Kendal’s cocktail king is going for another tilt at a national title this year - but he’s encountered an unexpected obstacle.
Simon Thomas, owner of The Blind Bus Driver Speakeasy cocktail bar, is putting the finishing touches to his recipe to enter the UK Bartenders Guild Great Honkaku Shochu and Amawori Contest despite his senses being hampered by Covid.
Entries this year have to be based around the traditional Japanese spirits of Shochu and Awamori.
Simon reached the semi-final of last year’s competition but said this year he has had to work around his unreliable taste buds.
"I’m just recovering from Covid, and I can’t taste sweet things at all, so it’s a savoury cocktail," he said.
"It had to be submitted this week and nobody could taste for me as when you’re creating a cocktail from scratch you’ve got an idea in your head what you want it to taste like, and nobody else has.
"The only trouble at the minute is my taste-buds aren’t doing them what I want them to do.
“The category is Shochu but I’m using the sub-category spirit of Shochu Awamori, which is from Okinawa.
"It has a different history to it as it came to Japan from Korea, whereas Shochu seems to have come from the Chinese mainland – it's about 100 years older. I prefer the flavour of it, it’s more versatile.
"Awamori is quite savoury - the flavour it most reminds me of is porcini mushrooms.
His recipe is now finalised, called 'When a Tree Falls in the Forest' with Awamori as the base, together with dry Riesling, tea and honey bitters, quince bitters, and finished off with grapefruit juice.
"It was a bit of a rush to get it in in time - it's quite intense but I really like it", he said
Simon said the competition was very London-centric so it’s a challenge for northern entries to gain recognition. He was one of only two Cumbrian entries last year, which makes him all the more proud his creation in 2021.
"Last year’s entry was slight rip on a Martini - Grey Goose vodka, 2 different types of sake, and some tea and honey bitters, and I garnished it with a disc of parmesan cheese, so it was all full of umami flavours," he said.
"It was really expensive to put together as I used top-end good sake.
“I kept promising people I’d put it on in the bar but with Covid it was impossible - I’ll put this one on though.
"The top prize is a trip to Japan and a tour around these amazing distilleries – I’ve never been to Japan, but it's definitely on my list."
To try Simon’s cocktails be aware that booking at The Blind Bus Driver is essential.
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