Swizzle Masters Vodka Collins winner revealed
The most recent Wenneker Swizzle Masters round challenged bartenders to recreate the classic Tom Collins recipe with a contemporary twist, replacing the base spirit with Stolichnaya Vodka.
The “delicious” winning cocktail featured cucumber, strawberries, pink grapefruit juice and ChampagneRecreated at Home House in central London, each entry was required to carefully match the spirit with citrus, a sweetener, and at least a dash of Wenneker Liqueurs, and none did this better than “well balanced” cocktail TET Calling, by Huy Trinh Quan.
The “delicious” palate-refresher featured cucumber, strawberries, pink grapefruit juice and Champagne, a combination rated highly by our panel, which consisted of Diego Boschetti and Simone Sanita, assistant manager and bar supervisor of Home House; Kerri McGuinness and Sophie Bratt, assistant bar manager of OXO Tower, Harvey Nichols; Stoli Group global marketing manager Ilse Wolfe; PR consultant for Domino Communications Lucy Francis; and Daisy Jones, associate publisher and events director of The Spirits Business.
Summing up the day, Wolfe said: “The ingredients reflected the different cultures and trends of the entrant’s home countries, and their interpretations complemented Stoli from different angles.”
Attracting second place was Cordula Langer’s tarragon-infused Springtime Collins, and third was Spring-Blues Collins, by Serban Paul.
Quan’s recipe will now go through to the semi-final in October, when the winning drinks from throughout the year will be recreated once more and judged against each other.
Five drinks will then be chosen to go through to the grand final in November, and the bartender behind the winning recipe will be crowned Swizzle Master 2015 and win £1,000.
The next Wenneker Swizzle Masters round is Cognac Old Fashioned, and recipes must stick to H. Mounier Cognac paired with bitters, a sweetening ingredient and garnish. Bartenders have until 19 April to submit their recipes online at www.swizzlemasters.com.
Click through to the following page to see the winning recipes.
1st: Tet Calling By Huy Trinh Quan
Ingredients: 40ml Stolichnaya Vodka, 30ml Wenneker Melon, 20ml pink grapefruit juice, 10ml lemongrass syrup, 20ml Champagne, 5 small strawberries, 2 slices of cucumber
Method: Muddle strawberries and cucumber and add the remaining ingredients. Shake with ice and strain into Collins glass pre-filled with ice cubes. Top with Champagne.
2nd: Springtime Collins By Cordula Langer
Ingredients: 40ml Stolichnaya Vodka, 20ml Wenneker Watermelon, 22ml fresh lemon juice, 40ml soda water, 7g fresh tarragon, watermelon balls
Method: Add vodka and tarragon to a shaker, muddle and shake for five seconds on ice. Double strain into non-chilled glass. Add Wenneker liqueur and lemon juice. Fill with ice and stir 10 times with bar spoon. Add ice and top with soda water. Add watermelon balls into glass and stir twice.
3rd: Spring-Blues Collins By Serban Paul
Ingredients: 40ml Stolichnaya Vodka, 20ml Wenneker Ginger, 20ml cardamom-flavoured honey syrup, 20ml sour mix (one part fresh lemon, one part fresh lime, one part red grapefruit juice), soda to top
Method: Add vodka, liqueur, sour mix and honey syrup to shaker and fill with ice cubes. Shake then strain into serving glass over cubed ice mixed with quartered citrus. Top with soda.
