THE MAGAZINE FOR MANAGERS, SOMMELIERS AND BARTENDERS drinks.world AU Australia NZ New Zealand HK Hong Kong PH Philippines US United States Whisky Tasting CaskWinchesterFinishesAngus&SamJeveons Training, BarandManagementBuildingaHealthyTeam EDITION 29 GREATER CHINA RPB Asia Southeast Asia’s HospitalityExclusiveEvent BECKALY FRANKS ON FERNET-BRANCA AND BUILDING HER CAREER IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
Get the latest news and updates at drinks.world, your source for everything drinks. Covering Southeast Asia, Australia and Middle East head to drinks.world for updates, interviews, and the latest in venue openings, competitions and new product releases. To make sure you’re in the loop for all things drinks, subscribe to our weekly newsletter and never miss a drop. Of course, we also love hearing from you, so if you want to get in touch, tip us off, talk shop, contribute, or just send us some all around good vibes feel free to get in contact. SO FOR EVERYTHING DRINKS, HOSPITALITY AND HAPPENINGS BOTH HERE IN HONG KONG AND AROUND THE GLOBE, HEAD TO DRINKS.WORLD For more on the world of drinks head to Drinks World online at drinks.world
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4 ° DRINKS CREDITSCreditsWORLD Publisher Ashley Pini ashley@drinks.world Production Manager Sasha Falloon sasha@drinks.world General Manager Melinda Virgona EDITORIAL Associate Editor Hannah Sparks Assistant Editor Lukas Raschilla Editorial Assistant Mary Parbery Editorial Intern Stephanie Aikins DESIGN Art Director Evelyn Rueda Senior Designer Racs Salcedo SALES Market Manager (Asia) Danny Yang danny@drinks.world National Sales and Marketing Manager Chris Wheeler chris@drinks.world PHOTOGRAPHY Photographer: Elden Cheung (101 Sight), Miriam Brummel, Luke Calder CONTRIBUTERS Writers: Paige Vreede, Ben Davidson Editorial Enquiries: If you, your bar, or your brand and company have news or events you would like to share with Drinks World please contact: ashley@drinks.world and/or sasha@drinks.world Although Hip Media Asia endeavours to ensure the accuracy and correctness of the information and Drinks World and www.drinks.world, we do not accept any liability or responsibility for any inaccuracies or omissions. The views expressed by authors of publications or event presentations, published Drinks World, do not necessarily represent the views of Hip Media Asia. Decisions or actions based on the information and publications provided by Hip Media Asia are at your own risk.
FRONT COVER: Beckaly Franks on Fernet-Branca and her continued investment to South East Asia. Story on pages 14-17. drinks world drinksworld Produced and published by
DRINKS WORLD ° 5 Welcome
Edition 29 of Drinks World Magazine lauds all things whisky, with plenty of content to inspire you to push the boundaries and celebrate bar culture. On the cover, Beckaly Franks spent some time with Drinks World magazine and chatted about her passion for the industry, how she got to where she is today and her love affair with Fernet-Branca.
Want to stay up to date on the latest industry news locally and abroad? Each week we send out a newsletter featuring the latest news, and this hits your inbox each Friday. Put your name down for the free newsletter to make sure you stay up to date with what’s happening in the world of drinks, or join the Drinks World group on Facebook.
Our big feature this edition is on page 35; everything Whisky, Whiskey and Bourbon – however you want to spell it. This time we looked closely at the effects of the different cask finishes and gathered a keen band of tasters at Mjølner in Sydney because they have Thor’s hammer, axes and cool stuff, to go through nine different styles, from Stout Cask to Oloroso Cask finishes– and plenty in between. Also in this edition, check out the Top 25 Bartenders in Hong Kong, in case you missed the April special edition.
We’re also busy working towards Top 25 Bartenders Australia which will be announced in August, so keep an eye for details on the extended T25 community.
I hope you enjoy this edition, and look forward to your feedback. Stay informed at www.drinks.world.
AshCheers,Pini
Looking at the competition calendar for the remainder of the year, it’s a busy one. Samuel Kwok recently won the title World Class Hong Kong and Macau Bartender of Year (turn to page 26) and will be jetting off to Mexico later this year to compete on the global stage. Bols Genever competition wrapped up with Canadian Jessica Mili crowned champion (page 18) and the Patron Perfectionist competition now open for entries (page 7).
Is there a drink that has been more embraced by bartenders across the globe? It’s why we love it.
