How Jonathan Beresford turned his family history into a winning cocktail.
After nine years in Wellington, Jonathan Beresford relocated to Melbourne last November and quickly made his mark on the local bar scene.
Working at Union Electric, he recently won Starward’s New Old Fashioned competition with Market Night Delight – a cocktail inspired by his German heritage and his grandmother’s glühwein recipe. The winning drink heads into a limited-release Starward bottling.
We caught up with Beresford to talk about the move, the competition and the story behind his winning drink.
Tell us a little about your background and how you ended up at Union Electric.
I arrived in Melbourne from New Zealand last November. I worked in Wellington for around nine years, and worked in a few cocktail bars throughout that time. I’ve been at Union for nearly a year now, and it’s been really good to me.
We joke about it a lot, but Melbourne is just like a bigger, busier Wellington. Wellington’s a really cool place, with really good food and some ama
zing bars.
What inspired you to enter Starward’s New Old Fashioned competition?
Fred came into Union and let us know about it. One of my colleagues and I were chatting about whether we should actually do it. I hadn’t entered any big competitions for around four years.
I thought I might as well challenge myself, and at the very least I could go and learn more about whisky, which I always love. I went along to the masterclass and heard more about the competition, and thought, all right, this sounds really sick. I want to try it out.
Tell us about the cocktail you created. Where did the idea come from?
I really wanted to capture my history and where I’m from. I was born in Germany – my mum is German and my dad’s a Kiwi, and they met in Scotland.
Originally I was trying to get Germany and New Zealand into the drink, along with Australian whisky. I was going to use mānuka honey, but then realised I’m not in New Zealand anymore and that it’s really expensive.
So I thought, let’s just do Germany. Something that always stuck with me was gingerbread spice, and I was trying to create an entire cocktail around that.
Where did the glühwein element come from?
That was essentially a happy accident. I made a syrup for another drink I was working on for winter, and the recipe for my glühwein reduction syrup is actually derived from my grandmother’s glühwein recipe.
The original drink didn’t work, but I had all this syrup, so I thought, I want to try something else. I put it in the cocktail and it was like, all right, sweet, done. It’s perfect.
What were you trying to capture with the drink?
The feeling of being at a Christmas market in winter, with a hot glühwein or mulled wine in hand, and maybe a hip flask of whisky to warm me up as well.
What went through your mind when you found out you’d won?
I was just going to show up, man. It was almost kind of overwhelming realising that I’d won. I haven’t actually been here that long, and I didn’t expect to do as well as I did.
What does it mean to see your cocktail now going into production?
I’m extremely honoured, honestly. It means a lot. To win and then see my drink go out into such big production is very crazy.
I was lucky enough to go to Starward and see the production, and I can definitely say I’ve never been more paranoid about my signature in my life.
It’s nice to think of it as a little bit of home. I’m showing stuff that my mum taught me and gave me the recipe for, and my grandmother back over in Germany as well. It’s nice being able to do that for them.
What advice would you give bartenders who are thinking about entering competitions but haven’t pulled the trigger?
Do it. It’s a lot of fun being able to start thinking creatively about what interests you and what works for a competition. It’s never going to hurt entering one.
The worst thing that happens is you don’t make it as far. But at the very least, you’ll challenge yourself to improve as a bartender and have a lot of fun.
As soon as you get into the feeling of making cool drinks, just do what your palate works with and go for it.
The drink is now on the menu at Union Electric too, right?
Yeah, it’s on the main menu at Union, so people can come in and try it if they really want to.
Beresford’s winning drink is now available at Union Electric and will also feature in a Starward limited-release bottling.
The full interview can be read on australianbartender.com.au
Jonathan Beresford: Starward’s New Old Fashioned champion
How Jonathan Beresford turned his family history into a winning cocktail.
After nine years in Wellington, Jonathan Beresford relocated to Melbourne last November and quickly made his mark on the local bar scene.
Working at Union Electric, he recently won Starward’s New Old Fashioned competition with Market Night Delight – a cocktail inspired by his German heritage and his grandmother’s glühwein recipe. The winning drink heads into a limited-release Starward bottling.
We caught up with Beresford to talk about the move, the competition and the story behind his winning drink.
Tell us a little about your background and how you ended up at Union Electric.
I arrived in Melbourne from New Zealand last November. I’d worked across hospitality in Wellington for around nine years – bars, clubs, cocktail venues, the full range. I’ve been at Union for nearly a year now, and it’s been really good to me.
We joke about it a lot, but Melbourne’s like a bigger, busier Wellington – great food scene, amazing bars.
What inspired you to enter Starward’s New Old Fashioned competition?
Fred Siggins, Starward brand ambassador, came into Union and let us know about it. One of my colleagues and I were chatting about whether we should actually do it. I hadn’t entered any big competitions for around four years.
I thought I might as well challenge myself, and at the very least I could go and learn more about whisky, which I always love. I went along to the masterclass and heard more about the competition, and thought, all right, this sounds really sick. I want to try it out.
Tell us about the cocktail you created. Where did the idea come from?
I really wanted to capture my history and where I’m from. I was born in Germany – my mum is German and my dad’s a Kiwi, and they met in Scotland.
Originally I was trying to get Germany and New Zealand into the drink, along with Australian whisky. I was going to use mānuka honey, but once I moved to Melbourne, it felt forced and expensive.
So I thought, let’s just do Germany. Something that always stuck with me was gingerbread spice, and I was trying to create an entire cocktail around that.
Where did the glühwein element come from?
That was essentially a happy accident. I made a syrup for another drink I was working on for winter, and the recipe for my glühwein reduction syrup is actually derived from my grandmother’s glühwein recipe.
The original drink didn’t work, but I had all this syrup, so I thought, I want to try something else. I put it in the cocktail and it was like, all right, sweet, done. It’s perfect.
What were you trying to capture with the drink?
The feeling of being at a Christmas market in winter, with a hot glühwein or mulled wine in hand, and maybe a hip flask of whisky to warm me up as well.
What went through your mind when you found out you’d won?
Honestly, I was just going to show up and have fun. It was almost kind of overwhelming realising that I’d won. I haven’t actually been here that long, and I didn’t expect to do as well as I did.
What does it mean to see your cocktail now going into production?
I’m extremely honoured, honestly. It means a lot. To win and then see my drink go out into such big production is pretty crazy.
I was lucky enough to go to Starward and see the production, and I can definitely say I’ve never been more paranoid about my signature in my life.
It’s nice to think of it as a little bit of home. I’m showing stuff my mum taught me, and my grandmother’s recipe from back in Germany. It’s nice being able to do that for them.
What advice would you give bartenders who are thinking about entering competitions but haven’t pulled the trigger?
Do it. It’s a lot of fun being able to start thinking creatively about what interests you and what works for a competition. It’s never going to hurt entering one.
The worst thing that happens is you don’t make it as far as you hoped. But at the very least, you’ll challenge yourself to improve as a bartender and have a lot of fun.
As soon as you get into the feeling of making cool drinks, just do what your palate works with and go for it.
The drink is now on the menu at Union Electric too, right?
Yeah, it’s on the main menu at Union, so people can come in and try it if they really want to.