The inaugural installment of the Scotch whisky’s competition challenged bartending teams to partner with an up-and-coming Australian photographer to create an image that reflected their bar and the inspiration behind a bespoke cocktail featuring the brand.
The Sydney bar was selected from 12 finalists by an industry panel and people’s choice vote.
As the Auchentoshan Distilled Different Bar Team of the Year, Eau de Vie has won itself a trip to Glasgow to visit the Auchentoshan distillery. Eau de Vie chose to convey their approach to their craft with “intelligence, wit and precision”. The bar is well-known for combining art and chemistry, making service a performance.
The competition also gave away a prize of several special Auchentoshan products to the winner of the people’s choice. Voters selected Ramblin’ Rascal’s portrait (shown below), shot by Oli Sansom and featuring bartenders Daniel Noble, Charlie Lehman, Sebastian ‘Cosmo’ Soto, Dardan Shervashidze and Cherish Royal Wilkie and their cocktail ‘The Velvet Hammer’.
Noble said talking about the inspiration behind the photo: “I’d like to say my inspiration played a part in the setting up of this image, but similar to leaving a three year old alone with matches and then turning around 30 seconds later to find house on fire and them gleefully dribbling on the lawn, these total legends had arranged themselves into a glorious pyramid before I had the chance to collect and reassemble my brain from the Sydney parking meter fee sign outside.
“The lighting and tonality though is inspired by my love of early/mid-century photography and high-contrast darkroom images.”
Auchentoshan American Oak (RRP $59.90) is a smooth whisky, matured in American bourbon casks for additional sweet vanilla and coconut layers, hence the name it’s given. It has been made in Glasgow since 1823 and is the only whisky in Scotland that is entirely triple distilled.