We’d also like to say that Tales is just around the corner. While it may be on this month, the truth is, it’s a solid 18 hours from boarding in Hong Kong to the Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans. So why not stop along the way. Our city bar guide this edition is all about the stop-over, and where better than LA. Our local expert, Paige Vreede, gives you the tips on hotels that will make you feel like you’re on the set of Entourage, to the coolest bars keeping you away from the tourist traps. We’ve even thrown in a few tips for Tales itself, assuming you make it.
6 ° DRINKS WORLD Contents News 07 What’s Happening? 14 Visit 50 Venue Profiles 56 LA LA Land Drinks 61 Cocktail Club Competitions 18 Bols Around The World 26 Diageo World Class Meet 14 Beckaly Franks 28 Angus Winchester and Sam Jeveons 42 Simon McGoram 44 Brent Lamberti 46 Giancarlo Quiroz Jesus 48 Orman Bag-Ao 18 61 30 38 444850 20 Feature 20 T25 HongBartendersKong 38 Cask Finished Whisky Tasting 30 Chivas Masters 35 Cask Finished Whisky 60 Tales of the Cocktail Tips 66 Confessions of a Bartender
To enter the Patrón Perfectionists Cocktail Competition please visit: www.patronperfectionists.com or register your interest to bevi_leung@telford.com.hk or edith_ma@telford.com.hk
“We are proud to see the competition return on this scale, bringing new, up-and-coming talent to the bar with fresh ideas on what it takes to be a Patrón Perfectionist,” he said. “This year, as ever, the bar is raised, and we are excited to discover mixologists who experiment with the flavour profiles and versatility of Patrón Tequila and who understand and share our values.”
We like to explore the wonderful world of drinks as much as you do. From new venue openings, new releases, competitions, events and everything in between - the drinks industry is a truly diverse landscape, and we look forward to bringing you the latest happenings locally and abroad.
WORLD CLASS HONG KONG & MACAU ANNOUNCEDWINNER
Congratulations to Samuel Kwok from Quinary for being crowned and Macau Champion 2017. In the final round, Kwok competed again two of Hong Kong’s finest bartenders, where they had to create their own pop-up bar at Taikoo Place. In the final shakedown, the three finalists were judged on the design, concept, service, and drinks served in the pop-ups. For more details turn to page 26.
CLASSRESERVEDIAGEOWORLDHongKong
HONG KONG BARTENDERS - PATRÓN PERFECTIONISTS COMPETITION IS NOW OPEN TO ENTER In the contest’s third year, the Patrón CocktailPerfectionistsCompetition is opening up to entries from the bartenders of Hong Kong. The global competition invites the best bartenders from across the globe to create the ‘perfect’ cocktail. Four Hong Kong regional heats will take place beginning the 5th June until the 31st July and the regional final held on the 18th September. The winner will be flown to Mexico to compete in the semi-finals on the 17th January 2018 and, if successful, the global final on Thursday 18th of January 2018.
To follow in the footsteps of the previous global final winner, Mike McGinty of Edinburgh’s Voyage of Buck, bartenders can register for entry from now until midnight July 31. Bartenders don’t miss out on this great opportunity!
LONDON’S BEST WHISKY BAR IS SET TO POP-UP IN HONG KONG Hong Kong venue Foxglove has partnered with The Singleton Single Malt Scotch Whisky to launch Black Rock – ‘London’s Best Whisky Bar’ at Frank’s Library. From July 22 to August 5, the Frank’s Library speakeasy bar inside Foxglove will be transformed to a Black Rock pop-up. Spaces are limited, and bookings are essential for this event. Check out foxglovehk.com for more details.
DRINKS WORLD ° 7 ° NEWS °
WHAT’S HAPPENING?
In order to be crowned the overall Global Patrón Perfectionist, contestants must beat 18 other national perfectionists from around the world. The competition will be assessed by a panel of expert judges and will be held at Hacienda Patrón, the home of the premium tequila.LeeApplbaum, chief marketing officer of Patrón Spirits International, is excited for Hong Kong’s bartenders to join in the fierce competition.
° NEWS °
(PROWINE ASIA)
CHALLENGE: •
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The event took place across four days at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Being the largest scale exhibiting space ever, it housed more than 2,500 exhibiting companies from 72 countries and regions. Needless to say, we were like kids in a candy store when we arrived on day one. The opening ceremony took place at approximately 11am. It was officiated by Professor K. C. Chan, GBS, JP, who is the secretary for financial services and the treasury. After being welcomed to the show, Drinks World spent the next four days eating, drinking, networking and learning.
