By Annette Shailer
On their inaugural visit to Australia, Lord and Lady Hendrick’s spread the word of Hendrick’s Gin and acquainted themselves with bartenders in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.
Throughout June, Lord and Lady Hendrick’s visited more than 77 bars, meeting around 90 bartenders along the east coast. Each bar was judged on their presentation and mixology skills of a Hendrick’s and tonic as well as their brand knowledge.
The top scoring bar in each state won a sunrise hot air balloon experience for six people.
The prizewinning purveyors of the peculiar, otherwise known as Hendrick’s Gin, were Zeta Bar, Gin Palace, X&Y Bar and Libertine.
Neilsen Braid, Brett Clarke, Manuel Prior and Dorron Whaite from Zeta Bar in Sydney received a perfect score for their Hendrick’s and tonic. To impress Lord and Lady Hendrick’s they also created a Hendrick’s sorbet, served cucumber sushi and concocted a 72 Heraduka Lane cocktail topped with wasabi foam.
Rebecca Steenholdt, Nick Harris and Jimmy Whittington from Gin Palace in Melbourne received top marks with their Hendrick’s and tonic presented in a glass with rose water ice cubes and was covered with curls of cucumber.
Two Brisbane bars presented faultless Hendrick’s and tonics and were awarded a joint first position. Alex Boon, Gerald Faundez and Kathryn McLay from X&Y Bar, served their Hendrick’s and tonic in an ornate jam jar, topped with elderflower and rose foam.
Lucy George, Czahn Armstrong, Steven Lusher and Joy Redmond from Libertine scored 15 out of 15 for their Hendrick’s and tonic. Lucy impressed Lady Hendrick’s by creating a special cocktail on request, which combined Hendrick’s with a white chocolate liqueur.
Roman Vargha, Hendrick’s brand manager at Suntory said that the purpose of the on-premise visits was to engage with Australian bartenders and reinforce the unusual character of Hendrick’s Gin through Lord and Lady Hendrick’s.
“Everyone’s creativity, passion and pride for Hendrick’s Gin was impressive and we congratulate them for their effort and enthusiasm,” he said.
To read about the individual bar visits, click here.