Do you have what it takes to compete in Australia’s premier bartending challenge? Well now you can take last year’s test to see if you have what it takes to compete in the Bartender Magazine Bartender of the Year Competition sponsored by Ketel One in 2012.

Use this test below to help with your revision - we won’t offer the answers (you’ll have to research those yourselves) and there will be completely different questions in this year’s exam based on content from the past 12 months of Bartender magazine.  This will give you a good idea of the format for this year’s paper and what level of study you’ll need to put in.

REALLY IMPORTANT - If you haven’t entered the Bartender of the Year Competition yet make sure you email your mobile number, postal address, venue and name to simonmcgoram@fullproof.com.au before midnight May 27.

TAKE THE TEST

Fancy adding this delicious bottle of Mount Gay Extra Old rum to your liquor cabinet? Well simply jump onto the Australian Bartender magazine Facebook page, like it and enter in your favourite way to enjoy Mount Gay Extra Old in 25 words or less, including the name of your venue.

Entry limited to trade only. Winner will be announced on  Australian Bartender magazine’s Facebook page by April 19.

Australia’s leg of the global Angostura Cocktail Challenge is well under way thanks to a bumper turn out at the New South Wales state final on Monday night. Held at Sydney’s shrine to rum - La Bodeguita Del Medio - it was Rockpool Bar & Grill’s Neilsen Braid who proved he can stomach his bitters with the best of them by shrugging off the other competitors to take out the state title.

The finalists were asked to prepare two creative drinks, enhancing an Australian classic - the Angostura lemon, lime & bitters and the second based on enhancing the flavours found in Angostura Rum and Aromatic Bitters, within a six minute window.

The first off five state finals, Monday night’s victory brings Braid one step closer to winning a trip to Trinidad to take on the world.  Before Australia’s representative can be decided, however, victors from the state finals will meet in a final clash of cocktailian creativity set for October 24.

You can catch the action at the Victorian state final this coming Monday (August 29) at Melbourne’s Byblos Bar & Restaurant from 7pm.

The Deets:

Vic State Finalists:

Owen Westman (The Collection Bar)

Kyle Aitken (Byblos Bar & Restaurant)

Nathan Beasley (Black Pearl)

Brad Cooke (Chin Chin)

Merlin Jerebine (Melbourne Bars United)

Eddie Lai (Velvet Bar)

Jason Lindsay (Vue De Monde)

Shelby Richardson (Star Bar, Tasmaina)

Venue: Byblos Bar & Restaurant, World Trade Centre, Melbourne

Date: August 29, 2011

Time: 7pm until late

RSVP: to receive your complimentary cocktail and gift on arrival. Contact either Brit or Steven on bpage@island2island.com.au or scipriani@island2island.com.au

Creating bespoke cocktail ingredients for your bar

By Simon McGoram

Photography by Steve Brown

Presented by Sam Bygrave

Some bars go to extraordinary lengths to craft the perfect cocktail. Sometimes it will be by using hand-chipped ice in frozen glassware like at Sydney’s Duke Bar & Bistro. Others will hand craft their own bespoke bitters or perfectly control the dilution of their Martinis by chilling them in liquid nitrogen ‘baths’ like the good folks at Brisbane’s Canvas. For others though, like Sydney’s Sam Bygrave, making your own vermouth is a grand way to add a little something special to your next mixological masterpiece.

Sam has kindly shared his recipe for a rosso vermouth. He has also shared with us his thoughts on bespoke vermouth and its application in your bar.

SM: Why would a bar want to make its own vermouth?

SB: “Making your own vermouth, you get a wonderful freshness to the herbs and spices that leaps out of cocktails. It also opens up countless possibilities for experimenting with different flavours in classic cocktails.”

SM: Have you had customers ask to drink this vermouth on its own?

SB: “I used to offer a tasting flight [at Neutral Bay's Garden Brasserie] that was popular with the punters. It’s something a bit unusual, and they’re great aperitif drinks, but the hard part is countering most people’s perception that vermouth is something that should be thrown out of your drink! I’ve found that they like to try the more inventive vermouths as a curio, and it changes the way customers think about vermouth.”

