Chapter 72 in London's Bermondsey has just hosted the grand finale of the 2019 Monin BarBarista Challenge.
In association with UK Coffee Week, the competition paired professional bartenders with baristas, giving them the opportunity to showcase their creative coffee cocktail flair.
Monin Brand Ambassador and BarBarista curator, Dan Davis said, “This year turned out to be a very close contest and all competitors presented really interesting coffee cocktail combinations with exceptional flavour. The standard was extremely high as all the drinks were scored highly on originality which led to some difficult decisions needing to be made by the judges.
At the end of an exhilarating day, wildcard entry Daniel Laycock and Luke Cole from Arc Inspiration's Banyan Bar and Kitchen, Leeds were announced winners with their Black Nectar submission ticking all the right boxes for the judges.
Rod Eslamieh, owner of Chapter 72 and lead judge, said, “Our winning BarBarista pair Daniel and Luke demonstrated great teamwork throughout the competition from the regional heat to the London finale. Black Nectar was the result of a genuine partnership between Daniel and Luke, it wasn’t a case of just handing over the baton.
“The winning cocktail scored highly across the board. Visually, the cocktail really stood and was well suited to the vessel. The cocktail had great body and the milk ice cubes added a little something extra. Black Nectar is a fun cocktail that would definitely be a hit with consumers who have a curious mind.”
The winning Black Nectar recipe ingredients:
20 ml Monin Coffee Liqueur
10ml Le Fruit de Monin Beetroot
35 ml Remy Martin 1738
10 ml Amaro Cio Ciaro
30 ml Sumatran Espresso
20ml Pineapple juice
25ml Blood Orange Guinness Reduction, using Monin Blood Orange syrup
Serve in a copper over ice made with milk.
Luke Cole commented, “Dan participated in the Monin Cup last year and we’ve previously competed separately in competitions, so it was nice to have a competition in which we could participate together and complement each other’s skills.
“We wanted to make a really personal drink so we based the drink on flavours which we really love and we roasted our own coffee beans to ensure they would compliment the Monin products.”
The event was a culmination of three regional heats held in Bristol, London and Manchester. The winners from each heat, together with one wildcard entry, were all competing to be crowned 2019 BarBarista Challenge champions.
The finalists included:
- Satya Pope (Bartender) from Spicer and Cole and Csenge Kilszki (Barista) from Redlight, Bristol
- Kyle Jones (Bartender) and Jasmine Sumeray (Barista) from East London Liquor Company (ELLC), London
- Karl Stanley (Bartender) and Kyra Elton (Barista) from Science & Industry, Manchester
- Wildcard duo Daniel Laycock (Bartender) and Luke Cole (Barista) from Banyan, Leeds
Emily Taiano, Campaign Manager at UK Coffee Week, said, “We were incredibly impressed with the knowledge the bartenders demonstrated about different types of coffee. Understanding how different blends paired with MONIN was incredibly insightful. The competition really highlighted that there is so much more to coffee cocktails than an Espresso Martini”.
Davis continued, “This year the BarBarista Challenge has been phenomenal and the level of creativity has been truly inspirational. This is such an important competition for Monin as it brings together the trends from the Bar and Barista worlds, both of which are very close to the brand. We’ve been really impressed by the way all of the competitors have used different ways to balance MONIN flavours with coffee.”
With the judges looking for well-balanced drinks that saw coffee and Monin sitting perfectly together, the winning pair delivered an impressive flavour combination, which took the judges on a creative journey to discover the perfect coffee cocktail.
