The makers of the Chinese spirit Moutai have announced the finalists for their ‘Enter the Dragon’ cocktail competition, who will compete in November to win a trip to China.
The competition is now in its second year and its pool of contenders has now been extended to include New Zealanders as well as Australians.
The special twist for this year’s entries was that entrants were to use Australian native flavours in creating their cocktails. Bartenders were to submit their cocktail recipes first, prior to giving a demonstration of how to create their unique cocktail in front of a panel of judges.
With over 100 entries, Moutai’s brand manager, Jenny Chiu spoke about the overwhelming interest the competition has received.
Chiu said, “It is inspiring to see so many bartenders appreciating the broad spectrum and uniqueness of Moutai flavours. The competition has showcased that top- flight 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 finalists will compete in the final on 13 November at QT Melbourne, where this year’s MasterChef Australia winner, Diana Chan, will have a special challenge in store for them.
The winner will be flown to china to "experience and learn the ancient and modern techniques of Moutai production”.
The ‘Enter The Dragon’ 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 Singara. 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’