SM: What are some of the other styles of vermouth you’ve made and worked with?

SB: “My favourite is an ‘Islay vermouth’. I used it for a ‘Martinez on the Seashore’, and it had great aromas of smoke and iodine, citrus notes, good acidity, and a subdued herb background to it. I’ve also experimented with a sake vermouth, using sake, shochu, green tea, and jasmine along with wormwood and other herbs.”

SM: What are some great cocktails to use with this recipe?

SB: “A brilliant way is in a simple duo of vermouth and gin, chilled on ice. This rosso works great in a perfect Manhattan, your Negronis, and the Bronx. But remember to taste and adjust the proportions, because your own vermouth won’t behave like the commercial brands.”

SM: If you can’t make your own what brands would you go for?

SB: “Dolin vermouths are great - particularly the dry. It deserves to be drunk by itself. Lillet is fantastic, and other wine-based aperitifs like Dubonnet.”

“Hard part is countering most people’s perception that vermouth is something that should be thrown out of your drink!” - Sam Bygrave

Ingredients:

1.      750ml Red Wine (a youthful, cheap wine low in tannins works best)
2.      175ml Pedro Ximenez
3.      0.5g wormwood
4.      0.5g orris root
5.      0.5g oregano
6.      1g vanilla
7.      2g dried mandarin peel
8.      0.2g sage
9.      0.2g thyme
10.  0.2g bay leaf
11.  0.2g liquorice root
12.  0.5g dried black lime
13.  2g rosehip and hibiscus tisane (found in the supermarket)
14.  0.5g caraway seeds
15.  0.5g juniper
16.  0.9g cinnamon
17.  150g sugar
18.  50ml apple brandy
19.  250ml Floc de Gascogne
20.  1/8 zest of lemon

Notes on ingredients:

• Wormwood and orris root can be purchased online at herbcottage.com.au.
• Herbie’s Spices (herbies.com.au) have both retail and online stores.
• Mandarin peel can be purchased at good Asian grocers or you can make it yourself by drying it in an oven on a low heat for a couple of hours.
• Floc De Gascogne is a regional apéritif from the Côtes de Gascogne and Armagnac regions of Sud-Ouest wine region of France. It is available through Cerabco.
• With these small quantities a micro-scale is essential.

Handy Vermouth Cocktails

Hanky Panky Cocktail

Stir down and serve up. Garnish with an orange twist.

Ada ‘Coley’ Coleman, The Savoy Hotel, London, circa 1920s

Martinez

Stir down and serve up. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Adapted from Jerry Thomas’s Bar-Tenders Guide, 1887

The Liberal

Stir down and serve up. Garnish with a cocktail cherry.

Adapted from Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails (Deluxe Edition) by Ted Haigh

Suntory Australia has recently taken over the Bitter Truth range of bespoke cocktail bitters. The range includes, Orange Bitters, Old Time Aromatic Bitters, Lemon Bitters, Creole Bitters, the Jerry Thomas’ Own Decanter Bitters and the Celery Bitters (which took away “Best New Product” at Tales of the Cocktail New Orleans 2010). With the ever growing category of cocktail bitters proving to be a great boost to the cocktail bars of Australia, the Bitter Truth range of bitters will be a sensational edition to your cocktails and product range, so take a look at what’s available.

For further information about this product contact Suntory Australia on 02 9663 1877

Cocktails shot at The White Hart, Neutral Bay, Sydney

Photography by Rob Palmer

La Rosa de la Familia

50ml Reposado Tequila
15ml Aperol
20ml blood orange juice
5ml Agave nectar (1:1)
Rose foam*

Add first four ingredients into a shaker. Shake and double strain into a coupette. Garnish with a layer of rose foam sprinkled with dehydrated edible roses.

*Rose foam - add 15ml Chandon Rosé sparkling wine, 10ml Monin rose syrup, 20ml egg white into a shaker and dry shake with Hawthorne strainer spring.

