Award winning Adelaide distillery, Australian Distilling Co, has hosted its inaugural bartending contest to celebrate and support the Adelaide bar scene.
“Few industries have been as hard hit by the global pandemic as hospitality. It has endured lockdowns, staff shortages and years of uncertainty but it continues to fight back with an entrepreneurial spirit,” Australian Distilling Co Founder Michael Hickinbotham said.
Dan Hayward Jarmyn from Bank Street Social competed against 15 other bartenders and won the title of Adelaide’s best bartender with his Feijoan Winter cocktail, made with Australian Distilling Co’s Shiraz Gin and the feijoa fruit; an ode to Winter and a salute to memories of his childhood.
“The cocktail is inspired by my memories of the feijoa tree in the backyard. The Shiraz Gin I incorporated is just incredible, I was very surprised by the sharp and lovely flavour that shone through as the hero of the cocktail,” Mr Jarmyn said.
“The hospitality industry has suffered in the last two years, and we need industry partners like Australian Distilling Co to keep helping bring us all together. The Originals Cocktail Competition is an event that is putting Adelaide on the map in our industry,” Mr Jarmyn said.
Mr Jarmyn was rewarded with $5,000 and 10 litres of the prized Australian Distilling Co Adelaide Gin for Bank Street Social. Runners up Aleisha Zoumaras of Henley House and Pankaj of Merrymaker took home $1,000 and $500 respectively for second and third place.
Judge Lee Potter Cavanagh commended finalists on their originality and innovation.
“The Originals Cocktail Competition showcased some of the most cutting-edge cocktail talent in the country right now. It is refreshing to see so many newcomers rise to the top,” he said.
