Samuel NG from Black Pearl in Melbourne has taken out the Australian title of the inaugural Olmeca Tahona Society Cocktail Competition, held for the first time in Australia this week.

Held at Tio’s in Surry Hills, Samuel competed against ten other top bartenders, including Nick Selvadurai, Thomas Egerton, Dimitri Rtshiladze, Peter Nguyen, Elliot Pascoe, Sam Egerton, Josh Baxter, Perryn Collier and Andrew Bennett.

Samuel’s winning cocktail, Sangre el Diablo was made with tequila Olmeca Altos Plata, as well as pineapple and wattle seed shrub, pink peppercorns, crème de cacao and a few drops of Campari.

Launched in 2009, The Olmeca Tahona Society was created by Dre Masso and the late Henry Besant with the aim of pioneering a tequila education program focusing on high quality highland tequilas.

“Tequila is one of the most exciting drinks in the world right now, and is enjoying rapid growth here in Australia fuelled greatly by the bartenders who are increasingly discovering the various subtleties and versatility of this spirit”, said Laura Hogan, Olmeca Tequila Brand Manager.

As part of the competition, bartenders were invited before to attend an immersive master class with by Olmeca’s Master Distiller, Jesús Hernández. Tutored tastings and demonstrations fell part of the day’s activities, and were accompanied by Mexican cuisine.

Samuel will now go onto to compete in the international competition in Jalisco Mexico in June, where he will compete against the international finalists for the chance to be crowned the Olmeca Tahona Society Champion.

Olmeca and Olmeca Altos are distributed by Pernod Ricard Australia.