By James Atkinson
Bartender Fred Siggins from The Black Pearl in Melbourne has taken out the Bulleit pre-batched cocktail competition, winning a small production run of his very own batch, the ‘Bulleit & Briar’.
Diageo representatives spent a month tasting and judging the 79 Bulleit pre-batched cocktails, awarding points for taste, creativity, unique names and stories, with Fred Siggins’ drink – a unique and delicious Bulleit Bourbon based shrub – leading the way in every category.
Speaking about his winning Bulleit pre-batched cocktail, which was inspired by the summers he spent in the American South, Siggins said:
“When I was living in the South in summer, we would pick blackberries to make blackberry cobbler, a traditional Southern dessert. The blackberry shrub in the ‘Bulleit & Briar’ is made with citrus peel and vanilla infused sugar that reflects the pastry in the cobbler and matches perfectly with rye-driven bourbon like Bulleit. The soda top makes it a long, summer punch. The idea was to bottle a little bit of summer in the South so other people could taste that feeling.”
As well as winning a small production run of ‘Bulleit & Briar’ to be sold exclusively at The Black Pearl, Siggins has also been rewarded with a trip to Bulleit’s heartland, Kentucky; a bourbon trail tour including a distillery visit; and tickets to attend the 2014 Tales of the Cocktail event in New Orleans.
Meanwhile in the off-premise, Bulleit Small Batch American Whiskey is forging new frontiers with its new pre-mix offering, Bulleit Batches.
Launched in September, Bulleit Batches are three bar-quality drinks with names inspired by the brand’s Kentucky roots – The Rambler, Kentucky Buck, and Louisville Lemonade (6% ABV) – and are designed to offer a point of difference on-shelf for American Whiskey drinkers.
I happened to meet Fred on his late July 2014 tour of the George Dickel Distillery. It was a pleasure sharing the experience with him. Cheers!