LWC Drinks crown Old J Rum cocktail competition champ

LWC Drinks and Old J Spiced Rum have recently hosted six of Devon and Cornwall’s top bartenders in a cocktail-making competition at the 2017 Source Trade Show.

The six finalists battled it out in front of an audience with Andy Bell from The Brigg in Falmouth taking first place, closely followed by Justine Bock of the Bike Shed Theatre in Exeter and Josh Stewart of the Treasury in Plymouth.

The competition closed the first day of the show, following a lively demo carried out by London Signature Brand Activation Manager, Rui c. Teixeira. The six finalists took it in turns to re-create their own unique cocktail recipe, which had to feature one of the Old J Rum range (Old J, Old J Gold, Old J Cherry, Tiki Fire). The winner was awarded their own trophy and each entrant also received £50 of LWC credit and a bottle of Old J.

Ahead of the show rum lovers, bartenders and mixologists were invited to submit their unique cocktail spec to LWC’s South West Signature Brand Development Manager, Duncan Byrne, who hand-picked the six finalists from entrants across the region. As well as The Brigg, the Bike Shed Theatre and the Treasury this also included bartenders from The Terrace in Exeter and Torquay’s The Grand Hotel.

Duncan Byrne commented: “We were very impressed with the high standards we saw from our six finalists. The Old J brand is packed with character so it was great to see this shine through, but also to see how versatile it can be – It had my first Old J blood orange Martini! The finalists were all very knowledgeable, enthusiastic and put on a great display. They should all be very proud of themselves!”

Old J Spiced Rum is one of LWC’s own signature brands, which has built a unique identity with much provenance around the brand. The unique flavour offers a classic combination of spices, sugar, vanilla and lime, typically served over ice with coke or ginger beer and a couple of fresh lime wedges.