Twenty national winners made it among over 2,000 entries and got the honor to present their Sling menus to our international expert jury. Twenty were to become 10, but the high level of skill among the contestants made it impossible to choose less than 12.
“We’ve sipped quite a few Slings in our days, but this year’s contestants have really raised the bar for what the legendary Singapore Sling can be,” said Adéle Robberstad, CEO, Peter F. Heering. “The new Sling menus and the skill, craftsmanship and creativity that was poured into each Sling blew us away. Watch out – these 12 will be dictating tomorrow’s cocktail culture.”
The jury has now reached a cocktail verdict. We proudly present you with the names behind the 12 best Sling menus competing in the final in NYC September 22nd. Cheers!
Finalists:
Australia - Matthias Aso, Sydney Hilton (Zeta Bar)
France - Jeremy Lafrance, Le Calbar
Great Britain - Francesco Lombardi, Rivington Grill Shoreditch
China - Hungie Fong, Origin
India - Guru Prashanth, High Ultra Lounge
Ireland - Richard Grimsey, Classic Restaurant Limavady
Luxembourg - Dawid Guzik, Octans Spirited Bar
Netherlands - Timo Janse, Door 74
Sweden - Christoffer Johansson, Puta Madre
Taiwan - Max Ciou, Above Piano Bar
UAE - Brendan Shorrock, Peppercrab Grand Hyatt Dubai
USA - Matthew Farley, The Joy Luck
Judges for the 2015 NYC Sling Finale:
David Wondrich. Widely acclaimed drinks historian, drinks correspondent for Esquire magazine, author of highly influential Imbibe! and Punch, guest lecturer and founding partner in Beverage Alcohol Resource. Julie Reiner. Cocktail icon and founder of internationally top ranking bars Flatiron Lounge, Pegu Club and Clover Club. Clover Club has been listed in Drinks International’s “The World’s 50 Best Bars” two years in a row. Julie was Awarded “Best Bar Mentor” at Tales of the Cocktail 2014.
Julie Reiner. Cocktail icon and founder of internationally top ranking bars Flatiron Lounge, Pegu Club and Clover Club. Clover Club has been listed in Drinks International’s “The World’s 50 Best Bars” two years in a row. Julie was Awarded “Best Bar Mentor” at Tales of the Cocktail 2014.
Joaquín Simó. Multi-awarded mixologist and owner of Pouring Ribbons. Joaquín has served as panelist at Tales of the Cocktail, the Manhattan Cocktail Classic, the Copenhagen Spirits & Cocktail Conference, Paris Cocktail Spirits and the Gourmet Latino Festival.
Toby Cecchini. Writer and bartender who graced Death & Company and Fort Defiance with his bartending skills before founding the widely acclaimed Long Island Bar in 2013. Toby has written Cosmopolitan: A Bartender’s Life as well as numerous articles for GQ, Food and Wine, Saveur and The New York Times.
Sam Ross. Bartender extraordinaire, consultant, multiple Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards nominee and 2011’s American Bartender of the year. After working closely with Sasha Petraske at Little Branch, Sam re-christened the influential Milk & Honey space as Attaboy in 2013 and continues Sasha’s legacy of classical techniques and craft cocktails.