For Joey Folkersma, winning the 2024 Australian Bartender of the Year included a very special trip to Hendrick’s Gin Palace in Scotland.
As I watched Joey Folkersma lift the trophy as 2024’s Australian Bartender of The Year last September, I bet his mind probably wasn’t on having to make the exact same winning Hendrick’s Gin cocktail over in Scotland six months later.
Aside from the much-revered title, part of winning the trophy included being flown to Scotland to explore the William Grant & Sons distilleries responsible for producing Hendrick’s Gin and Monkey Shoulder Scotch Whisky, where he would present his winning cocktails to the brands’ master distillers and malt masters.
It is, of course, quite a commute to bonnie Scotland from sultry Darwin, where Joey lives and works. He is co-owner and operator at the fantastic Hanky Panky Lounge and Bar Kokomo, alongside his award-winning brilliant partner Anneliese Grazioli and team.
Luckily for Joey, I was able to keep him company, and tag along for his adventures at The Hendrick’s Gin Palace just outside of Girvan, on the southwest coast of Scotland.
Full disclosure, a full rendition of this adventure would fill a small library, so in the interest of your time, here are some of the highlights.
Many firsts
When Joey tried his first Irn Bru, the orange soft drink with a flavour like no other and known as Scotland’s “other national drink”, the entire pub we were in stopped what they were doing to watch the momentous event. There was also his first Scottish chippy supper.
But one experience really for the books was when he had his boots snapped at by Pepino, the resident tortoise at Hendrick’s Gin Distillery (Pepino means cucumber in Spanish…and yes, you read that correctly, Hendrick’s has a resident tortoise).
Of course, it was also his first time visiting the Hendrick’s Gin Palace to present his winning Hendrick’s cocktail, Dutch Summer, to the creator of Hendrick’s Gin and its master distiller, Lesley Gracie.
“One of the most fantastic parts of the trip was seeing the rapport between Joey and Lesley. It is a rare privilege for those in production and those behind the bar to spend time together.”
Dutch Summer is a marvellously refreshing ‘served up’ style tipple, playing off the silky floral flavour profile of Hendrick’s Gin. It calls for 45ml of Hendrick’s Gin, 7.5ml of dill infused Fino Sherry, 20ml of lime oleo, 5ml of saline, and 20ml of acidulated honey dew melon.
It turns out honey dew melon is much harder to source in Scotland than it is in the Northern Territory, so just before we visited Lesley it was off to Tesco to find a melon! That done, the melon juiced, and tickled with some citric and malic acids, it was off to the Gin Palace.
Our knock on the front door was met with a “go away!”, “no visitors today, thank you very much”, and “what do you want?” in the distinctive Yorkshire tones of Lesley Gracie herself.
After a bit of bribery with Tunnocks Caramel Wafers, Lesley graciously let us in, and gave us a full tour, complete with tasting many (many) delicious things from Lesley’s Lab.
Joey setup up to create his Dutch Summer and safe to say, it went down a treat. There were many lip-smacking slurps, to the point Joey had to make more for the photo shoot for this edition.
There was of course one more member of the Hendrick’s team that wanted in on Joey’s cocktail presentation, Pepino. As the distillery tortoise, he took a particular shine to Joey, especially his boots. But I can confirm, no cocktails were harmed by Pepino during this visit – he was placated with some lovely cucumbers instead.
Back in Australia, when I mention Pepino in training sessions, there are many raised eyebrows of disbelief about a resident tortoise stomping around the distillery, feasting on dandelion flowers in a walled garden and greenhouses attached to the distillery. A distillery dog or cat seems a lot more understandable, but the pictures do not lie.
One of the most fantastic parts of the trip was seeing the rapport between Joey and Lesley. It is a rare privilege for those in production and those behind the bar to spend time together. For Lesley to see her gin brought to life in Joey’s cocktail, and for Joey to meet the founder and creator of one of the world’s best known spirits – it was an incredible opportunity and experience for all.
Fingers crossed I can get Lesley over to Australia at some point soon to experience more of those fantastic cocktails!?