Drink Hunters Festival. Day two – mixologists mixed.

On the second day of the Drink Hunters festival in Kharkiv, the mixology competition The Art Of Taste Vol.1 was held. The cocktails were all unusual and tasty, the participants were young and the judges were cheerful.

On the second day of the Drink Hunters festival, I arrived even earlier to catch Pavel Yan and the bartenders preparing for the competition. As it turned out, I arrived a little later than it was required – in the behind-the-scenes atmosphere, communication was in full swing between the judges and, as he himself put it on the first day, a perfectionist imbiber (unfortunately, I did not recognize the name). The guys talked about mixology, drinks and other worldly joys, drank Grant`s whiskey. There was an atmosphere of competition all around.

The organizer of the competition was Roman Stadnik, a bar manager of the Farsch restaurant chain (the festival was held, by the way, on their territory) and a finalist in several mixology competitions in Ukraine. He also played the role of a judge – evaluated the technique. The judges were also invited: imbiber Pavel Yan, Sergey Alekseev (bartender at Parovoz Speak Easy, winner of the Ultimate Monin Cup Global Final Paris 2014), as well as the legendary Vasily Pogorelov (president of the Kharkiv Bartenders Association). But Pogorelov could not come and was replaced by the brand bartender of William Grant & Sons in Ukraine, Andrey Kosachev.

Participated, it seems, 14 bartenders, among whom were two girls. They had to develop a cocktail in the Long Drink or Short Drink category. Grant’s 8 Year Old whiskey must have been present in the cocktail (30 ml in Short Drink, 40 ml in Long). Only 5 ingredients were allowed, including drops, pinches, etc. Even decoration was considered an ingredient if it came into contact with a cocktail. In general, everything is grown-up.

The judges pretty much tasted on the sidelines, so the competition was very lively and fun. Well, the photos will speak for themselves.

Competition The Art Of Taste Vol.1

I missed the first participant – I was very absorbed in communication with the head of the Aronov family. Then everything went more or less smoothly.

Unfortunately, I didn’t keep records, so I don’t know who and what cocktail was making. I also did not find such information in the official public of the festival. However, I remember a couple of ingredients and participants.

Among all the bartenders, only one prepared a long drink – it is difficult to reveal the main theme in cocktails of this category (in this case, fragrant scotch). It definitely contained homemade ginger syrup and cider.

Many focused on the presentation. He spoke very interestingly about Scotland and the Scots. The first girl was preparing a cocktail with barberry syrup, I think. I liked the cocktail.

The second representative of the weaker sex was preparing a strong cocktail ala Negroni, but with Jägermeister. She talked for a long time about female taste, prejudices and strong cocktails. If I’m not mistaken, she called her “Black Dress”.

There was a cocktail with quince jam brought directly from Italy.

I missed the summing up – at that time a master class was held with a tasting of digestifs. If I understand correctly, the winner was Denis Vasilchenko, who got confused and prepared the only flip in the competition (a cocktail with a beaten egg, in this case quail egg yolks).

Perhaps it seemed, but the prize of judges’ sympathies was ripped off by the last participant. He passed whiskey through a teapot with prunes, but the teapot itself impressed me the most – it had previously brewed elite pu-erh and not very elite oolong tea. The guy even told me what kind of tea he used. Judging by the reaction, Pavel Yan, as a pu-erh lover, was simply delighted with this.

In general, the atmosphere was friendly. The judges joked, talked with the contestants, gave advice.

Alcohol loosened up. In the place of the judges, I would have fallen under the counter a long time ago, but there, as they say, grated rolls.

The level of participants, to be honest, I was very impressed. I am sure that there were no such bartenders in Kharkiv just 5 years ago. I really liked their serious approach, correct thinking and obsession with mixology.

The interview with Pavel never happened. It was not worth distracting him, and after the competition he quickly disappeared. But he assured me that he had not forgotten about me. Simply, he says, he swings for a long time. Okay, I’m not offended.

I attended only one lecture that day, which started much later than the scheduled time due to the competition. It was another master class with a tasting of world digestifs from In vino, which impressed me on the first day of the festival.

Tasting from In vino

A small room was filled to capacity. They tasted Varadero Blanco rum, Espolon Blanco tequila, Chateau du Breuil Calvados and Romate Solera Reserva young sherry brandy. Enough budget digestifs, but I liked it.

I was especially impressed by the young Calvados. A bit harsh, but with a strong aroma of apples inherent only in young Calvados. With exposure, it becomes more “cognac”. The truth spoiled the impression of tequila. She, of course, was not bad, 100% agave, but too bright. After her, it was almost impossible to get rid of her inherent taste. Rum is like rum.

I did not learn anything new at the lecture, of course, but it was still interesting. Revisited some of the basics. Didn’t visit in vain. Thanks!

I talked a little with the organizers of the festival. They promise to do something similar by the end of this year. I will definitely go. It was fun, educational and very, very atmospheric. More often so!

PS Perhaps the report turned out to be a little crumpled and boring. I am not a journalist, not a writer, and this was my first outdoor event. I don’t understand such things. I hope it will come with experience, and I am going to gain experience in this area. That’s for sure. I’ll post more photos later in the VK and FB groups.