The Snow Queen Martini Masters 2014: Photos
Held in The Club at The Ivy in London, the first bartender to take up his place behind the bar was Chris Edwards of London’s Salts of the Earth, whose WW1 inspired cocktail, The Queen and the Soldier, was accompanied with a lively presentation, complete with toy “bangers” for dramatic effect.
Next in the hot seat was Adam Day of The Violet Hour in Manchester whose drink Himalayan Tea Time was presented in a beautiful vintage tea set.
Sotirios Sakkas of Gordon Ramsay’s York and Albany came equipped with his own homemade strawberry-raspberry jam with brandy to produce his cocktail Queen’s Way, garnished with a mix of poppy seeds, fresh ground pepper and sprayed with rose water.
Robb Collins from Meat Liquor in London pulled out all the stops using a lily flower ice ball, instant snow and dry ice effect which he teamed with a perfectly balanced recipe to secure first place in the competition with his cocktail, Queen of the Night.
Fabio Immovilli of the Met Bar at The Metropolitan in London incorporated Chinese herbal remedies and Alice in Wonderland into his design as he created The Beauty Queen.
Stefano Angelotti of Bentley’s Oyster Bar and Grill in London opted for simple elegance when it came to designing his drink, Spring in Bloom.
It’s not every day you’re presented with a cocktail served with passion fruit caviar with jasmine pearls, but that was what Matteo Corsalini of China Tang at The Dorchester presented to our intrigued panel of judges with his creation, Her Majesty.
Elliot Ball of Steam & Rye took the panel on a journey with his cocktail The Warmth Within, an aptly thought out testament to the love story of Gerda and Kai in the Hans Christian Andersen’s fable, The Snow Queen.
Tim Ward of Popolo in Newcastle certainly pushed the boundaries of the competition with his use of Snow Queen vodka infused with oyster to create his drink Queen of Issyk, accompanied by an oyster shell containing edible pearls.
Aloe vera played a focal part in Jeremy Pascal of Perkin Reveller Restaurant and Cocktail Bar’s aromatic creation, the Queen of Riders Land.
Last up on the day was Sam Baxendale of Monteiths in Edinburgh, who despite the long wait remained calm and collected as he recreated his cocktail, Snow Dragon Martini, in true keeping of a traditional Martini.
Once our judges had deliberated the final four contenders, our bartenders found themselves up against the clock for a mystery box speed round, with just 10 minutes to look at the ingredients and then a further five to create their final Martini.
Having impressed in both rounds, Meat Liquor’s Robb Collins was voted the overall winner of the Snow Queen Martini Masters 2014 and scooped the grand prize of £2,000.
