Beefeater Crown Jewel Coronation Cocktail Competition

Desmond Payne MBE (Beefeater master distiller emeritus), Jon Gray (Beefeater global brand ambassador) and I were tasked with finding our favourite cocktails to be made at the Beefeater Distillery, where we were joined by Alice Lascelles, the award-winning drinks journalist, author and presenter, to decide the winner.

We were aiming for ten but due to the entries being so good, we ended up with 13 finalists which we made for us by the talented team at Create Cocktails. Along with taste (40 points), we judged the cocktail for their name (20 points), ease to replicate (20 points), and broad appeal/potential to become a contemporary classic (20 points).

The Coronation King Fizz (recipe below) stood out but didn't score so well on ease of replication or broad appeal. The cleverly named Sambucus Rex (Sambucus better known as elderflower) also scored well, but it was the Late Starter that stood out as the clear winner.

Cocktails are decadent, indulgent and should be fun so the Late Starter name for a cocktail celebrating King Charles's accession to the throne appealed to us judges, as did its ease to make and taste, which contribute to its broad appeal.

Winning Cocktail

Late Starter by Mark Dilley

Glass: Coupe
Garnish: Grapefruit slice or grapefruit twist
Method: STIR all ingredients with ice and strain into chilled glass.
45 ml Beefeater Crown Jewel Gin
30 ml Lillet Blanc
15 ml St-Germain elderflower liqueur
2 drops Absinthe verte

Finalists

A Diamond In The Rough by David O'Sullivan
Glass: Nick & Nora
Garnish: Orange peel on rim of glass
Method: STIR all ingredients with ice and strain into ice-filled glass.
40 ml Beefeater Crown Jewel Gin
20 ml Cocchi Americano Rosa
20 ml Cointreau triple sec liqueur
2 dash Rhubarb bitters
2 dash Orange bitters
1 pinch Salt

Beauchamp by Jason Clapham
Glass: Nick & Nora
Garnish: Lemon twist (from an Amalfi lemon, if you can get one).
Method: STIR all ingredients with ice and strain into chilled glass.
45 ml Beefeater Crown Jewel Gin
25 ml Noilly Prat dry vermouth
10 ml Becherovka Original liqueur
10 ml Cointreau triple sec liqueur
4 drops Cardamom bitters

Coronation King Fizz by Gregorio Soriente
Glass: Highball
Garnish: Ramos Head
Method: MUDDLE curry leaves in base of shaker. Add next 5 ingredient, SHAKE with ice and strain Ramos-style into chilled highball glass with soda to form soufflé-like head.
2 leaf Curry leaf
50 ml Beefeater Crown Jewel Gin
5 ml Giffard Apricot liqueur
20 ml Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
20 ml Cream of coconut (e.g. Coco Lopez, Re'al etc.)
10 ml Sugar syrup 'rich' (2 sugar to 1 water, 65.0°brix)
80 ml Soda (club soda) water

Dieu et mon droit by Ryan Adair
Glass: Highball
Garnish: Red grapefruit slice
Method: POUR first 4 ingredients into chilled ice-filled glass. Top up with light tonic water and combine with a brief stir.
45 ml Beefeater Crown Jewel Gin
15 ml Lillet Blanc
30 ml Grapefruit juice (ruby red)
2 dash Bob's Grapefruit Bitters
60 ml Fever-Tree Light Tonic Water

Harvest Colony by Ryan Betts
Glass: Coupe
Garnish: Dried wheat and lavender sprig
Method: SHAKE all ingredients with ice and fine strain into chilled glass.
50 ml Beefeater Crown Jewel Gin
2.5 ml Drambuie liqueur
20 ml Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
2 drops Lavender bitters
20 ml Honey
5 ml Chamomile tea syrup

King's Horse by Harriet Timms
Glass: Nick & Nora
Garnish: None
Method: STIR all ingredients with ice and strain into chilled glass.
50ml Beefeater Crown Jewel Gin
10ml Maraschino liqueur
10ml Amaro Nonino
15ml Strawberry sugar syrup
15ml Noily Prat dry vermouth
2 dash Orange bitters

Four Nations' Jewel by A. Alonso
Glass: Nick & Nora
Garnish: Maraschino cherry in the bottom of glass
Method: SHAKE all ingredients with ice and fine strain into chilled glass.
45ml Beefeater Crown Jewel Gin
10ml Kirschwasser (cherry) eau-de-vie
20ml Dubonnet Red
10ml Syrup from Luxardo Maraschino Cherries
10ml Pink grapefruit juice (freshly squeezed)
1 dash Bob's Grapefruit Bitters

Raven's Night by Daniel París
Glass: Martini
Garnish: Cherry
Method: STIR all ingredients with ice and strain into chilled glass.
50 ml Beefeater Crown Jewel Gin
15 ml Cubay Marrasquino Liqueur
10 ml Dry vermouth
20 ml Elderflower liqueur

The Regal Facet by Emilio Giovanazzi
Glass: Coupe
Garnish: Manzanilla Apple Brittle
Method: Blend apple with other ingredients in base of shaker using a stick blender. SHAKE with ice and fine strain into chilled glass.
45 ml Beefeater Crown Jewel Gin
20 ml Manzanilla sherry
15 ml Sugar syrup 'rich' (2 sugar to 1 water)
1 dash Absinthe verte
15 ml Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
2 wedge Green apple

Royal Blossom by Claudia Roberts
Glass: Coupe
Garnish: Edible flower
Method: SHAKE first 5 ingredients with ice and fine strain into chilled glass. TOP with sparkling wine and finish with drops of bitters.
30 ml Beefeater Crown Jewel Gin
15 ml Dubonnet Red
10 ml Elderflower liqueur
10 ml Earl Grey tea (cold)
10 ml Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
15 ml Brut champagne or sparkling wine
3 drops Bob's Lavender Bitters

Sambucus Rex by David Lamb
Glass: Nick & Nora
Garnish: Single raspberry
Method: MUDDLE raspberries in base of glass. Add next 4 ingredients, SHAKE with ice and fine strain not chilled glass. TOP with prosecco.
4 fresh Raspberries (fresh)
45 ml Beefeater Crown Jewel Gin
15 ml Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
10 ml Sugar syrup 'rich' (2 sugar to 1 water, 65.0°brix)
30 ml Elderflower liqueur
30 ml Prosecco sparkling wine

Sword of Offering by Jinn Yeoman
Glass: Coupe
Garnish Orange zest twist (discarded)
Method: POUR absinthe and water into ice-filled glass and set aside to chill. STIR other ingredients with ice. Discard contents of glass and strain cocktail into absinthe-rinsed glass.
15 ml La Fée Parisienne absinthe
75 ml Chilled water
40 ml Beefeater Crown Jewel Gin
15 ml Cointreau triple sec liqueur
20 ml Rosso/rouge (sweet) vermouth
2 dash Orange bitters
1 dash Fee Brothers Grapefruit Bitters

Prize

The winner, Mark Dilley, will receive one of only two presentation-boxed Beefeater Crown Jewel Coronation Edition bottles available worldwide. These two bottles have 9-carat solid gold labels embellished with a precious ruby. The bottles also carry the all-important official hallmark to certify the quality of the gold, one of the first to feature our new King's commemorative mark, guaranteeing the provenance and confirming all legal standards of purity have been upheld.

The unique Coronation label was crafted by world-renowned, London-based, goldsmiths and silversmiths Thomas Lyte, whose Royal Warrant was granted in 2008 as a mark of recognition for the quality of its craftspeople and work.