Glenfiddich Untouchables 2008 - We have a winner!

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WINNER Riki Carter creating his signature serve

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Top 3 Winners - Claire Harlick, Riki Carter and Tim Etherington-Judge

Tuesday 5 August, 2008
For immediate release

Glenfiddich Untouchables 2008
We have a winner!

Glenfiddich is excited to announce winner of the inaugural Glenfiddich Untouchables bartender competition – Riki Carter from Matterhorn in Wellington.

Carter fought it out against the seven other Glenfiddich Untouchables finalists at the Union Fish building in Auckland last night to take out the top spot as the first ever winner of the Glenfiddich Untouchables in NZ. Carter also takes home a trip for two to the Sydney bar show including flights, accommodation and spending money as well as a bottle of Glenfiddich 30 year old.

“It’s a huge honour to win considering the level of skill and experience amongst the other competitors. To win this is a wee bit daunting to be honest!” says Carter.

Carter, a fan of simple cocktails like the Manhattan, created an uncomplicated Glenfiddich signature serve named ‘Deer’s Dram’. The creation pulled together five ingredients that would complement the whisky, rather than mask the flavour. The ingredients included Carter’s own home-made spicy cinnamon liqueur as well as a home-made cigar liqueur that lifted the cinnamon notes and gave length to the creation.

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Third place - Claire Harlick, Matterhorn Wellington

“The complexity of the cinnamon and spice flavours that the 15-year-old Glenfiddich provide matches perfectly with the cigar liqueur taste profile I have created in this signature serve,” he says.

Carter is no stranger to the bartender competition circuit; he took out second place at last year’s ‘Bartender of the Year’ and is looking to secure a win in 2008 this time for ‘Bar Manager of the Year’.

Tim Etherington-Judge of Suite Bar in Auckland gained second place for his “Zenfiddich Garden” signature serve – a unique creation which involved freezing a lime and vodka foam with liquid nitrogen. Etherington-Judge’s cocktail was inspired by a Japanese chemist who opened Japan’s first whisky distillery in the early 1920’s; the creation was presented as a Japanese tea on a plated ‘Zen Garden’. Third place went to Claire Harlick for her “Slainte Martini”. Claire works with Riki Carter at the Matterhorn in Wellington.

ENDS

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Second place - Tim Etherington-Judge

About the Glenfiddich Untouchables:

The Glenfiddich Untouchables is one of New Zealand’s most unique bartending competitions, challenging bartenders from around the country to create a signature serve using any of the Glenfiddich range and promote their creation in their bar.

The Glenfiddich Untouchables has an interesting twist that sets it apart from any other bartending competition. Rather than a winner being decided by a panel of external judges, each Glenfiddich Untouchable entry is judged by the other competition finalists. With respect and reputation paramount for bartenders, this technique adds a great deal of credibility and integrity to the competition.

Glenfiddich would like to congratulate the following finalists who competed last night:

“Dutched Courage” Ben Simpson Motel Bar, Wellington
“Slainte Martini” Claire Harlick Matterhorn, Wellington
“Glenapple Crumble” Philip Chadderton Plate Bar, Wellington
“Without Compromise” Tony Trafford Soho Bar, Gisborne
“The Zenfiddich Garden” Tim Etherington Suite Bar, Auckland
“Ra’s Chariot” Dan Miles Eichardt’s, Queenstown
“Deer’s Dram” Riki Carter Matterhorn, Wellington
“Lothian” Eddy Kennedy Hummingbird, Wellington

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