Singapore's dynamic bartenders to put on a show at Wine&SpiritsAsia2012

The Cocktail Challenge is one in the series of happy hours scheduled at Asia’s largest trade exhbit for the wine and spirits industry.

The release from the Singapore Exhibition Services says it best: bartenders are known to be night owls, with most, if not all, of them working through the night and only relinquishing their duties in the early hours of the morning. It would be rare for one to see them practicing their trait in the afternoon, let alone witnessing them spinning bottles behind the bar counters in the morning.

However, that is not to say that this may not happen. Come 17 April, visitors of Wine&SpiritsAsia2012 (WSA2012) will be able to witness bartenders from around the region pit their skills against one another for the ultimate winning titles of RIPE-WSA Cocktail Challenge winner.

The Mix it up! cocktail session, held just three weeks before the RIPE-WSA Cocktail Challenge, provided a sneak preview of the RIPE-WSA Cocktail Challenge, building anticipation ahead of Wine&SpiritsAsia2012.  It brought together several award-winning bartenders, including last year’s Cocktail Challenge top winner, Ms. Georgina Ong.

Held in conjunction with RIPE Australian fruit juices and supported by the Association of Bartenders & Sommeliers Singapore (ABSS), Mix it up! illuminated some of Singapore’s brightest bartending talents. This tradition is set to be continued at the fourth edition of the Cocktail Challenge, which is held as a fringe event at Wine&SpiritsAsia2012 (WSA2012), Asia’s largest trade show for the wine and spirits industry, from 17th to 19th April 2012.

Senior sales manager Mr. William Ang of Australian Fruit Juice (S) Pte Ltd, brand owner of RIPE fruit juices, says, “This is the fourth edition of the RIPE-WSA Cocktail Challenge and it is encouraging to see how this has become a platform for bartenders to nurture their craft. When you train again and again, you can only become better.”

“WSA is proud to co-organise this event together with AFJ. Singapore Exhibition Services (SES), organiser of WSA, hopes that this competition would help to increase the awareness of bartenders as a profession in the spirits industry; as well as allow bartenders to learn and improve their craft through healthy competition. The gathering of international brands from the spirits industry during the exhibition also allows the bartenders to network and gain new business contacts,” says Ms. Ting Siew Mui, Project Director (Lifestyle) of SES.

Joining Georgina behind the bar counter at Mix it up! was Mr. Zheng Pan of No 5 Cocktail Bar, Mr. Thompson Lai of dbl 0 and Mr. Bryan Ho of Que Pasa, with their award-winning cocktails including Georgina’s Bombay Sapphire gin-based creation, Harvest Moon.

However, it was not just their signature cocktails on display. The informal cocktail session also saw the four bartenders whipping up bespoke cocktails catering to their guests’ requests.

This further substantiates the progression of the bartending industry, as compared to the past when bartenders were simply required to pour a mug of beer or prepare standardised cocktails for their guests. These days, a bartender is more akin to an artist or more accurately, a chef for cocktails. ABSS full supports this advancement of liquid art, and believes that RIPE-WSA Cocktail Challenge will be an ideal learning ground for bartenders.

Mr. Mac Lee, Honorary President of the ABSS shares, “The association is always happy to support competitions as we believe it is essential if we want to grow and groom the talents of tomorrow.”