Two Aussies to compete in elit art of martini Global Final

Two Aussie bartenders are on their way to Ibiza after winning the elit art of martini competition finals in Sydney and Melbourne.

The competition celebrates the world’s best bartenders and their talent for creating the iconic vodka martini. It began with bartenders from both cities submitting a martini recipe. Those that made the cut were required to promote their drink in their venue and on social media for a two month period.

Those finalists then competed at their city final where they had to recreate their in-venue cocktail as well as compete in a mystery box round.

The Sydney finalists were:

Igor Pachi - Assembly Bar

Jake Down - This Must Be The Place

Kelham Waterfield - Bar Moncur @ Woollahra Hotel

Kurtis Bosley - Public House Management Group

Steven Cipriani - Lot 1 Sydney

The Melbourne finalists were:

Blake Hall - The Store Room, St. Kilda

Emma Cookson - Polly Bar, Fitzroy

Chris Hinds - Polly Bar, Fitzroy

Indra Saryani - 18th Amendment Bar, Geelong

Winners were Igor Pachi in Sydney and Blake Hall in Melbourne. They will be flown to Ibiza in September to compete in the Global Final at the elit Vodka Ibiza Weekend 2017.

Tanya Mah, Stoli Brand Manager at island2island and one of the judges said, “The calibre of finalists in both cities was exceptional and the competition was incredibly close. All the bartenders did an excellent job of putting forward creative and well balanced cocktails.

“One of the oldest cocktails around, the martini is so versatile it’s only limited by your imagination. It’s the perfect drink for bartenders to show off their skills and their creativity. Congratulations to the winners and we look forward to them representing two of our great cities on the world stage.”