2018 Jameson Bartenders’ Ball finale put bartenders in the wild

【 This post is sponsored by Jameson.】

Football, a BBQ party, whiskey, a two day camping trip in a forest park – if you think that sounds like the best weekend away with friends ever, then you really need to be friends with Jameson. The Irish whiskey organized a two-day trip to Shanghai’s Haiwan National Forest Park as the Mystery Tour finale for this year’s Jameson Bartenders’ Ball, and even managed to squeeze in a cocktail competition. As you may have heard by now, Mike Zeng from Barules took home gold, with James Liu from Atelier by Taste Buds the runner-up. Both will very shortly be packing their bags for Ireland – congratulations!

A cocktail competition like no other, this year’s Jameson Bartenders’ Ball China finale created a real Jameson Irish experience for the bartenders. The campsite was transformed into a Jameson Barrelmen’s Camp, with everything from smores to campfire singing included.  

Wondering what on earth happened? Here are some memories of that wonderful camping trip, where we gave bartenders a cocktail competition with a breath of fresh air (quite literally). 

The finalists had already demonstrated their bartending skills by making perfect Irish Coffees for the regionals. But to truly understand the classic, they still needed to become experts in one of that drink’s essential ingredients: coffee. Leo Huang, coffee expert and founder of Shanghai's Cafe on Air, brought the finalists through a coffee cupping session. Leo introduced a range of coffee beans from around the world and how specility coffee can be used to make Irish Coffee of different styles. 

Jameson figured out that shakers and barspoons could be given another mission outside the bar: we took a twist on the classic egg and spoon race and used tools that our bartenders are more familiar with - barspoons and shakers! The next round was “Ready, Steady, Shake” where each contestant chose a mystery bag filled with ingredients they must use in a cocktail. In the bag were three different ingredients: one fruit, one dried ingredient or herb, and one random (read: weird) thing. The bartenders were given one hour to use these in a Jameson Ginger/Soda Lime twist.

Even though finalists picked their bags without knowing what they were going to get, Ian Qin from RMK was in, er, luck. Besides thyme and grapefruit, he got the weirdest ingredient of all: Lao Gan Ma, a Chinese chilli oil sauce that you’d think was impossible to use in cocktails. “I burst into laughter when I saw it hidden under the other two ingredients,” he said. “But then an idea suddenly occurred to me that I could use it how cooks do in the kitchen – so I added the sauce and grapefruit peel to water and heated it to a boil. And it worked in the drink!” Judge Kuzuhisa Arai, who was also the 2016 global winner, agreed that the Lao Gan Ma amongst other mystery ingredients worked surprisingly well in Jameson cocktails. “The ingredients was interesting – and so was the cocktail made with it!”

After a long day of travel and competition, a BBQ dinner with acoustic music around a campfire could not have been more rewarding!

“The BBQ was so delicious,” said James Liu. “Chomping on big chunks of meat was real satisfaction after that day. The judges and brand ambassadors were also really having fun, which helped relax us before the next day’s big event.”

In this round, finalists got to show off their signature Jameson cocktails inspired by their local or home city. But to help wake them up from the previous night’s revelry, Jameson had thought of everything. They kickstarted their day with a game of football. And if that wasn’t enough to warm up, it was followed by a sack race.

Surviving the whole two days, let alone clinching victory, wasn’t easy. But that’s what Mike Zeng managed. Here’s what Eddy Yang, owner of The Tailor Group, had to say about why the Barules man triumphed: “Mike was outstanding in both rounds. Solid skills, humorous personality, calm and a steady stage demeanour – everything pointed towards him being the one for Jameson.” And now our 2018 champ: “I’m just lucky – except I think I nailed the interaction with the judges for the Taste of Home Round. All the other finalists were excellent bartenders, and the competition gave us a chance to become friends. I enjoyed it a lot: we had so much fun at the BBQ dinner with the judges, it was like an afterparty!” 

Of course, the other finalists also did a great job. Heaven Luan, who recently moved to the Shenzhen cocktail scene after living in Ireland for 17 years and bartending at The Liquor Rooms, one of Ireland’s best cocktail bars said: “The finalists all had their unique style, and showed huge potential in coming up with new flavours and drink presentation. Many of them used tea - a good way to combine Chinese elements with the features of Jameson.” Eddy was greatly impressed by runner-up James. “James used to be a shy boy, but now he really knows how to express himself, show his passion, energy and imagination – on the early morning of Day 2 he even wrote Jameson in the grass! That’s crazy,” he said. But he added there’s still room for the finalists to improve: “Knowledge of spirits, flavours and classic cocktails will help them with their creations, and more work experience, which will develop their charisma and the ability to react in a competition.”

* Judge Kazuhisa Arai, Eddy Yang, Heaven Luan, winner Mike Zeng, Brand Amabssador Roisin Oates, Andy Shen and Will Gallagher (from left to right)

Mike is now very much looking forward to battling the other global finalists and attempting to bring back the Jameson Barrelmen’s Homecoming title. Luckily in this winner, China is sending a bartender to Ireland with good humour, a fun-loving attitude, who’s also confident and fearless – much like Jameson itself. As Kazuhisa said: “Jameson is a big family. Just remember to have fun and make some noise!”

Enjoy it Mike, and best of luck on the global stage!

Watch the recap video here:

https://v.qq.com/txp/iframe/player.html?vid=d0660cvf6yl&width=500&height=375&auto=0

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