In Melbourne and Sydney, 12 bartenders came together for the Estancia Raicilla Cocktail Competition live finals, hosted at El Primo Sanchez and Mesa Verde towards the end of 2024.
A winner was chosen from the two competing states, with Anna Postnikova (El Primo Sanchez) named the winner of the New South Wales state finals, and Oska Whitehart (Bar Bellamy) claiming the title in Victoria.
In Sydney, Anna presented her winning drink El Tapatío, comprising 40ml Estancia Raicilla, 25ml Lillet Rosé and pink peppercorn distillate spray to rinse the glass. Anna’s cocktail took inspiration from the classic Vesper Martini, with the name El Tapatío taken from the Mexican Spanish colloquial term used to describe the people from Jalisco, where Estancia is crafted.
Anna commented: “It was incredibly exciting to be part of the Estancia Cocktail Competition 2024. Since joining El Primo Sanchez last year, my passion for agave spirits has grown, and this competition provided a fantastic opportunity to learn more about the lesser-known and often underestimated, yet absolutely incredible, category of raicilla.
“The final event was very friendly and a lot of fun, with the fantastic Agave Lux team, wonderful judges, and great competitors. The most exciting part is yet to come – the trip to Mexico with the Agave Lux team and the Victoria finals winner. I can’t wait to see the agave plants, all the processes in palenques, and distillation methods up close in Jalisco.”
Inspired by a novella of short stories by Robert W Chambers titled The King in Yellow, Oska’s winning cocktail Yellow King used mandarin a total of seven times, twice in the garnish and five times in the liquid.
Designed to highlight the mandarin notes he picked out from Estancia Raicilla, Oska created a mandarin mistelle, wine, hydrosol, lacto-ferment and a cheong, and garnished with a fluid gel made from mandarin juice and a French meringue with mandarin peel folded through it.
All of this was combined with a ginger vinegar, strega, orange bitters and acid-adjusted Chardonnay verjus to create a cocktail that wowed the judges.
Justin Kosmina, Owner of Estancia Raicilla and Co-founder of Agave Lux, expressed a big thanks to all of the contestants, judges and attendees that made the inaugural event such a success.
“Huge congrats to our winners Anna Postnikova of El Primo Sanchez, Sydney and Oska Whitehart of Bar Bellamy, Melbourne, who’ll be jetting off to Mexico in April for an experience of a lifetime.
“It’s been incredible to see the passion and creativity throughout this competition. Ten years ago, it would’ve been hard to imagine raicilla gaining traction in Australia, let alone earning a place on cocktail menus across the country. This event has truly shown how far we’ve come – salud to everyone who made it possible.”