Quyhn Nguyen, White Hart, Sydney

The Orange Agave

35ml Blanco Tequila
10ml Antica Formula vermouth
10ml Lillet Blanc
10ml Aperol
10ml Agave nectar (1:1)
2 dashes of orange bitters

Stir down and served up in a coupette. Garnish with a lemon peel.

Enrico Gaddoni, The Galley Room, Melbourne

The White Hart Margarita

45ml Blanco Tequila
20ml Agave nectar (1:1)
20ml Lime Juice
10ml Ginger juice

Shake and strain into a chilled coupette. Serve on a platter with a sea salt air, lime wedges and ginger crisps.

The White Hart, Sydney

Lagerita

25ml Anejo Tequila
20ml Agave nectar (1:1)
4-5 Lime wedges
Zamkowe Polish lager to top
Butter salt

Squeeze in lime wedges and build in a tankard over hand-chipped ice. Sprinkle a little butter slat on top.

The White Hart, Sydney

Pink Sazerac

60ml Pasiòn Blanco Rosas Tequila
10ml Agave nectar (1:1)
2 Dashes Peychaud’s Bitters
2 Dashes Lemercier Abisinthe [sic] 72
Lemon twist

Chill down a Riedel O Burgundy glass with crushed ice and dash in the absinthe. Combine other ingredients in mixing glass and stir down till chilled. Discard ice from prepared glass and pour in chilled mixture. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Nielsen Braid, Porteño, Sydney

La Veuve Noire (The Black Widow)

45ml Reposado Tequila
10ml The Bitter Truth Apricot Brandy
20ml Lime Juice
20ml Ruby red grapefruit juice
10ml Sugar Syrup
3 Dashes of Peychaud’s Bitters

Shake and fine strain in to a sugar crusted vintage sherry copita, finish with a splash of Veuve Clicquot Champagne. Garnish with a twist of ruby red grapefruit.

Adam Brewer, The Uptown Drink Lounge, Brisbane

The Very Best: The Return of Australia’s Ultimate Bartending Challenge

By Simon McGoram

Photography by Dave McKelvey

It’s that time of year again where we ask bartenders who think they’re worthy of their spiced Bloody Mary salt to step up to the plate and put themselves forward for Australia’s ultimate bartending challenge: The Bartender Magazine Bartender of the Year Competition. For years this comp has been building a fierce reputation as a real challenge for the nation’s top barkeeps. In 2011, with the valued support of our new sponsors - Diageo’s Reserve, we’re in no doubt that we’ll find a winner worthy of this now hallowed title. Nominations are now open online so head to barshow.com.au to start your bid for bartending glory.

Every year, this competition grows to give more Aussie bartenders a crack at the title. Last years’ comp was no exception with more than 140 bartenders being asked to compete during Sydney BarShow Week in September. Last year’s Top 10 saw a great mix of competition veterans and new faces grace the Mixology stage at the show and, after his fifth crack at the comp and including three previous Top 10 placings, Jason Williams finally took out the number one spot.

“Wow! What a feeling and what a moment,” said Williams after winning his award. “The Love that I felt around the room was amazing - it really felt like I’d won Bartender of the Year with everyone.”

“The competition gets harder and harder,” continues Williams. “The passion and and dedication demonstrated by the professional bartenders is astounding. The girls and guys who put the study in, got creative with drink ideas and generally honed their craft are an inspiration - especially for someone like me who has done it five times now.”

Putting on a event of this standard requires a dedicated sponsor and it has been Bartender magazine’s absolute pleasure to announce that Reserve has come on board as our official sponsor for 2011. Reserve’s extensive portfolio of luxury brands means we can look forward to some cracking cocktails at the Mixology stage final and their dedicated team has also offered to host a series of work-shops and training sessions aimed at helping bartenders prepare for the competition. Anyone who wants to get involved in these trainings is more than welcome to attend.

Get your Bartender Magazine Bartender of the Year Competition bid underway today. Visit barshow.com.au to nominate yourself today!

