This year top 10 finalists in Australia’s Patrón Perfectionists cocktail competition have been revealed from the 152 entries.
The first round of the competition was called Hometown Hero and required entrants to create a cocktail which blended Patrón Silver with the bartender’s local culture using ingredients from a prescribed list, the Pantry. These were judged on appeal, appearance, inspiration, and originality.
Joey Chisholm, Patrón Tequila Execution Manager said: “This year’s competition called for bartenders to hero Patrón Silver along with a local ingredient that was close to their heart and we were blown away with the quality of entries.
“We had 152 entries from all over Australia and every single one of them was amazing – a true testament to the quality of bartenders in Australia. Following two long days of judging the top ten were selected and I believe it’s the strongest field of bartenders Australia has seen. We are excited by a great mix of old dogs and exciting young rookies.”
The 10 bartenders moving through to the final challenges of the PATRÓN Perfectionists:
- Alex Boon of Pearl Diver Cocktails & Oyster, Melbourne, and his cocktail ‘Frankie’
- Andie Bulley of Savile Row, Brisbane, and her cocktail ‘Koumala’
- Bec Bayley of Before + After, Brisbane and her cocktail ‘Folktale’
- Chris Tilley of Neon Palms & Volare Bar, Perth, and his cocktail ‘Hyding In The Gums’
- Etien Celzner of Rude boy, Hobart and his entry ‘K.I.S.S (keep it simple stupid)’
- Haadee Bahar of Mimi’s & Will’s, Sydney, and his cocktail ‘Silver Lining’
- Kayla Reid of Nick & Nora’s, Melbourne, and her entry ‘Delicate Duality’
- Martin McConnell of Frogs Hollow Saloon, Brisbane and his creation ‘Petrichor’
- Storm Evans of Cantina OK!, Sydney his creation ‘A1’
- Talis Heggart of Shotgun Willie’s & Memphis Slim’s House of Blues, Adelaide, and his creation ‘Abuela Margaret’
The top 10 finalists will now present their entry challenge cocktail in addition to another challenge at the next round of judging in Sydney during early November.
The Australian winner will go on to compete against another 18 countries and cruise liners will take part in the much-coveted global finals experience taking place at Hacienda PATRÓN, Mexico, in March 2023.
