Everyone can be a part of the fun and festivities of World Bartender Day by supporting their local finalist of The Perfect Blend during the time period of 10th Feb – 24th Feb.
Each finalist’s venue across Australia and New Zealand will be serving their signature creation that allowed them to make it through to their respective Regional Finals of The Perfect Blend Cocktail Competition.
Each signature creation is ‘A toast to…’, and you are invited to celebrate World Bartender Day in each of their venues by savouring one of their delicious tipples.
Some bartenders are adding their personal touch to how they are celebrating; here’s a few examples of what’s going on in trade — be sure to check them out and visit www.worldbartenderday.com.
Which bartenders are representing your state? There’s close to 100 finalists!
WORLD BARTENDER DAY
A DAY TO CELEBRATE THE CRAFT. A DAY TO CELEBRATE THE BARTENDER.
A DAY DEDICATED TO ONE OF THE WORLD’S OLDEST PROFESSIONS
Jai Lyons – His cocktail will be listed at 92 GPR, as well as being served at Maybe Frank in Surry Hills.
Jai will be hosting a sit down dinner and cocktail pairing with head chef at No. 92 GPR, John Lyons. The day of this activation will be the Thursday 20th of February at 7:00pm. It will be a four course degustation pairing a mini cocktail with each dish. Tickets found here: https://www.no92gpr.com.au/
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Orion Leppan Taylor – ‘’My event, (in keeping with the theme of my cocktail as a toast to one’s parents) is a Family Night Out! Every group that books an Escape or Karaoke room at our bar on the 20th of Feb and brings along their parents will receive a complimentary serve of my signature cocktail. The drink will also be running on our specials board between the 10th and the 24th.’’
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Liam Gavin – ‘’During the promotional period from the 10th of Feb the “Fanta-stic four” will be available on nitro tap at Doorknock. Purchase the cocktail during the period and you will put you in the draw for a ticket to a free whisk(e)y masterclass with my signature cocktail and paired cured meats. ‘’
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Ngametua Fatongiatau –
‘’In keeping with our Mediterranean vibe, we will be transforming our terrace into a small garden of tranquillity, where one can feel like they woke up on the Santorini Coast, or they are enjoying a summer afternoon at one of many Botanical Gardens in Japan. ‘’
Instagram Promotion: take a picture of Hero drink ‘Kazoku” and post with #wbd2020 #correttodeewhy #tpb2020 to go into the draw to win a gift voucher for the restaurant at the end of the promotional period.
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Nathan Arias- In conjunction with The Perfect Blend Cocktail Competition 2020 & World Bartender Day, Nathan Arias invites you to join him on a journey through to experiencing all things Suntory Hakushu Japanese Whisky and find out his inspiration behind The Perfect Blend Cocktail Competition 2020 entry ‘WEST OF TOKYO’.
Tickets will include:
1. ‘WEST OF TOKYO’ Cocktail
2. Suntory Japanese Whisky Masterclass: – Hakushu Distillers Reserve – Hakushu 12 Year Old – Hakushu 18 Year Old – Hibiki 17
3. ‘WEST OF TOKYO’ Glencairn Whisky Glass
Authentic Japanese Sashimi provided by D’s Authentic Japanese: – Tuna, Salmon and Kingfish Hokkaido Scallops and seasonal white fish – Hakushu Whisky infused Wasanbon and sesame tiramisu.
Event to be held 12th February.
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Tom Kearney –
CHARITY DONATIONS AND CHEESE PAIRINGS
FOXTROT UNICORN
40 Seconds to Perfection is available to purchase at Foxtrot Unicorn from now until 24th February.
From 10th-24th February, $2 from every purchase of the cocktail will be donated to local and eastern fire services.
The finalists at Foxtrot Unicorn are running a cheese pairing menu for all 3 of their drinks from 10th-24th February.
Tom has also made up gift packs to send to other bars that stock Maker’s Mark, so they can make 40 Seconds to Perfection in their venue. So you have many places to try this delicious drink!
https://www.foxtrotunicorn.com/
Francesca Camill
‘’During the season of love, we want to give back a little bit of love to our mother Earth, and for every ‘Gaia’ cocktail sold during the World Bartender Day Event from 10th to 24th February, Gazi will donate a tree to a foundation in Victoria and help restore our environment with Treeproject.com. Every guest that “Drinks and Donates” on the 10th February will receive a complimentary serve of fetta chips.
It’s also the moment to bring our team together in a challenge to help restore the environment and we will organise a planting day. TreeProject is a non-profit (Charitable), nongovernment, volunteer-based organization leading the way in sustainable re-vegetation throughout Victoria and dedicated to revegetating the Victorian landscape with indigenous trees, shrubs and grasses.’’
https://gazirestaurant.com.au/
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Madeleine Irwin and Ash Turner – To celebrate making it to The Perfect Blend Regional Finals 2020, Madeleine Irwin and Ash Turner will be hosting a charity event on Monday 10th February and donating 100% of the proceeds from the sale of their cocktails to the Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park, who are doing crucial work during this devastating time.
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Isabella Byrne – Anyone who purchases a serving of ‘Whisky for Breakfast’ during this time will go in the draw to win a room at MACq01 for 1 night !
The Story Bar will also offer a whisky tasting flight to showcase their 3 Japanese whiskies on the menu: Hibiki Harmony, The Chita and Hakushu. This is will be paired with Tasmania cheeses. $45 for the whisky flight with the cheeses.
https://www.macq01.com.au/eat-and-drink/
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Tony Huang – The Cloakroom will be donating 100% of the Day 1 cocktail sale to the GiveNow Gippsland Emergency Relief Fund during World Bartender Day 10th – 24th February 2020.
