The national finalists in the 2017 Patrón Perfectionists Cocktail Competition have been revealed, with the six bartenders coming out on top at their respective regional finals.
Last week, bartenders Lloyd Smith from Clarences in Perth and David Robinson from Hot Tamale in Darwin were crowned the last national finalists at the Western Australian finals.
They joined Joseph Chisholm from Seymour’s Cocktails and Oysters along with Giovanni Moschen from Victoria’s Caffé e Cucina, who were announced as winners at the Patrón Perfectionist regional finals held in Brisbane, as well as Harry Saunders from Lobo Plantation in NSW and Holly Ingram from Molly in the ACT.
Lloyd’s cocktail ‘Earth + Smoke’ and David’s ‘The Last Frontier’ impressed the expert panel of judges, which included SouthTrade Sales Manager Jimmy Houston, James Connolly of Long Chim and journalist Laura Moseley.
In Queensland, Joseph stunned judges with his incredible service and the quirky moreish flavour of his ‘The Humble Bee’ cocktail, while Giovanni’s ‘The Calabaza en Tacha’ had a pleasantly surprising flavour inspired by pumpkin gnocchi from his heritage and impressed judges with its vibrant colour and strong presentation.
In Sydney, Harry won over the judges with his infallibly presented cocktail ‘Imperial Essence’, while Holly impressed with her ‘Pollen and Funk’ which was applauded for its smooth and strong flavour notes.
“Both Harry and Holly’s cocktails superbly elevated the tequila to the forefront of the cocktail,” commented Patrón Brand Manager in Australia, Laura Thompson.
“The mix of flavours used complemented the notes of the Patrón Tequila instead of overwhelming them, which is hard to do.”
Lloyd Smith, David Robinson, Joseph Chisholm, Giovanni Moschen, Harry Saunders and Holly Ingram will soon compete at the Australian finals in Melbourne in October, potentially joining the 17 international finalists in pursuit of winning the global title at the Global Finals in Mexico in 2018 – following in the footsteps of previous global winner, Mike McGinty of Edinburgh’s Voyage of Buck.