Dan Gregory from Canvas in Brisbane emerged victorious in the national final of the Angostura Global Cocktail Challenge in Sydney last night.
In front of a crowd of his bartending peers at LOT.1 in the CBD, Gregory bested Michael Chiem (PS40), Liam Monk (Bobeche), Lachlan Robinson (Bobeche) and Hyobin Vini Wang (Hains & Co) to be crowned the Australian champion.
“Firstly I just want to thank everyone behind me and all of my competitors,” said Gregory upon accepting the title.
“We went through this together about two or three weeks ago at the preliminary finals in Melbourne, but it’s been a pleasure to do it again, and I’m sure it will be a pleasure to work with Angostura for the next year as well.”
Often regarded as one of the toughest cocktail competitions on the circuit, as the Australian winner Gregory has secured a 12 month contract as the Australian Angostura Brand Ambassador as well as AU$10,000.
He will also be flown to Trinidad on an all-expenses-paid trip during Carnival in February 2018 to compete against the world’s best in the Global Finals.
James Irvine, previous national winner, presented the title to Gregory and commented: “First of all, a big thank you to our top five for competing and putting on such a great show, you guys really made it a hard job for the judges tonight as you’d expect for the top five in a national cocktail comp – so kudos to you.
“For the last time ever, I’d just like to say: I’m James Irvine from the House of Angostura. This has been, without a doubt, one of the greatest life experiences I’ve ever had, and one I’ll look back on fondly when I’ve got a desk job in 10 years.
Whoever will be taking on this role will be taking on an opportunity and will be representing the brand – so from one former brand ambassador to a future brand ambassador, good luck to you.”
If Gregory is crowned the global winner in Trinidad next year, he will win a further US$10,000 and will become the Global Ambassador for Angostura for two years.