Day 1 is all about celebrating new beginnings. With this in mind we hope to encourage everyone to give the fire devastated Gippsland community a new beginning.
Here’s to your Day 1!
https://cloakroommelbourne.com/
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Alex Brown –
THE SHAKE UP & BARBIES AND BOILERS
The Shake Up is about how bartenders through the medium of a drink or drinks competition and with the support from a global media platform like The Blend can elevate, educate, promote and influence consciousness of these critical topics at a grassroots and global level.
During 10th-24th February, a series of 5 minute video discussions will be posted to Instagram with a bar tender, bar manager or bar owner at the bar they work at or their favourite bar. It will feature the Stolen Dance cocktail as the centre piece of the questions. the idea behind the stolen dance cocktail was personal growth and understanding of the world around to make a positive contribution. The major question asked in each video will be… Why are Bartenders in a unique position to have a positive contribution to the world around us?
Each video will have a slightly different topic. Over the course of the activation they will have guests discuss many different topics like, sustainability of our world, sustainability of body and mind, science of booze, starting small business etc. all to gain engagement from the bar world and consumers alike for a bit of insight into our industry.
At the end of each video segment, they will play a secret sound. A sound familiar to bar tenders! If you can guess the secret sound every day and send it in the listener will go into the draw to win a bottle of Bowmore 12 and a batched bottle of the Stolen Dance cocktail. If they can guess the secret sound any day they will be able to go to the bar and quote the secret sound to receive 10% off their Stolen Dance cocktail.
On the Friday afternoons of the 14th and the 21st Union Electric will host a barbeque with donations received going to the Red Cross and Australian wildlife rescue organisation. Everyone who contributes will receive 10% off the stolen dance cocktail. Mini boiler makers of Bowmore 12 will be promoted with every beer purchase with 10% also going to charity.
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Dylan Spowart
Dylan will be running a 2 (two) week activation where patrons who order his The Perfect Blend cocktail, Ni Yama, will go into a draw to win a dinner for 2 (two) people at The Lounge by Frogmore Creek valued to $160.
There will also be a ticketed event for a maximum of 14 (fourteen) people consisting of a 3 course dinner with cocktail pairing, this will be held on World Bartender Day (February 24th). There will also be a draw prize for those in attendance to win a bottle of Hakushu Distillers Reserve Whisky (Dylan’s hero spirit for Ni Yama).
https://frogmorecreek.com.au/the-lounge-by-frogmore-creek/
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Charlie Hunter:
For World Bartender Day, “Haru No Nage” will be listed on the menu at Suzie Wong’s, the new venue opening up in place of the Bowery, from 10th to 24th February. On the 23rd or 24th of February (exact date TBC), a 10 pax arts and craft session will be hosted in the outside section of Suzie Wong’s. This will be From 12 -2 and will involve the creation of bonseki, a small Japanese garden made with artificial moss and trees. Guests will be served the ‘Haru No Nage’ cocktail, as well as a HAKU Vodka highball.
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Zoltan Ognyenovits:
Zoltan’s event for The Magyar this year will be an Aperitivo hour takeover of the backroom at the Gresham from 4pm on February 21st.
The Magyar will be sold and samples exclusively for 2 hours between 4pm and 6pm and will be complimented with traditional Hungarian snacks for an Aperitivo pairing to celebrate the style of the cocktail and my Hungarian heritage.
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Joe Steadman:
On Sunday 16th February at 2pm, Death and Taxes will be hosting a Classic Cocktail/cocktail creation class and Bowmore whisky tasting, with proceeds going to Alzheimer’s Australia. The event will include a welcome highball on arrival, tastings of Bowmore No. 1, Bowmore 12 and Bowmore 15, and an in depth explanation of Joe’s cocktail for The Perfect Blend, “The Lights of Lochindaal”.
https://www.facebook.com/DeathandtaxesBrisbane/
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Joshua Pretorius:
The Cambus Wallace will be promoting the ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’ cocktail for the 2 weeks leading up to World Bartender Day.
Joshua will be hosting a hospo event on the 4th Feb, where he will be selling shirts with all proceeds going to the WIRES for further help to our native wildlife. He will continue stocking shirts to sell until the end of February. The event is being held to create awareness for mental health issues within the service industry. To purchase/pre-order a T-Shirt email the cambuswallace@gmail.com.
https://www.thecambuswallace.com.au/
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Samuel Russ: Come in and learn the secrets of the most ubiquitous cocktail in history, the classic Martini, featuring Y?j?, bartender Samuel Russ’ entry into The Perfect Blend 2020 Cocktail Competition.
Y?j?, meaning “friendship” in Japanese, is a toast to the strong bonds between Brisbane, Australia and Kobe, Japan who signed Brisbane’s first ever sister city agreement in 1985. A perfect blend of Japanese and Australian ingredients come together to create a crisp, refreshing martini served in a traditional Sake set to be shared among friends.
An arrival Haku Highball will get the evening started before Sam unravels the mysteries of the martini with your choice of Haku Vodka or Roku Gin, two of Beam Suntory’s premium spirits made in Japan. Following this, guests are invited to indulge in a sampling of Y?j? whilst listening to the inspiration behind the drink.
Snacks will be provided on the night and everything is included in the ticketed price of $50 per person. Event will be held 18th February, 2020. Spots are strictly limited so get yours quick by contacting the Cobbler Instagram page @cobblerwestend or Samuel Russ @bikesbeveragesbowties.
Head to www.worldbartenderday.com to see who’s made it and where to head to try their cocktails!