elit Vodka names Art of Martini London winner

Andrei Pantiru, bar manager at 14 Leicester Square Bar, has been crowned London winner of Stolichnaya-owned elit Vodka’s Art of Martini cocktail competition.

Andrei Pantiru has been named winner of the London leg of elit’s Art of Martini competition

The international city-based competition took place over three months in more than 60 cities around the world.

Bartenders were charged with creating a cocktail that must use elit Ultra Luxury Vodka as the main spirit and be served in a Martini glass. Beyond that, the “sky is the limit”, the brand said.

The London final look place at Oriole Bar, London, with eight competitors battling it out to impress a judging panel which included elit brand ambassador Brent Lamberti, and Mixxit’s David Miles and Teddy Joseph. Other UK cities taking part in the competition include Edinburgh and Leeds.

Pantiru’s winning entry, 39.02°N was inspired by the elit bottle, the liquid inside, and the island of Ibiza, where the competition’s finalists will travel to as part of their prize. The cocktail’s name references the island’s latitude coordinates, the relative angle of the bottle, and the balance of the flavours within the drink

In addition to elit, 39.02°N contains Frigola, a thyme liqueur from Ibiza, pomegranate juice, lemon juice, as a 2:1 thyme-infused honey syrup.

“elit vodka shines through every time you drink it,” said Pantiru, commenting on his win.

“The spirit’s flavour and technique of production is what sets apart this wonderful vodka. The concept behind my serve was to showcase balance and contrast, including shaken and stirred, wet and dry, sweet and sour, soft and strong, longitude and latitude.”

Lamberti added: “Andrei’s presentation and cocktail name were very original. We liked his use of ingredients, inspired by Ibiza, and all that lead to a very thought-provoking cocktail. Andrei also demonstrated a dual serve, showing the cocktail shaken and then stirred, which led to two very different experiences.”

Pantiru will now join the other finalists from each city on a VIP trip to the elit Ultra Luxury Vodka Ibiza Weekend 2016.

“Stoli has always been an innovative vodka brand – we were the first to market with flavours, the first with the super-premium Stolichnaya Gold and the first with the elit Ultra Luxury Vodka,” Lamberti continued.

“It’s this sort of innovation that drives us to be the best vodka brand on the market. Andrei showed the same drive and innovation in his cocktails today which is emblematic of the brand”.

Last week elit Vodka announced it had opened a private club in Ibiza in partnership with collaborator Ushuaïa Ibiza Beach Hotel and the Palladium Hotel Group.