Well, after stopping in Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, Perth, and Darwin, the Masterclass and Mystery Box stage of Disaronno’s The Mixing Star Project is now complete.
A couple of weeks back we brought you the results of the Melbourne and Brisbane legs of the journey — click here to catch up on the winners now.
After Brisbane, Australian Bartender joined Disaronno ambassador Matteo Fabbris in Sydneyfor that city’s final — and there was quite the roster of heavy-hitters competing at The Winery that day. The structure of each final went like this: assemble a crew of talented bartenders for an in-depth and informative Masterclass on Disaronno, led by Fabbris; then, after a short break, the bartenders had ten minutes to familiarise themselves with a mystery box of ingredients from which they would craft a drink that expressed the character of Disaronno and showed off their creativity for a panel of judges, including Disaronno ambassador Matteo Fabbris, Australian Bartender editor Sam Bygrave, and a guest judge from each state. The top five from each state would then progress to the next round of the competition.
And the top five from New South Wales was top class. In fifth place was Tom Egerton, of Sydney’s Eau de Vie, and Chris Pettit from The Gantry in fourth. Third place went to Jono Carr, from soon to open Sydney bar, Kittyhawk, with Bulletin Place’s Thalita Alves — herself no stranger to cocktail competition finals — taking out second. But it was Maybe Frank’s Andrea Gualdi who won the day with his delicious, flavoursome drink and assured performance behind the stick.
The next morning the judges took off for Perth, for their final held at The Dominion League. The competition in Perth was tight, with few points separating many of the competitors, but there could only be five that go through. Going Fabbris and Bygrave for the judging that afternoon was last year’s Australian winner of The Mixing Star, Ben Greenham.
In fifth place was Sean Butcher from Wildflower, and Choo Choo’s Brett Arendse in a fine fourth place. Third place went to Perth cocktail scene mainstay Joe Sinagra from Bobeche, and Phil Weber, from Mad Dogs, came through in second. But when it came to call a winner, it was The Laneway Lounge’s Dean Christie who won the day with a great prosecco-topped drink that refreshed the judges, with flavour that seemed to go on for days.
When the competitors and the judges gathered at The Cove for the masterclass and mystery box challenge, we witnessed a spectacle we can’t otherwise seen throughout the rest of the competition: a tie for the fifth and final place in the next round of the comp, between Hot Tamale’s Anneliese Grazioli and Lazy Susan’s Josie Blanchard.
There was going to be a shake off. With the pair put back behind the bar, with limited time to create a new drink from the mystery box, it was Grazioli who pipped Darwin’s popular and talented Blanchard for the fifth spot on the winners stage.
In fourth spot and also through to the next round was Janna Lintunen of Chow; in third, with a tikitastic expression of Disaronno was Dan Carr from Nirvana. Nguyen Do, from Lazy Susan’s Eating House, snapped up the second spot, with Jordi James Pledger taking out pole position.
It’s been a whirlwind month travelling the length and breadth of the country with Disaronno and The Mixing Star — but it what it showed us here at Australian Bartender was how, when faced with the task of preparing something delicious — something spontaneous — so many of the country’s bartenders shine in what is a true test of bartending experience, talent, and imagination.
Congratulations to all the winners and good luck in the next round!