Beefeater 24 competition winner announced

Jason Williams of “The Rook” bar in Sydney, Australia, was announced the overall winner of the third annual Beefeater 24 Global Bartender Competition at the Grand Finale held last week in London. A former Australian Bartender of the Year, Williams beat 25 finalists with his ‘Werewolves of London’ cocktail .

Williams wins an all-expenses trip to one of Beefeater’s key global markets, where he will have the opportunity to experience the local bartending culture and gain first-hand knowledge of Beefeater’s presence within the international market.

The competition attracted more entrants than ever before, with 26 countries taking part including Hong Kong, the USA, Japan and the UK - almost double the number of countries participating in 2012.

Having scrutinised the competing bartenders as they presented their signature Beefeater cocktails and put their creativity to the test in a surprise food pairing round, the judges selected eight overall finalists to go through to the final round, with countries including Ireland, France, Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic represented. The last round saw the remaining eight contestants tasked with making their cocktail for the guests in attendance at the Grand Finale, with guests then voting for their favourite cocktail. Once the votes were in, the overall scores were calibrated and judges held a final deliberation before Desmond Payne announced Williams as the winner.

The winning cocktail, ‘Werewolves of London’, impressed the judges with its blend of Beefeater 24 gin, orange and peach liquor, lemon juice and frankincense bitters, finished off with a green tea mist.

Speaking after the competition, Williams said: “I am a huge fan of London gin and for me, no other gin represents the true London gin style better than Beefeater, so winning this competition is a huge honour and a massive surprise for me. I’ve had a great time taking part in the competition - there was a great sense of camaraderie amongst all the competitors and the diversity of the various rounds was fantastic, allowing us to really show off our creativity and the different skills that bartenders need to have to be at the top of the game.”

“Gin is definitely on the rise in Australia, so I’m looking forward to flying the flag for gin even more when I get home!”

The finalists:
Australia – Jason Williams, The Rook, Sydney
Austria – Florian Wisata, Hemingway Bar, Ried im Innkreis
Belgium – Barbara Simmi, Amigo Rocco Forte, Brussells
Canada – Robin Kaufman, Instructor at Toronto Institute of Bartending
Colombia – Joshua Gurrero Hoyos, Restaurante NoNo
Czech Republic – Miloš Danihelka, Anonymous Bar, Prague
Denmark – Hardeep Rehal, 1105
Estonia – Gerda Viks, Volga 7, Tartu
Finland – Jani-Pekka Hiltunen, Boulevard Social
France – Mido Ahmed Yahi, Le Café Moderne
Germany – Frederick Knüll, Spirits
Greece – Konstantinos Kapniaris, Habar; Rumors
Hong Kong – Hiu Kwan Cherry Lam, Quinary, Hong Kong
Ireland – Darren Geraghty, Indie Dhaba
Italy – Idris Conti, Luca e Andrea Café-Bar, Milan
Japan – Shoki Sato, Bar Beso
South Korea – Suk Ho SON, Coffee Bark Hannam
Norway – Truls Thomsen, Newsman
Poland – Jakub Kozlowski, Colombia
Portugal – Miguel Belo
Serbia – Marko Skerovic, Teressa Lounge and Bartenders710, Serbia
Slovakia – Marcoš Dzurus, Cuba Libre
Sweden – Andrea Patelli, Little Quarter
Switzerland – Nicholas Berger, Chat Noir Club, Geneva
UK – Scott Mitchell, Bon Vivant, Edinburgh
USA – Ian Cox, Wrecking Bar, Atlanta

Pictured above: Jason Williams, winner of the third Beefeater 24 Global Bartender Competition, receives the trophy from brand ambassadors Tim Stones and Sebastian Hamilton-Mudge, and master distiller Desmond Payne

11 November 2013 - Felicity Murray The Drinks Report, editor