Mixologists set to battle at inaugural cocktail championships

Molloy's bar staff are also turning away dozens of tourists who have been in the country for less...
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Nine Queenstown mixologists will battle it out for cocktail glory at Arthurs Point’s The Cargo Collective Brew Hall this Saturday.

The Cargo Collective has partnered with Reid Single Malt Vodka, The Source Malt Gin and The Cardrona Single Malt Whisky for the inaugural Queenstown Cocktail Championships — each contestant has to use one of the spirits as the hero ingredient in their creation.

Bars from across the district are being represented in the champs, including mixologists from Ayrburn hospo precinct, near Arrowtown, and Steamer Wharf’s Little Blackwood.

Bartenders will have 15 minutes to whip up their masterpiece, to be tasted by the three judges — Cardrona Distillery’s Ben Stewardson, Destination Queenstown’s Sarah McDonald and Alchemy & Tonic and Premium Liquor Co’s Chris Johnston.

Stewardson, the most recent Cardrona Distillery cocktail champ, will be looking for a creation that contains precise flavours, notes and hints, while McDonald is on the lookout for an everyday cocktail she could sip with friends by the lakefront, while Johnston, who’s worked in bars all over the world, brings an innate knowledge of what a good cocktail is to the panel.

The Cargo Collective’s business development manager Kirsten Brenner says they’re fizzing to host an event that’ll reach a new crowd, interested in more than drinking just beer, and hopes the event will become annual.

Doors to the Brew Hall open at 3pm, tickets for spectators cost $15, which includes a welcome cocktail, via thecargocollective.co.nz — door sales will also be available.

Brenner notes The Smoke and Pickle will also be serving up burgers in the garden.

 

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