Gabriel Boudier UK Cocktail Competition

Miran ‘The Man’ Chauhan of The Bon Vivant, Edinburgh wins UK national Gabriel Boudier Cocktail Competition.

Held at the Northern Bar Show in Manchester on 18th March 2015 this was the culmination of regional competitions held in London and Edinburgh. Each of the four finalists were given a maximum of ten minutes on the main stage to make two signature cocktails - one using a liqueur from Gabriel Boudier's 'Iconic' range and the other from their 'Bartenders' range.

judges Adam Binnersley & Jack Rackham

I was joined by Adam Binnersley from Manchester's famous Mojo Bar and Jack Rackham from Emporia to judge the competition and were tasked with scoring each drink out of 25 points - 10 points for aroma and appearance, 10 points for taste and 5 points for the brand knowledge imparted during each of the bartenders' presentations.

Gavin McGowan Madoo, Emporia Brands

The competition was organised by Emporia Brands and the company's Sales Manager, Gavin McGowan Madoo was MC, challenged with entertaining the audience between competitors. Gabriel Boudier's range of liqueurs spans a wide variety of flavours and as a liqueur based competition it allowed the competitors to choose any spirit base for their drink so allowing them greater creative licence than is typical of a cocktail competition.

The prize

Miran won an all-expenses paid trip to Dijon as the guest of Gabriel Boudier with training on the art of liqueur making given by the Battault family, creators of the Gabriel Boudier range. He will also discover why Dijon, the gateway to Burgundy, is considered one of France's most beautiful cities.

The finalists and their recipes

Each of the four competitors were winners of their respective regions. Follows, in the order they appeared, their recipes:

Ben 'Bright Spark' Williams
Cloud 23, Manchester

Dalton ss Atomic (named after John Dalton)
Glass: Margarita
Garnish: Large Gabriel Boudier Blue Curacao ice ball in bowl of glass (Dalton was colour blind and could only see blue and yellow)
Method: Shake all ingredients with ice and strain over blue ice ball in chilled glass.
15ml Gabriel Boudier Crème De Peches
35ml Grey Goose Le Poire
20ml Lemon Juice
25ml Egg White

Bright Spark (named after Andre-Marie Ampere)
Glass: Large Coupe
Garnish: Long Skewer (from stem to rim of glass) with lemon twist & small piece of magicians wool (which lights up & explodes when lit)
Method: Stir all ingredients with ice and strain into glass.
15ml Gabriel Boudier Poire Williams
50ml Glenmorangie Nectar D'Or
2.5ml Homemade lemon sherbet syrup
6.25ml Homemade spiced syrup (Anise, Cloves, Cinnamon, Fennel, Nutmeg)
2 dash Whisky Aged Barrel Bitters

Miran 'The Man' Chauhan
The Bon Vivant, Edinburgh

Sister City
Glass: Nick & nora
Method: Rinse glass with absinthe and shake other ingredients with ice.
rinse glass with Absinthe
20ml Gabriel Boudier Crème de Cassis
40ml Calvados
5ml Apple Cider vinegar reduction
25ml Burgundy Pinot noir
2 dashes decanter bitters

Harvest Moon
Garnish: Orange zest twist (discarded)
15ml Gabriel Boudier Apricot Brandy
30ml Armagnac
20ml Assam tea concentrate
3 dash Dandelion and Burdock bitters
5ml Kilchoman Islay whisky

Robb 'take it easy' Collins
LCC Goodge Street, London

Kiss From a Rose
Glass: Martini
Garnish: Dried rose petals & rose water mist
Method: Shake all ingredients with ice and fine strain into chilled glass.
15ml Gabriel Boudier Crème de Peche
50ml Bourbon whiskey
20ml Cranberry juice
15ml Freshly squeezed lime juice
10ml Sugar syrup (2:1 ratio)
5ml Rose water
1 fresh Egg white (approx. 20ml)

Excuse My Flipping French
Glass: Goblet
Garnish: Nutmeg
Method: Shake all ingredients with ice and fine strain into chilled glass.
15ml Gabriel Boudier Crème de Bananes
50ml Stolichnaya Salted Caramel vodka
30ml Pale ale larger (opened and rested for 48 hours)
5ml Maple syrup (amber No.2)
3 dash Fee Brothers Walnut Bitters
1 whole Egg (white & yolk)

Thomas Higham-Gedney
The Backroom Bar, Leeds

Gabriel's Garden Party
Glass: Hurricane
Garnish: Lime zest twist
Method: Dry shake and shake all ingredients with ice.
17.5ml Gabriel Boudier Crème de cassis
30ml Calvados
10ml Truffle oil
50ml Pressed apple juice
5ml Freshly squeezed lime juice
1 pinch Cracked black pepper
½ fresh Egg white

Saffron's Subtlety
Glass: Martini
Garnish: Orange Basket wrapped around the vanilla pod and blackcurrant jam
Method: Shake all ingredients with ice and fine strain into chilled glass.
35ml Gabriel Boudier Saffron Gin
15ml Gabriel Boudier Triple Sec
30ml Freshly squeezed orange juice
1 dash Homemade juniper bitters
1 spoon Vanilla scrapped from split pod
1 spoon Blackcurrant Jam

The Gabriel Boudier range

Gabriel Boudier have been making award-winning fruit liqueurs since 1874, and although they have always remained true to the founder's principles, this has never stopped them from constantly innovating.

For the full list of Gabriel Boudier expressions, please see emporiabrands.com. The range is available from Coe Vintners, Speciality Drinks and Venus, as well as online retailers including MasterOfMalt.com and TheDrinkShop.com