Bartenders are being challenged to create cocktails with French aperitifs Byrrh and Suze for a chance to win a trip to the distillery in the south of France.
UK distributor Emporia Brands is seeking entries from bartenders for the South of England heat that takes place on April 25 at 68 & Boston in London. The deadline for entries is April 17. They should be sent to Matthew Dakers at matthew@emporiabrands.com.
The challenge is to create two cocktails using either Byrrh Grand Quinquina or Suze Saveur d’Autrefois for each serve.
The first drink should be a simple serve that reflects the current trends for refreshing, lower-alcohol cocktails using at least 30ml of either Byrrh or Suze as the base ingredient. It should use no more than four ingredients including drops, dashes and garnish.
The second drink needs to be a classic twist, drawing inspiration from the era these brands were at the height of their popularity – France’s Belle Epoque in the late 19th and early 20th centures and the Années Folles in the 1920s. Using Byrrh or Suze, this reboot of a “forgotten classic” should contain no more than eight ingredients including drops, dashes and garnish.
Homemade ingredients are not permitted for the first drink but, for the second drink, they are permitted providing there is a commercially available substitute such as grenadine.
On the day, each competitor will have 10 minutes to make two of each cocktail. Apart from Byrrh and Suze, bartenders must provide all other ingredients as well as glassware and equipment to create their drinks.
The winners of the competition’s regional heats will be taken to the distillery in Thuir, featuring the world’s largest wooden barrel and architecture by the world-famous Gustave Eiffel, to see how both Byrrh and Suze are made, on May 9 and 10, 2016.
The North of England heat of the competition takes place on April 18 at Dusk Til Pawn in Manchester’s Northern Quarter. The deadline for the Scotland heat was last week.
