Glenfiddich Malt Mastermind Competition, held at Voltaire bar, London.

Following a rigorous judging process and a hard-fought battle, Glenfiddich has crowned Michael Cameron from Guy’s Restaurant & Bar, Glasgow the winner of its renowned Glenfiddich Malt Mastermind Competition, held at Voltaire bar, London.

Outperforming some of the best bartenders from across the UK, Michael Cameron won the competition with his bespoke Glenfiddich cocktail called ‘Ours is the Fury’, which showcased his originality, creativity and in-depth knowledge of the malt whisky category.

Michael Cameron from Guy’s Restaurant & Bar, Glasgow

The 10 finalists battled it out by showcasing a signature serve using a choice of Glenfiddich 12 Year Old, Glenfiddich 15 Year Old Solera Vat or Glenfiddich 18 Year Old. The bartenders then had to take part in a quick fire buzzer round which tested their knowledge of the extensive world of malt whisky.

Judging the contest were Glenfiddich UK brand ambassador, Mark Thomson, Director of Prestige and William Grant & Sons family member, Kirsten Grant Meikle, Editor of The Cocktail Lovers, Gary Sharpen and Ali Reynolds, 2014 Glenfiddich Malt Mastermind winner. The judges based their scores on innovation, taste, technique, performance, presentation and knowledge.

It’s heart-warming to be working with such talent. The respect, yet playful take on our brand was both exciting to judge and kept all the judges entertained, whilst making the winning decision extremely tough to call this year.
– Mark Thomson: UK Brand Ambassador for Glenfiddich

Once again we were blown away by the high standard of the competitors in this much anticipated contest. All of the finalists showcased wonderful examples of innovative whisky cocktails and we hope the competition inspires other bartenders to experiment with Glenfiddich, driving category interest and consumer recruitment.

– Sarah Harding: Senior Brand Manager for Glenfiddich

Michael has won a VIP trip to the Glenfiddich distillery and £1,000. Glenfiddich will also work with Michael to showcase his serve at brand events throughout 2016.

‘Ours is the Fury’ by Michael Cameron, Guy’s Restaurant & Bar Glasgow

· 35ml Glenfiddich 15 year old Old Solera Vat
· 35ml saffron-infused golden Muscat smoked with hickory chips & powdered orange zest
· 15ml Drambuie
· 7 drops Fee Bros’ Black Walnut bitters
· Pinch vanilla sea salt
· Dehydrated candied orange zest
· Stir and serve in a Branded Maltmaster glass with crossed ‘antlers’ of dehydrated orange zest.

The finalists were:

Kieron Hall, Bonbar, Newcastle upon Tyne
Aiden Page, Carmelite Hotel, Aberdeen
Alix Nardella, Mission E2, London
Manachain Monaghan, Monk Cocktail Bar, Buxton
Dan Berger, Ace Hotel, London
Bartosz Kowalski, Union Street Café, London
Michael Cameron, Guy’s Restaurant & Bar, Glasgow
Mark Barrett, Cringletie House, Edinburgh
Nicholas Gilmour, The Tippling House, Aberdeen
Stephen Rutherford, Orchid, Aberdeen

Ali Reynolds, 2014 Glenfiddich Malt Mastermind Winner

The 10 bartenders who will compete in this year’s prestigious Glenfiddich Malt Mastermind have been announced. The competition, which is now in its sixth year, will see some of the countries up and coming bartenders compete at the Glenfiddich Vaults at Voltaire bar in Central London on 14th September 2015.

The finalists will be asked to create their own signature serve using Glenfiddich 12 Year Old, Glenfiddich 15 Year Old Solera Vat or Glenfiddich 18 Year Old. They will also have to take part in a quick fire buzzer round which will test their knowledge on the complex world of whisky.

Judging the contest is UK brand ambassador, Mark Thomson, Kirsten Grant Meikle, a William Grant family member who is also Director of Prestige, William Grant & Sons UK, and Gary Sharpen, Editor of The Cocktail Lovers. Each contestant will be tested on their creativity, innovation, technique and presentation. Judges will also be looking for a cocktail that demonstrates an excellent balance of flavour.

Selecting our finalists has been extremely difficult. The standard has been higher than ever, which is a credit to the on-trade industry in the UK.

We are looking for a whisky maverick this year – someone who displays passion, knowledge and a modern style with a nod to tradition. It’s going to be a difficult one to judge but we have an esteemed panel on board who are well qualified to select a worthy winner.
– Mark Thomson: UK Brand Ambassador

The finalists are confirmed as:

· Kieron Hall, Bonbar, Newcastle upon Tyne,
· Aiden Page, Carmelite Hotel, Aberdeen
· Alix Nardella, Mission E2, London
· Manachain Monaghan, Monk Cocktail Bar, Buxton
· Dan Berger, Ace Hotel, London
· Bartosz Kowalski, Union Street Café, London
· Michael Cameron, Guy’s Restaurant & Bar, Glasgow
· Mark Barrett, Cringltie House, Edinburgh
· Nicholas Gilmour, The Tippling House, Aberdeen
· Stephen Rutherford, Orchid, Aberdeen

The bartender who is crowned this year’s Glenfiddich Malt Mastermind will win a VIP trip to the Glenfiddich distillery, the prestigious trophy and £1,000.

The Malt Mastermind 2015 winner will be announced on the 15th September.

Follow the competition @GlenfiddichMM #MaltMastermind

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

The Malt Mastermind 2014 winner will be announced on Tuesday 18th November 2014.