The national final was held at Pickering Cellars in London and was the culmination of a multiple heat competition that had seen 70 bartenders compete.
The two winners will team up to form Team UK and compete in the global final against teams from South Africa and host-country Mauritius.
Luigi Barzini, Pink Pigeon brand manager, said: “Pink Pigeon Rum’s first ever cocktail competition has been a great success. What made this competition truly great was the number of entries, the calibre of the mixologists and the quality of their cocktails.
"We had guys entering the competition from some of the most respected bars in London such as Worship Street Whistling Shop, ECC, the Ritz, Ziloufs, Hawksmoor and many more… Having such mixologists endorsing Pink Pigeon makes us very proud and we are looking forward to working with them further in their respective bars.”
The winning cocktails were:
Leon Dalloway
She Always Comes Back (Libation to enhance vanilla)
50ml Pink Pigeon rum
10 ml Plum liqueur
10 ml Punt e Mes red Vermouth
1 dash Bitter Truth Jerry Thomas Decanter bitters
1 dash of MSK All Spice
Stirred and pour over rock ice in an Old Fashioned glass. Garnish orange zest and a spray of vanilla essence. Food match: chocolate truffles.
The Miracle in Medine (Tiki Punch)
50ml Pink Pigeon rum
12.5ml Apricot liqueur
20ml Honey gomme
25ml Lemon juice
50ml Coconut water
Dash Peach bitters
Swizzle/churn in glass with crushed Ice. Top 20ml sparkling lychee juice. Tiki glass, crushed ice cap. Served in carved watermelon. Garnish: Two lemon slices, lemon fan and mint sprig.
Gareth Evans
Mile High Club (Libation to enhance vanilla)
40ml Pink Pigeon
12.5ml Aperol
20ml 1:1 forced rhubarb syrup
25ml Amalfi lemon
½ Machiavelli egg white
Dry shake, add ice and shake. Fine strain into nick & nora glass. Garnish with vanilla bitters on the foam, and a first class ticket to Mauritius.
Bird Bath (Tiki Punch)
160ml Pink Pigeon
40ml Ceylon Arrack
40ml Pimento dram
120ml Apple juice
120ml Pollen Street Social blend tea
80ml calamansi
60ml 1:1 passionfruit syrup
Shake and strain over block ice in a mini ceramic bathtub, add spiced apple bubblebath and serve with four toothbrush holder cups, with rock ice, edible flowers and a pnk rubber duck.
