Judging For The Cocktail Crown | Blogger Dining Club


Danielle Levy, Alma De Cuba, Halewood Wine & Spirits, food blogger, cocktail competition, cocktail masterclass, Blogger Dining Club,

Nothing beats spending a Wednesday afternoon judging some amazing new cocktail creations with some amazing Liverpool bloggers! Last week, I headed along to Alma De Cuba with Jessi as part of the Bloggers Dining Club for the competition between Alma De Cuba and Halewood Wine & Spirits

Danielle Levy, Alma De Cuba, Halewood Wine & Spirits, food blogger, cocktail competition, cocktail masterclass, Blogger Dining Club,
Danielle Levy, Alma De Cuba, Halewood Wine & Spirits, food blogger, cocktail competition, cocktail masterclass, Blogger Dining Club,
Danielle Levy, Alma De Cuba, Halewood Wine & Spirits, food blogger, cocktail competition, cocktail masterclass, Blogger Dining Club,
Danielle Levy, Alma De Cuba, Halewood Wine & Spirits, food blogger, cocktail competition, cocktail masterclass, Blogger Dining Club,
Danielle Levy, Alma De Cuba, Halewood Wine & Spirits, food blogger, cocktail competition, cocktail masterclass, Blogger Dining Club,
Danielle Levy, Alma De Cuba, Halewood Wine & Spirits, food blogger, cocktail competition, cocktail masterclass, Blogger Dining Club,

The evening was organised by the lovely Georgie Glass from the Blogger Dining Club, the club was created in October last year when Georgie wanted to create top-notch events for bloggers in the North West, after all we miss out on the amazing events down in London! The Blogger Dining Club helps to connect bloggers with restuarants and brands for amazing dining experiences with each event featuring about 10-15 incredible bloggers from the North West.

I ended up getting into Liverpool super early so I caught up with my favourite girls, Sam and Danielle for dinner at Bella Italia. Of course, in typical British fashion, it decided to absolute pour down right as me and Jessi headed off to Alma De Cuba so we arrived slightly flustered and looking a bit like a drowned rat. I was so happy to see Hollie and Francessa when we arrived, it feels like it's been forever since we've all be at an event together. At the beginning of the event, we were welcomed in by Darren and Gemma from Halewood Wine & Spirits who told us all about the competition and just what we'd be doing that evening. 

After we'd all had a chance to have a quick chat and catch up, it was time to sit down and start judging. I think we ended up judging 9 cocktails in the end, most of them featuring Whitley Neill Gin. My top three cocktails were Rhubarb Stilt Skin by Martin Worth, Rosemarys Ruibarbo by Gareth McCullough and Rumble by Ricardo.

Rhubarb Stilt Skin was a gin-based cocktail featuring Whitley Neill rhubarb and ginger gin, lemon, pineapple, grapefruit and marmalade topped with Rhubarb and custard sweets! Everything from the name, the story, the mixologist and the taste was the perfect winner for me. In fact, it got top marks across the board from me! The tartness of the rhubarb and the warmth of the ginger makes it perfect for drinking it with just tonic or mixing into cocktails.

Rosemarys Ruibarbo was another gin-based cocktail featuring Whitley Neill quince gin, Licor 43, lemon, pineapple and raspberries. The Quince gin has hints of fruit with citrus, juniper and apricots. The fruitiness of the gin lent itself perfectly to the cocktail, it also looked absolutely incredible in the gin goblet, so you can totally get that perfect summer picture with it (don't lie, we all do it!). Rosemarys Ruibarbo was my very close second, it was beaten by one point because Martin had a completely amazing story start to finish.

Finally, my third place winner was the Ramble cocktail which featured Whitley Neill rhubarb and ginger gin, Chambord, lemon and a cream float. The Ramble cocktail is Ricardo's take on a Rumble cocktail with his own touch and a Whitley Neill gin! I loved the touch of shaken cream on top, my only quip was that it did not taste like it had any alcohol in it which could get dangerous quickly, for me it tasted a bit like strawberries and cream but with a raspberry flair from the Chambord.

My top two favourite cocktails of the night won the competition and will be featured on the new summer menu so you can head down and spend an afternoon in the gorgeous sunshine to try out some of the winners with friends! Don't forget to protect yourself and your health when out drinking and don't let a good night go bad with the support of Halewood International and Drinkaware, the Drinkaware app now lets you track your alcohol consumption and give you support and information on the health benefits on moderating your drinking.

What's your favourite cocktail?

Speak to you next time!
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Danielle Levy
1 Comments

1 comment:

  1. This was such a fab night - it was great to see you! Just had a look at that Drinkaware app - definitely needed this recently!

    Francesca x | glutenfreehorizons.com

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