BÉNÉDICTINE Liqueur has crowned the winners of its 2017 Cocktail Competition, following spectacularly close heats in Manchester and Leeds where competitors were challenged to present their own twist on the classic BÉNÉ n Hot.
The competition began in the Washhouse in Manchester, where Jack Daniels from The Washhouse and Jack Sleaford from Épernay Champagne Bar fought off stiff competition from the other skilled entrants to be crowned victorious. Jack Daniels’ cocktail ‘Grandé Alexander’ was inspired by Lancashire tea, served on a bed of chamomile flowers and topped with a BÉNÉDICTINE foam. Jack Sleaford’s ‘Healthy BÉNÉfits’ took a different approach, mixing BÉNÉ with apple cider vinegar, fruit infused water and topped with a coconut tea. Both winners were praised for their showmanship and expert presentation.
The BÉNÉDICTINE train then rolled into Leeds, where Ashley Porter from the Strait and Narrow and Yiannis Simos from the Alchemist wowed the judges. Ashley’s ‘BÉNÉ’s Brew’ combined BÉNÉDICTINE with gin and infusions of chili. Served either warm or chilled, Ashley’s concoction was praised for its versatility; being suitable for both winter nights and summer evenings. Yiannis’s ‘BÉNÉ Box’ cocktail was a wonderfully creative twist of Yiannis’s Greek heritage, with BÉNÉDICTINE’s history. Taking inspiration from Pandora’s Box, Yiannis presented his cocktail in a beautiful trinket box filled with dry ice.
Each champion has won a once-in-a-lifetime trip to France on 14th March, where they will be taken on a VIP voyage into the history of BÉNÉDICTINE, to its birthplace in Fécamp, Normandy. They will visit the beautiful Palais Bénédictine, where the liqueur has been distilled for over a century, to take part in an expert mixology session with Ludo Miazga, Bacardi’s charismatic Global Brand Ambassador, plus extra-special guests – all courtesy of BÉNÉDICTINE.
Caroline Herbert from BÉNÉDICTINE Liqueur, said: “We’ve been blown away by the passion, imagination and creativity that went into each cocktail in both Manchester and Leeds. The contestants were of the highest calibre and each brought something slightly different to the table. We can’t wait to take our worthy champions to the home of BÉNÉDICTINE.”