How to Enter and Top Tips

• Nominate yourself. Visit barshow.com.au to vote. Like any competition you have to enter it to stand a chance at winning. And ask you bartending buddies vote for you while you’re at it.

• Get reading. While knowledge isn’t the be all and end of the bartending trade you have to score highly in the written test to show off your other skills.

• Be prepared. Don’t leave your study or your cocktails for the final round until the last minute. Everyone gets nervous. But you can save a lot of stress with just a little preparation.

• Get drinking (responsibly). Sharpen your palate by tasting everything in sight. You will need to know your Guatemalan from your Martinique, Islay from your Speyside and Chardonnay from your Semillon. There is always a tasting component of some description and it’s intended to be tough!

For more information please email: smcgoram@spatonmedia.com

The Prize
Our sponsors, Reserve, are upping the ante in 2011. Apart from national bragging rights the winner of this year’s Bartender of the Year Competition will gain automatic entry into the Australian national World Class final in 2012. In addition to this the lucky winner will also win a trip for two to a Reserve brand home of their choice, choosing from Jose Cuervo in Mexico, the Malts Advocates Course in Scotland, Zacapa in Guatemala or a Tanqueray No Ten visit in England combined with Ketel One tour in Holland.

Check out these drinks from March’s Bartender magazine. Taken from the ‘Home Grown’ spirit profile.

Truffled Alexander

30ml Canberra black truffle infused St. Agnes VSOP brandy
30ml White crème de cacao
30ml Half and half

Shake with ice and double strain. Garnish with fresh grated nutmeg.

Geoff Fewell, Pelagic Bar & Dining, Canberra

Devil’s Punch

333ml 666 Tasmanian Vodka
60ml Lemon juice
120ml Ginger beer
½ bottle Sparkling Wine
30ml St Germain. elderflower liqueur
20ml honey water

Add all ingredients into a carafe. Add flower ice cubes. Stir and serve.

Eddie Alder, Cushdy, Adelaide

The East Coast Blue Tailed Lorrikeet

120ml Holey Dollar Cask Gold Coin
25ml Tamborine Mountain Distillery Lavender liqueur
1/2 teaspoon of wattle seed
120ml of freshly squeezed pineapple juice
60ml lime juice
1 - 2 teaspoons of Capilano honey (depending on the sweetness of the pineapple)
Chandon NV sparkling to top

Take a whole pineapple and chop the top off. Carefully scoop out the flesh leaving the outside of the pineapple as your serving vessel. Juice up the pineapple pieces. Shake other ingredients and strain into pineapple shell. Add pineapple juice and ice then stir. Top with sparkling and garnish with pineapple top with a couple of sparklers scattered around to really draw everyone’s attention.

Quyhn Nguyen, Blue Hotel, Sydney

HMS Bounty

50ml Bundaberg Rum
15ml falernum
10ml caramel coffee molasses
15ml fresh lime juice
30ml fresh orange juice

Shake and strain into an ice filled Tiki mug. Garnish with a mint sprig and orange slices.

Ryan Norieks, Shanghai (ex-The Lark, Brisbane)

Hibiscus Fizz

45ml Vodka O
20ml Tamborine Mountain Distillery Hibiscus Liqueur
10ml lychee liqueur
30ml lemon juice
15ml sugar syrup
Dash egg white

Dry shake then shake with ice. Strain over fresh ice in a tall glass. Garnish with a lemon wedge.

Tom Price, Goldfish, Sydney

Mary St. Hurricane

50ml Inner Circle Red Dot rum
20ml lime juice
15ml homemade grenadine
5ml Simple syrup
Juice/pulp of half a passion fruit.

Shake rigorously and pour into a traditional Hurricane glass. No fine straining is necessary for this Tiki style concoction. Garnish with a passionfruit wheel, lime wheel and while we’re here, a parasol.

Owen Westman, The Collection, Melbourne

Check out all the action from Monday night’s Most Influential List Party held at The Norfolk Hotel, Cleveland Street, Surry Hills, Sydney.

