and leave to one side.

Finely Grate up to 100g of fresh ginger (peeled) add this to the bowl with the lime.

Chop one chilli (whatever your spice preference be) with seeds and add to the bowl.

Add 20 dashes of Angostura Bitters to the sugar and water, then add the chili ginger and lime mix.

Leave this on a rolling boil for 5 minutes and let the solution reduce a little.

Cover the saucepan with foil and place a small hole in one side.

Using a smoking gun (I used Applewood Chips) smoke the liquid whilst on a rolling boil and leave covered for two minutes.
Remove the foil and leave to simmer for 20 minutes to reduce to a gooey sticky syrup.

Strain with a fine sieve and leave to cool. If you don't have a smoking gun to hand then its simple to make your own, and pretty cheap too. It can be used over and over for various drinks and dishes too. Kevin Liu in his book 'Craft Cocktails at Home' shows you how to make one for a really good price. Check it out... and check him out on twitter @kevinkliu

This can then be added to soda, tonic or even water to create a scrummy tipple that bites the tongue with simple chili heat and is sweet and fragrant too.

I'm going to put this in a soda syphon with fresh water and giving it life! Try it at home it's so easy.

Its a great thing to bottle and keep too, it will last refrigerated for up to 6 months and can be used in cooking as well as drinks.. try it on ribs or chicken thighs.

Ill keep you posted on the competition status...wish me luck!

Toodles BR x