Glenfiddich Announces Malt Mastermind Finalists For 2014

Twelve finalists have been selected to compete in this year’s Malt Mastermind and the competition looks stronger than ever as bartenders from renowned venues including The Dorchester, Boisdale of Canary Wharf and The Devil’s Advocate in Edinburgh step up to compete for the title.

The competition, which is now in its fifth year, will test contestants on their creativity, whisky knowledge and passion for bartending. The finalists will create their signature serve using Glenfiddich 14 Year Old, Glenfiddich 15 Year Old or Glenfiddich 15 Year Old Distillery Edition, before taking part in an additional challenge, which will be revealed on the day.

Each contestant will be judged by an expert panel comprised of whisky expert and former Malt Mastermind judge, Mark Thomson, Kirsten Grant Meikle, a William Grant family member and Director of Prestige at the company, and Roman Foltan from the ‘World’s Best Bar’, The Artesian.

The twelve finalists including ‘wild card’ entry Jamie Ireland from the 2013 competition, will compete for the prestigious title at Callooh Callay on Monday 17th November. The bartender who is named Malt Mastermind will win a weekend stay in Dufftown including a VIP distillery experience, £1,000 and the prestigious Glenfiddich trophy.

Judge and whisky expert, Mark Thomson commented: “This is an exciting year to be involved with Malt Mastermind as we’ve had more entries than ever and the calibre of entrants is astoundingly high. The finalists’ serves reflect Glenfiddich’s ruthlessly premium values but demonstrate that whisky is evolving and the on-trade is evolving with it. The level of creativity demonstrated by the applicants has been overwhelming and choosing 12 finalists out of so many strong entries was genuinely difficult.

“Having Kirsten and Roman on board adds another interesting element to the 2014 competition and a lot more pressure for the bartenders as they will need to impress two of the industry’s biggest whisky experts. Let’s see what they’ve got!”

The twelve finalists are:

1. Jamie Ireland, Hotel Missoni, Edinburgh (Wildcard entry from 2013 competition)

2. Ernest Reid, Boisdale of Canary Wharf, London

3. Alex Palumbo, Plateau, London

4. Andrea Signanini, The Bar at The Dorchester, London

5. Dominic Willox, The Tippling House, Aberdeen

6. Henry Yates, The Boilermaker, Nottingham

7. Isabella Newman, The Earl, Bath

8. Steve Georgiou, Bourne and Hollingsworth, London

9. Keivan Nemati, The Zetter Townhouse, London

10. Alix Nardella, Dandelyan, London

11. Ali Reynolds, Hawksmoor Spitalfields, London

12. Michael Lynch, The Devil’s Advocate, Edinburgh