Have you ever wanted to have yourself and your bar profiled on a unique bottled cocktail that you have created, which is sold all over Australia?
Well now you can thanks to Queensland-based Iconic Beverages, which has joined forces with Ballarat’s Larrikin Gin on a bottled cocktail competition. The winning entry will feature the successful bartender and bar on the bottle, which will be distributed across Australia.
The competition is open now, with entries needed by Tuesday, 3 March, with a view to starting production of the cocktail in April and nationwide distribution to follow.
Dean Terranova, the Managing Director of Iconic Beverages, told Bars and Clubs that Larrikin as about bringing the flavour of Australia to the consumer, and that really is the aim for this competition.
“What we want to do it bring regional flavours, and flavours from all parts of Australia to venues and consumers around the country.
“Their lead product is a bushtucker gin called Sunburnt Country, and it’s the only bushtucker gin in the world. So the guys at Larrikin are really adamant about delivering flavours of Australia, and what better way to do that than going to bartenders around Australia. The skillset of the bartenders in this country is world class and we’ve put this together to entice people to pick up these brands and try them in their bars; but also give us a recipe that we can take to the market and really celebrate the flavours of Australia.”
Terranova said the reason they decided to go with a bottled cocktail competition was simply the ease of then taking the winning drink around the country. Batched cocktails are now accepted as good practice in bars and venues all over the country and it also means that consumers will be able to enjoy the drink in their own homes – while reading about the bartender and bar where it originated.
“We wanted to do something that hasn’t been done before and celebrate a flavour created by someone in the industry and then bring that to everyone. The beautiful thing is the distillery itself can do small or large runs, so it’s a flexible production facility. So why not give it a crack and do something for the first time? Just go and have some fun with it.”
The full details of the competition, and requirements for the cocktail are on the competition website, but essentially the cocktail should be a 500ml serve, with at least 120ml of Larrikin gin used. Avoid dairy and perishable ingredients – it must be suitable to be commercially made and shelf stable while unopened.
Ideally, Terranova said, it should be designed for just pouring over ice, or topped with a mixer if necessary.
The entries will then be judged on the creative concept and then taste and balance, commercial viability, presentation, ease of serve and the added value given to Larrikin Gin in the recipe.
For the full terms and conditions, entry details and judging criteria head to the Iconic, Larrikin Bottled Cocktail Competition website.
