The top 10 finalists in Moutai’s ‘Enter The Dragon’ cocktail competition were announced at an industry reveal party at Handpicked Wines Cellar Door in Sydney last week.
Now in its second year, Enter The Dragon broadened its scope in 2017 to include entries from New Zealand, making this a truly trans-Tasman competition. Competitors were tasked with using Australian native flavours in their creations.
The initial process asked bartenders to submit their unique cocktail recipe, before official judging commenced. Participants then had to present their Moutai-inspired masterpieces, delivering a five-minute demonstration of their inventiveness and precision in front of the panel of esteemed judges.
The top ten finalists and their cocktails are:
- Kevin Peters, Garden State Hotel, VIC – ‘Year of The Snake’
- Jono Carr, Kittyhawk, NSW – ‘It’s Always Sunny in Guizhou Province’
- Joe Sinagra, Halford, WA – ‘Lucky 8’
- Quynh Van Nguyen, Charlie Parker’s, NSW – ‘It’s Native Fizz Thyme’
- Tom Kearney, Mechanics Institute, WA – ‘The End of The Dragon’
- Phillip Weber, El Grotto, WA – ‘Shaolin Sour’
- Ray Letoa, Roxy Cinema, NZ – ‘Descendants Elixir’
- Jack Krzywdzinski, The 18th Amendment, VIC – ‘Honorary Native’
- Thomas Egan, New Gold Mountain, VIC – ‘ Xiao Long’
- Benjamin Parton, The Barlow Room, SA – ‘Shuang Fizz’
“The response to this year’s Enter The Dragon competition has been incredible with more entrants than ever before, and the creative standard on display nothing short of immense,” said Jenny Chiu, Moutai’s Brand Manager.
“It is inspiring to see so many bartenders appreciating the broad spectrum and uniqueness of Moutai flavours.
“The competition has showcased that topflight bartenders can tie Moutai with native flavours, and use their creative genius to produce meaningful cocktails that the Australian market both understands and enjoys.”
The stage is now set for the final cocktail combat on 13 November at QT Melbourne, where one bartender will win a once-in-a-lifetime trip to China and become the next reigning Moutai master.
