The La Maison Cointreau Malaysia has recently completed with Joe Naik Hong Du taking the crown by creating the best cocktail in the competition, in which he will be sent to compete in The La Maison Cointreau 2019 International Finals which will be held in Bangkok, Thailand.
The competition sees Naik beating eight other competitors from all over Malaysia, with the theme of using the very celebrated ingredient – tea. The collaboration with Purple Cane at the finals saw the creative use of not just tea in its concoction, but also in the creative use as garnishings. The winning cocktail named A Pot To Share, really ties in together the element of togetherness important to not only tea, but the Asian culture.
“I am very delighted to have been in this amazing competition with all these wonderful bartenders that came from across Malaysia. They were extremely creative and innovative in creating their unique cocktails during the competition and I learnt a lot from my fellow competitors. I am very thankful to the judges for naming me as the winner and I hope that I will do Malaysia proud in the International Finals next month!” — Joe Naik Hong Du, Winner of the La Maison Cointreau Malaysia.
A Pot To Share
Botanist infused with Zhi Zhu Lan (Tie Guan Yin), Averna, Cointreau.
Garnish of longan fruit cooked down with vanilla essence, salt, lemon juice, sugar, and lapsang souchong tea reduction.
Method: Start off by preparing a pot of hot water to heat up the glassware, the mixing teapot and the fairness cup. Once teapot is hot, pour out water into waste cup. Then add all ingredients except for garnish into the hot teapot. Pour away hot water from teacups and pitcher (aka fairness cup). Pour cocktail from teapot into pitcher and then serve in teacups from left to right. Place garnish on a small saucer with picks and serve on the side with cocktail.
“My Inspiration for my cocktails came from the traditional way of serving tea. To me, having tea is a culture that has been around for centuries and is a way for people to socialise and enjoy the delicate flavours of the tea together. So I decided that I would make a cocktail that embodies this culture of sharing. As we Chinese do not believe in having cold tea, I decided to serve my cocktail warm.”
La Maison Cointreau
La Maison Cointreau is an international bartending programme by French spirits group, Rémy Cointreau, established in 2013 in Singapore to engage and bolster the vibrant bartending community. The programme features a robust curriculum of training and activities for bartenders, including an international bartending competition with a series of challenges specially curated to encourage bartenders to learn, explore and develop new skills and techniques while at the same time building their knowledge and understanding of Rémy Cointreau’s portfolio of brands. La Maison Cointreau is now in its fifth edition, and currently spans 15 Asia-Pacific markets with a big welcome to China, Myanmar and Cambodia.
“We are now seeing the local alcohol scene being shaken up and stirred, evident with the rise of speakeasy bars and fusion-centric cocktails. This has given birth to a new generation of mixologists – who embodies both the modernity of the world while giving homage to the history of centuries old Cointreau. With the presence of La Maison Cointreau, we are giving local mixologists the window to showcase their talent while helping to raise the profile of the spirit beyond just being a triple sec and even promote it as a base for drinks Not many mixologists think to create cocktails using Cointreau as a base spirit, but this type of competition can help change that” — Tyrel Ball, General Manager of Rémy Cointreau Malaysia.
All we can say now is good luck and we hope that Naik will be able to take us all the way to the La Maison Cointreau International Finals.
For our other related articles, see our Cocktail Competitions.
| PHOTOGRAPHY: HILL + KNOWLTON STRATEGIES | WEBSITE: LA MAISON COINTREAU |