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An alluring almond syrup for your potent potables

By Simon McGoram

Photography by Rob Palmer

Presented by Jonothan Carr

490 Crown Street, Surry Hills, Sydney
toko.com.au

The name Jerry Thomas is a bonafide bartending celebrity. Thomas’ name is hallowed in the barkeep’s hall of fame due to his pre-eminent, though rather long winded, 1862 work The Bar Tender’s Guide, How to Mix Drinks or The Bon Vivant’s Companion. The first cocktail book and bartending manual ever published. What often gets forgotten is that appended to this landmark tome (in fact, it makes up most of the bulk of the book) is the fascinating work; A Manual for the Manufacture of Cordials, Liquors, Fancy Syrups, &c., &c., by Christian Schultz.

There is perhaps very good reason as to why the appendix to the world’s most famous cocktail book has remained in relative obscurity - you need a chemistry degree to read the majority of the recipes. Indeed Schultz was a Swizz professor of chemistry and a practicing apothecary. That and the fact that these days all manner of syrups, liquors and cordials are made readily available through international brands like Monin and Giffards.

“Schultz… calls for bitter almonds in his orgeat which have long been forsaken in culinary practice due to their toxicity – each pit can contain 4–9 mg of hydrogen cyanide!”

In the 18^th century recipes for imitation spirits, ‘Spruce Beer’ and ‘Wax Putty for Leaky Casks, Bungs, Corks &c.’ would have been indispensible for the average saloon keeper who didn’t have an iPhone 4 to Google the necessary supplier. Even today recipes from this work are worth a road test. One that we’ve decided to give a whirl in this month’s How To is Schultz’s formula for Orgeat Syrup - a cordial made from almonds, sugar and orange blossom water as useful to mixologists now as it was in the 1800s.  

If you are looking to re-create cordials, tinctures and the like from old texts you are likely to come across a few stumbling blocks when it comes to sourcing the ingredients. Even something as simple sounding as orgeat has defunct ingredients in its formula. Schultz, for example, calls for bitter almonds in his orgeat which have long been forsaken in culinary practice due to their toxicity - each pit can contain 4-9 mg of hydrogen cyanide! With this little kernel of knowledge I decided that we’d better find a substitute.

Mahlab is what we eventually went for on and it’s an aromatic spice made from the pits of the St Lucie Cherry. Used mainly in baking in the Middle East it has a strong floral/cherry aroma and a bitter almond flavour. Go to a good spice store to get hold of some or do what Jerry Thomas wasn’t able to do and Google the heck out of it.

Orgeat (or Almond) Syrup

4 ¼ ounces blanched sweet almonds (approximately 120 grams)
½ ounce mahlab* (approximately 15 grams)
¾ pint fresh water (approximately 350ml)
1 lb. of sugar (approximately 500grams) cooked with 1 cup water until almost caramelised
Juice of 1/2 lemon
A few drops of orange blossom water

Useful Orgeat Cocktails

Mai Tai

45ml Appleton Estate ‘V/X’ Jamaican Rum
15ml Cointreau
15ml Orgeat Syrup
30ml Lime juice
15ml Wray & Nephew White Overproof Rum

Shake and strain into a double Old Fashioned glass with a couple of big rocks in it. Float a little overproof rum on top and garnish extravagantly.

Adapted from The Essential Ingredient by Dale De Groff

The Fog Cutter

60ml Bacardi Superior Puerto Rican Rum
30ml St Agnes Brandy
15ml Tanqueray Gin
60ml fresh lemon juice
30ml orange juice
15ml orgeat syrup

Shake with ice and strain over ice into a Tiki Mug. Float ½ ounce sweet sherry on top. Garnish with pineapple and cherry.

Adapted from Beachbum Berry’s Grog Log

Japanese Cocktail

60ml Remy Martin VS Cognac
15ml Orgeat syrup
½ teaspoon Boker’s Bitters (or Fee Brother’s Aromatic bitters in a pinch)
Stir with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with lemon peel.

Adapted from Jerry Thomas’ How to Mix Drinks