The Northern Quarter
Goes Cocktail Crazy
The Leeds Guide
13 : 12 : 2006
A night of vodka, flambé and hotpants ensued when we put four of Leeds’ top bartenders in the spotlight
With Leeds’ Northern Quarter now home to several of the city’s coolest and most popular bars, it seemed only right to celebrate the talent and flair of the bartenders who work while we play. So, in association with three of the area’s leading bars and Sputnik vodka, Leeds Guide hosted a special Cocktail Contest at Lounge. It took place on the last day of November in the bar’s leafy conservatory. While the contestants were adamant that this was a relaxed and laid-back affair, it undoubtedly brought out their competitive streak. They may all be mates but behind the polite smiles and sporting gestures there was a healthy rivalry and a deter-mination to win.
Dave Riley of Lounge had the unen-viable task of going first and, despite home advantage, was understandably anxious about performing in front of the judges. But he coped well under pres-sure. “It was tough,” he told me. “I was very nervous but the atmosphere out there was great, I enjoyed the buzz!” His cocktail, spontaneously christened the ‘Russian Apricot’, combined dried apricot, raisins, sultanas and grapes, all muddled together and shaken with a generous splash of vodka, then strained into a Martini glass.
Bitter and refreshing, it scored well for its strength of flavour but, accord-ing to one judge, lost a point on pres-entation. Still, it notched up a highly respectable 28 marks out of a potential 40.
Next onstage was Mojo’s Rob Worsley. His ‘Satellite of Love’ deployed cucumber, lemongrass, two shots of vodka, grapefruit bitters, lemon juice, a gloop of honey and pressed apple and ginger juice. Crafted with great expertise, the drink was also beauti-fully presented, looking fantastic in an elegant, curvaceous cocktail glass. It smelt fresh, too. According to some of the immaculately groomed girls in the front row, the wafts of cucumber were reminiscent of make up remover. Fortunately, it didn’t taste of cosmet-ics. Subtle and well balanced, the drink tickled the judges’ taste buds and reg-istered one perfect 10 — a notable achievement given that its creator had not slept in 48 hours. The other judges were almost as impressed, giving this cocktail a total of 37 out of 40.
Third in line was Reform’s Assistant Manager, Kev Westerman. His ‘Van Gogh Mary’ was, if you will, a kind of cooktail. “I love Bloody Marys but I hate tomato juice,” announced Kev. “That’s why I prefer to use fresh tomatoes!” He then proceeded to flambé a mix-ture of cherry tomatoes, basil, celery and apple, doused in absinthe. It was a bold move but Kev had the confidence to pull it off and, in so doing, wow the audience. The vegetable juice was shaken with vodka and a blend of other ingredients, then served in a stylishly shallow, flat-bottomed, cocktail glass. The absinthe had given the drink a big aniseed tang, but it tasted great — an adventurous, striking and original cock-tail. It fell just short of the target Rob had set, scoring 36 out of 40.
The night’s fourth and final con-testant was Andy Balsillie, also from Lounge. Arriving back from holiday just a few days ago, he wasn’t left with much time to devise a recipe. But he knew he wanted to make something wintry that conjured up the tastes of Christmas. He there-fore based his new invention, ‘Once A Clementine’, around two seasonal fruits. Redcurrants were muddled with every segment of a clementine, and the mix was added to a glass of honey and vodka.; Andy then poured in a dose of Grand Marnier and strained the blend into a slender glass. It went down very
well with the panel of judges and was so tasty that the competition would have to be extended — it matched Rob’s total, scoring 37 too.
Well prepared for such an eventual-ity, the judges explained the rules for the tie-breaker (‘sudden death’ sound-ing a tad extreme). In this final round, the two remaining competitors would mix one new cocktail each and set them before the panel for comparison — there would be no score cards, just a final verdict.
Rob’s ‘Double Or Nothing’ (honey, lemon, vodka, raspberry puree, black pepper, bitters, mint, ginger ale) squared up against Andy’s ‘Russian Roulette’ (vodka, tequila, Clementine, raspberry puree, lime juice). Who would prevail? Rob had come sec-ond in two previous cocktail competi-tions — would he now go one better? Or would Andy earn bragging rights over his amicable adversaries? It was a tough call. One judge proclaimed Rob’s ‘Double Or Nothing’ the best cocktail of the night. But the other three all sided with Andy’s ‘Russian Roulette’ and declared it a worthy winner.
The victory photos with the scantily clad Sputnik princesses followed and Andy received his prize of a top-of-the-range mixology kit in a heavyweight steel briefcase. For a barman, this is perhaps the first prize equivalent of a busman’s holiday — but it did come with a few bottles of vodka and bar-men, after fixing drinks for us, are not averse to a wee dram themselves.
Andy certainly seemed a happy man. “I knew I was up against it with Rob at the end there. He’s a top bartender. It was terrific fun and light-hearted, but, all the same, I did enjoy pitting myself against him!”
Congratulations, Andy. Tonight was proof that when this man pours, he reigns.
Tom Law |
