Los Angeles Prelims- bartenders and judges

G’Vine Gin is sending 15 bartenders to Cognac, France to compete in the G’Vine Connoisseur Program June 10-15. It is considered a difficult bartending competition with competitors from across the globe. There are only 3 US bartenders out of the 15.

In order to be first selected to compete, bartenders were asked about their gin knowledge. Domaine Select Brand Manager Natalie Bovis said they had not required cocktail recipes during the initial round. “We know they’re good bartenders and can make cocktails,” she said.  G’Vine is part of the Domaine Select portfolio.

I attended the Los Angeles preliminary round and Cole’s bartender Cari Hah won that evening.

Cari Hah from Cole’s Red Car Bar – LA Winner

Party attendees were invited to vote along side judges who vetted all the drinks. While I loved some of the other cocktails from Amanda Gunderson, Paul Sanguinetti and James Bowers, Cari’s drink showcased the G’vine gin the best.

Here are the 15 bartenders going to Cognac:

• Meaghan Dorman, from Raines Law Room, New York, USA (preliminary competition winner)
• Cari Hah, from Coles Red Car Bar, Los Angeles, USA (preliminary competition winner)
• Kellie Thorn, from Empire State South, Atlanta, USA (preliminary competition winner)
• Francesc Caira from House in Barcelona, Spain (preliminary competition winner)
• Ivan Villegas, from O’Clock in Madrid, Spain (preliminary competition winner)
• Jamie Jones, from The Liquorists, Manchester, UK (preliminary competition winner)
• Hannah Lanfear, from Boisdale, London, UK (preliminary competition winner)
• Michael Tomasic, from Wild Rover, Sydney, Australia (preliminary competition winner)
• Gorge Camorra, from Cloud9 Bar, Melbourne, Australia (preliminary competition winner)
• Irwan Majid, from Cut By Wolfgang Puck, Singapore (preliminary competition winner)
• Mari Nakano, from The Peninsula Peter Bar, Tokyo, Japan (preliminary competition winner)
• Katrin Reitz, from Le Dee Da, Berlin, Germany (preliminary competition winner)
• Mathieu Le Feuvrier, from Le Quarante Trois Cocktail Bar, Paris, France (wildcard entry winner)
• Denzel Heath, from Soho Molecular Lounge, Port Elizabeth, South Africa (wildcard entry winner)
• Antonia Lai, from Quinary, Hong Kong (wildcard entry winner)

Keep up with the finals on the Le GCP page on Facebook.

G’vine

© The Minty // LA Cocktails 2013