Snow Queen Martini Masters 2015 crowns winner

Elon Soddu, of The Blue Bar at The Berkeley Hotel in London, has been crowned winner of the Snow Queen Martini Masters 2015 competition following a close final round.

Alassandro Palazzi congratulates Elon Soddu on becoming Snow Queen Martini Master 2015

Up against an overwhelming number of entries, Soddu impressed a panel of expert judges during the competition, which was yesterday (27 October) at The Club at The Ivy in London.

The event, now in its third year, tasks bartenders with creating an innovative Martini cocktail that showcases the flavour profile organic wheat-based vodka Snow Queen and also communicates its brand story.

In the final round, eight bartenders went head-to-head to present their serves.

Soddu created a cocktail titled The Royal Lady that pays homage to the iconic Snow Queen herself, containing Snow Queen Vodka, St Germain liqueur, Lagavulin 16 Year Old and Peychaud’s Bitters.

Judges praised Soddu for his “amazing presentation skills” and “excellent finish”, awarding him a place in the final three of the competition. He was then joined by Manachain Monaghan, of Monk Buxton in Derbyshire, and Craig Moffat, of The Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire.

In only eight minutes, the bartenders were tasked with creating an innovative Snow Queen Martini cocktail using ingredients from a “mystery box”.

Soddu impressed with his mix of lemon juice, egg white, sugar, balsamic vinegar, fresh basil and Snow Queen Vodka and was crowned overall winner of the competition.

In addition to a UK brand ambassadorial role with Snow Queen, Soddu will be taken on a three-night trip to Lapland in Sweden, where he will stay in Lapland’s famous Ice Hotel as part of his prize.

He said: “This has been an amazing experience. The Snow Queen Martini Masters is my very first cocktail competition and I didn’t expect to win at all. All of the other bartenders were brilliant and I think we presented some really interesting cocktails.

“I spent a lot of time researching the brand online because I wanted to present a cocktail that offered something a bit different.”

In addition to myself, the judging panel consisted of: revered bartender Alassandro Palazzi, of Dukes Hotel; David Marsland, founder of Drinks Enthusiast; Chris Edwards, founder of The Shrub & Shutter; and Martin Siska, bar manager at Dry Martini.

“There was a great standard of entries at this year’s competition,” said Edwards. “Next time I would like to see a little more theatre, and perhaps some food pairing, but there were some excellent twists on the classic vodka Martini.

“Elon stood out because he put on a good show and interacted with his audience. His first drink was simple, but beautifully done and his second drink demonstrated an excellent use of ingredients.

For the full story on the Snow Queen Martini Masters 2015 competition, see the December 2015 issue of The Spirits Business.