A recipe for success!
02 May 2012
San-greal Director Anthony Farrell has been gaining a massive reputation as one of Ireland's leading cocktail masters, something that was reinforced at a recent competition in Dublin.
Anthony was taking part in a two-day Cooley Whiskey Cocktail Workshop. This project focused on the mixability and development of specific brands within the Cooley whiskey portfolio.
With the company's partners in Germany they invited 11 of the top bar tenders from Germany to Dublin on 29th and 30th August.
The aim of this two day workshop was to develop the mixability of the Cooley whiskey brands and develop a signature cocktail that could be reproduced in any bar of the 42 countries of the world that Cooley supply their portfolio into.
Alongside the eleven bar tenders from Germany five, including Anthony, were invited from Northern Ireland and six from Republic of Ireland. Bartenders were paired off into teams of two via Facebook, making 11 pairs in total. Each pair/team consisted of one German and one Irish bar-tender. They worked together for approximately two-three hours on developing new mixed drinks/cocktails using specific Cooley whiskey brands. The specific brands were Greenore 8 Year Old, Connemara Peated and Kilbeggan Finest Blend.
At the end of the working session judges decided what they believed to be the best creation that could become a signature drink for Cooley worldwide. Allied to this signature drink each team had to re create a pre Prohibition style drink using specially distilled Kilbeggan whiskey. Anthony's winning team was announced at a special dinner in Dublin on Tuesday 30th August.
Speaking to Hospitality Review afterwards, Anthony said: "I'm absolutely delighted to be part of the winning team. It was a great competition and I look forward to the opportunity to travel around mixing up the winning recipe again."
The company still has a work in progress but the aim is to develop the winning cocktail and package the concept so that it can be replicated in various clubs, bars and venues across the world.