Wilkie and Brusco took home €4,500 winnings - half as a direct bank transfer and the rest working for Gin Mare at key events such as Imbibe, BCB and Tales of the Cocktail.
American Carlos Ruiz of Crystal, Hamburg, New Jersey and the Portuguese Daniel Zamith of Bistro 100 Maneiras in Lisbon, came second and third.
There were eight contestants competing at Villa Gin Mare out in Ibiza. As well as coming up with Mediterranean ‘twist’ on a gin & tonic, they had to produce two original cocktails, one with a food accompaniment.
The wining cocktails were:
Robyn Wilkie:
- ‘The Olive Branch’: Gin Mare, vermouth Cocchi Americano, two drops of Nori
seaweed tincture & 1724 Tonic Water.
- ‘Locomotive”: Gin Mare, sage & rosemary cordial, Tio Pepe sherry & pepper
gratin.
- “The Masquerade’:
Cocktail: Gin Mare, saffron & carrot shrub, lemon juice, almond & honey foam with a rice cracker.
Paired with: Grilled squid with aubergine puree, mint with orange & sunflower.
Fabio Brusco:
- ‘Blood & Tonic’: Gin Mare, tomato foam, salt, pepper, lemon peel & 1724 tonic water.
- ‘Evergreen’: Gin Mare, rosemary, celery juice, lemon juice, two bar spoons of sugar, Ibiza salt & cava.
- ‘Horizon’: Gin Mare, egg yolk, two bar spoons of sugar, lemon juice, herb liqueur & red wine.
Paired with: bread with tomato, anchovies, almond crisp with mayonnaise & curry.
The judges were:
Erik Lorincz of the American Bar, The Savoy Hotel, London;
American bartender Ted Kilpatrick of Covina barrestauant in New York;
Gegham Kazaris, of Kazaris Lab and Jorge Balbontin, brand
development manager at Vantguard which owns the Gin Mare brand.
The food matching judges were:
Jonathan Armengol, blind food critic; Quim Márquez, of Boquería Market Barcelona; Aitor Olabegoya, of GastroJoy in China and Johan Langenbick, founder of Foodpairing.com
