By Rebecca Harris
The Melbourne bartending community is continuing to show it is at the top of the game, after placing first and second in the 2009 Suntory Cup cocktail competition on Monday night (Oct 12).
A packed-out crowd at The Argyle in Sydney witnessed 1806 bar’s Merlin Jerebine taking out first place, while Shane Cowell from The Canary Club came second.
Last year’s competition was also won by a Melbourne bartender, Misty Hoeta, then at Golden Monkey bar.
Jerebine has won a European bar and distillery tour, along with $1,000 spending money.
Now in its 21st year, the Suntory Cup attracts hundreds of entries from bartenders across the county. Bartenders must submit a cocktail recipe containing no more than five ingredients.
This year, more than 500 entries were received, with the final six being selected to compete in Monday’s final. The finalist’s creations were then blind-tasted to select the winning drinks.
To celebrate 21 years, this year’s final was themed in 1980s-syle, with the crowd sporting mullets, fluro head-bands and velour track-suits.