Reluctant competitor Tom Holland was crowned King of the Cocktails on Wednesday 13 May, marking World Cocktail Day in style.
Cirencester’s annual celebration of the global day, which commemorates the first recorded definition of a cocktail published on 13 May 1806, once again brought together the town’s most talented mixologists. Taking part in the friendly but fiercely contested competition, bartenders from local pubs and bars were challenged to create both an alcoholic cocktail and a mocktail, each vying for the top spot.
This year’s judging panel took a slightly different approach, travelling between venues to sample each entry. Representing Cirencester’s soon to reopen Talbot Inn, which will unveil a new name alongside its relaunch, head chef Ethan Rodgers and bar manager Neil Robson visited Lechlade’s pan Asian restaurant You, Me & Umami, as well as Cirencester’s Téatro Bar and Restaurant and Henry’s Seafood Bar and Grill, where the winning drinks were ultimately found.
Neil Robson said: “Big thanks to Arran (Fowler) of Teatro and Euan (Tyrell) from Y, M & U, both made excellent drinks, and I will be back to try them again, but Tom’s (Holland) lychee and Yubari sour, and, version of an ‘English Garden’, were to die for. He said afterwards that he made these, or versions of, a few years ago, at a customer’s bequest. That is what we like to hear, about the backstory, the history of the drink, the provenance, if you were. We are looking forward to opening our own pub soon, so it was great to meet so many others in the industry.”
For Holland, the win came as both a surprise and a moment of well earned recognition. “Finally, a title,” Tom Holland said. “I am joking. No, it is great to be recognised by my peers, and now onto defend the title next year.”
Image: Tom Holland from Henry’s Seafood Bar & Grill mixing it up.
