Following a
tough fought competition Stefanie
Anderson of Bon Vivant, Edinburgh has
been crowned Talisker Race to Skye
Champion 2018.
Diageo Reserve’s premium Scotch whisky,
Talisker has crowned the second ever
winner of the Race to Skye bartender
competition. After four challenges
Stefanie Anderson of Bon Vivant,
Edinburgh, has been given the title of
2018 ‘Race to Skye’ Champion.
After a hugely successful inaugural
launch in 2017, the 2018 competition
returned for a second outing, proving
once again to be a showcase of
extraordinary talent. With an increased
volume of entrants compared to last
year, the ‘Race to Skye’ competition
invited bartenders from Edinburgh,
Glasgow, Manchester, Bournemouth,
Bristol and London to create a cocktail
that embodied Talisker’s ‘Made by the
Sea’ campaign.
The top ten competitors from each region
were selected to compete in a series of
highly competitive semi-finals with the
final seven then chosen to compete in
the finals from the 13th – 15th August
on Skye.
Stefanie pitted her skills against Elysa
McGuire from Epicurus: Death & Taxes,
Leeds, Alex Francis from Devil’s
Darling, London, Mike Pendergast from
the East London Liquor Company, London,
Adam Day from Peggy’s, Manchester, Liam
Grogan from Kelvingrove Café, Glasgow,
and Miran Chauhan from Buck & Birch,
Edinburgh.
Day one commenced with ‘Mystery
Challenge’ designed to test the skills
of each competitor’s discerning nose,
palate and core distillery knowledge.
Competitors were presented with six
unmarked whisky samples and tasked to
nose, taste and identify each from a
list of 11 distilleries within the
25-minute timeframe. Renowned
distilleries comprised Glenkinchie,
Lagavulin, Caol Ila, Oban, Cragganmore,
Dalwhinnie, Talisker, Clynelish, Cardhu,
Blair Athol, Royal Lochnagar.
Challenge two, the ‘Cocktail Food
Pairing’ was situated at the iconic
Gleneagles Hotel and revolved around a
six-course dinner showcasing some of the
finest seasonal produce Scotland has to
offer. Six finalists were designated a
course and challenged to create a
cocktail which perfectly complemented
the dish, with the seventh tasked to
fashion an aperitif. All finalists were
asked to use Talisker 10, Talisker Skye,
Talisker Storm or Talisker Port Ruighe
as a base. The competitors were
evaluated on the components of the serve
and their presentation skills.
On day two, bartenders embarked on the
journey to Skye where the third
challenge took place, the ultimate
whisky knowledge challenge, ‘Mastermind’
hosted by GB Whisky Brand Ambassador,
Colin Dunn. To conclude the series of
challenges, each bartender was required
to present their Talisker Made by the
Sea Signature Serve to the panel of
judges at the Talisker Distillery
Visitor Centre with seven minutes to
present the crafted cocktail.
Like inaugural winner Andrew Lennie,
Stefanie is awarded the title of
honorary Talisker Ambassador to support
the Scotch whisky brand in telling its
story and communicating the on-going
Made by the Sea campaign. She will also
enjoy an enhanced PR campaign to help
raise her profile in the drinks
industry.
Stefanie Anderson commented: "I’m
delighted to have won the Race to Skye.
I admire the brand in so many ways so I
am incredibly grateful to have been a
part of the experience and on top of it,
won! The competition was tough and
everybody presented amazing serves and
real originality behind their stories.
This is just an amazing way to round off
the trip and I’m thrilled to return and
carry the Talisker torch."
Scottish Malts Ambassador at Diageo
Reserve, Stevie Martin added: "Single
malt whisky is fast becoming a main stay
for the finest cocktail bartenders in
the country. The Race to Skye again
showed the possibilities and versatility
of the Talisker brand when in the hands
of the finest talent around. We had
exceptional drinks and memorable stories
from all seven finalists as well as an
incredible few days travelling the
Scottish wilderness. Our winner,
Stefanie Anderson from the Bon Vivant in
Edinburgh, performed incredibly well
across all four challenges and we are
looking forward to working with her on
Talisker single malt whisky moving
forward." |