COMPETITIONS THAT WERE TOO HOT TO HANDLE Foremost was the International Culinary Classic, also known as the HKICC. This was officiated by Regina Leung, founder and patron of Food for Good, a non-profit organisation that redistributes leftover food from hotels, restaurants and bakeries to those in need and to promote policy on reducing waste. The HKICC is arguably the region’s most famous culinary event, and this year’s installation saw more than 900 chefs compete with contestants from Hong Kong, China, Korea, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Thailand, Germany, Taiwan, Australia, Philippines and Macau. With a total of 28 categories divided into Chinese and Western cuisine, the competition was fierce. Following its close on Thursday May 11th, we would like to congratulate the following winners for taking home the associated awards:
HOFEX has been around for 30 years. Quite simply, it’s an international exhibition of all the things that make our industry thrive. This includes fine food, global drinks and hospitality technology as well as other equipment and supplies. This year more than 39,000 trade buyers attended HOFEX, with notable increases from countries such South China, Macau, Taiwan, Philippines and Korea.
BEST OF THE BEST LIVE HIGH TEA SET COMPETITION: New World Millennium Hong Kong Hotel
FROMHIGHLIGHTSHOFEX
Here’s a snapshot of the highlights:
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THE
10 ° DRINKS WORLD May saw ProWine Asia visit Hong Kong, a part of the vibrant and well-attended trade show - HOFEX 2017.
BEST OF THE BEST OF THE BUTCHERY SKILLS CHALLENGE: Andrew Bonnell, Mt Baker Free Rangers, Australia BEST OF THE BEST OF GOURMET TEAM Singapore Chefs Association
NEW ADDITIONS AND EVENTS
COFFEE BREAK
Four days at HOFEX was like a marathon, meaning we needed to keep our sugars up to push through. Luckily Sims, a leading food and beverage distributor in Hong Kong and Macau, invited three pastry-masters to demonstrate how to make their most delicious recipes for orange cake, biscotti and more. A huge thank you to Chefs David Puig Zaragoza, Andrew Wachter and Fabrice Prochasson for providing an enriching learning opportunity, as well as some delicious fuel. HOFEX and ProWine 2017 was an absolute blast, and we highly recommend that those involved in the hospitality industry that is looking for education, entertainment and inspiration attend next year’s installation. At the very least, you’ll have a great time!
PASTRY UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL
The pick of the presentations came on day two, from Mary Levanza – presenting the beautiful House of Taittinger, which could be visited in the Champagne Lounge conveniently located opposite the Drinks World stand. Thank you to the organisers for that one.
The Portuguese Cork Association presented their latest campaign designed to instil greater faith in the value of cork as a natural closure. We found this particularly interesting having seen the rise of the screwcap closure in markets such as Australia, noting that the key message from the cork association was the environmental benefits and perceived premium nature of the wine under a cork closure. “American wine consumers are willing to pay USD$4.31 more for a bottle sealed with cork” and “The brands of wine that use cork stoppers showed higher annual growth in sales and more stable prices than those that opt for other closures”, were two arguments put forward. Our view: with the new world moving to alternative closures in huge numbers, the cork producers will be very keen to sure up support in the Asian markets. The environmental argument has a lot to offer, though we suspect the quality of wine debate will fade as more and more consumers demand fewer faults in their wine.
TO CORK OR NOT TO CORK
Another piping hot competition was the “Mixed Barista Arts”, also known as the MBA. The revolutionary MBA tested the hands on technique, knowledge and crafting skills of some of the world’s best coffee experts across a series of intensive challenges. Congratulations to Hoi Pang Mok who was crowned the MBA winner.
The debut of ProWine Asia in Hong Kong saw the event take over most of Hall 5, ProWine put on a truly prolific expo with over 300 exhibitors and 12,184 trade visitors. Not only were rare wines from France, Italy, Spain and more available for tasting, but ProWine also brought along some of the industry’s top industry leaders who offered a wealth of insight and knowledge. Among them was Debra Meiburg, the award-winning wine journalist, and Jancis Robinson, the British wine critic. What a pleasure it was to meet them both!
DRINKS WORLD ° 11 GOLDEN BAUHINIA CUP: • Matthew Liesemer, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, Canada (Western Cuisine) • Cheung Ka Ho, Royal Plaza Hotel, Hong Long (Chinese Cuisine)
