Bartenders Raffaele Di Monaco (Park Chinois) and Matyas Busek (Foggs Residence) have both been crowned winners of the East and West London finals respectively at this year’s Patrón Perfectionist’s Cocktail Competition. The prestigious competition challenges bartenders to create a Patrón Tequila cocktail worthy of a Perfectionist, made with the same passion and care as Patrón uses when creating its ultra-premium tequilas.
Both bartenders impressed the judges with their expertly crafted cocktails. Sight of Baobab created by Matyas Busek (Foggs Residence) is an intriguing, complex concoction combining Patrón Silver with strawberry verbena oleo, pink peppercorn rubarbaro and interestingly, ant juice, complete with a spray of tonka. Raffaele Di Monaco (Park Chinois) created Sense of the Place, a deep and citrusy mix of Patrón Silver, Amontillado Sherry and citrus juices.
Of the hundreds of mixologists to enter this year’s Patrón Perfectionist’s Cocktail Competition, only a handful were selected to go through to the East and West London Finals which took place at Gillray’s Steakhouse and Bar, London. Di Monaco and Busek will compete at the overall UK final in London taking place on Wednesday 16th November with winners: Mike McGinty from The Voyage of Buck (Edinburgh) of Scottish Final, Steve Young from Pier64 in Penarth (near Cardiff) of the Southern final and Joe Wilde from El Bandito (Liverpool) of the Northern final.
The overall winner will receive a luxury trip to the Hacienda Patrón – Patrón Tequila’s stunning distillery in the highlands of Jalisco, Mexico. The winning cocktail will also feature as a limited-edition special serve at the winner’s bar.
THE WINNING COCKTAILS:
Sight of Baobab – Matyas Busek (Foggs Residence)
- 45ml Patrón Silver
- 15ml Strawberry verbena oleo
- 10ml Ant juice
- 20ml Pink peppercorn rubarbaro
- Spray of tonka
Combine all ingredients. Pour into a vintage coupette glass. Garnish with orange strips
roasted ants, spray of tonka.
Sense of the Place – Raffaele Di Monaco (Park Chinois)
- 50ml Patrón Silver
- 10ml Amontillado Sherry
- 15ml lime juice
- 30ml mandarin juice
- 10ml Tarragon infused syrup
- 5 drops Naga Chilli bitter
Combine all ingredients and shake. Pour into ceramic cup on a wood coaster. Garnish with Tarragon and roasted baby corn, season with El Guano salt.
With tequila’s growing popularity and the constant efforts from Patrón to produce ultra-premium tequilas that set new standards for flavour and quality, the Patrón Perfectionist’s Cocktail Competition is the perfect way to celebrate the origins of this versatile liquid and bring Mexico’s symbol of national pride to the forefront of bartenders’ minds.
The Patrón Perfectionist’s Cocktail Competition launched in the UK last year and has expanded to an international level for 2016; with bartenders in Mexico, Australia, UAE, France, Spain and Italy also on the search to find their own local Patrón Perfectionist. All the winners will meet at the Hacienda in January where they will then compete in the Grand Final.