János raises the Caledonian Bartenders Cup in Glasgow after wowing judges

March 4, 2025

Gleddoch House bartender triumphs at cocktail contest held at ScotHot

: Janos celebrates with the Caledonian Bartenders Cup judges

János Ötvös was best of the bartenders last week when he won the Caledonian Bartenders Cup cocktail competition at this year’s ScotHot show.

János, of the Gleddoch Hotel in Langbank, took top prize at the contest with his cocktail, Summer Salsa, which combined Dorchadas spiced rum with smoked salt sugar syrup, lime juice, fresh basil, jalapeno and Franklin & Sons’ Peach & Mango soft drink.

The Caledonian Bartenders Cup, which was sponsored by the Hospitality Industry Trust (HIT) Scotland and Franklin & Sons, took place at the Liquid Academy Live stage during hospitality trade show ScotHot.

It was part of a packed schedule of events at Liquid Academy Live which also included industry panel sessions with SLTN and the Scottish Licensed Trade Association.

Scott Gemmell of Drink Think, organiser of Liquid Academy Live, said: “Huge congrats to János, CBC winner this year, and all the brave bartenders from all over Scotland that took to the stage and shook up Liquid Academy Live with their wonderful Franklin & Sons cocktails.

“The CBC champ János will now embark on an introspective training journey he will help design with the Hospitality Industry Trust Scotland and their first prize support of a Bespoke Hospitality Scholarship Award.

“We will be following János’s journey with them in the coming months so stay tuned to all things Drink Think for all the post show back stage interviews.

“On behalf of Drink Think and ScotHot, we couldn’t be more thankful to the sponsors and for everyone’s support, time investment and creative energy to help give Scotland a national competition every two years at ScotHot that we can all be proud of.”

János told SLTN he hadn’t even originally intended to enter the competition – but Scott wouldn’t take no for an answer.

He said: “In the run-up I was told many times I should sign up but a serious lack of time for preparing and a healthy dose of anxiety from someone that had never entered a cocktail competition before made the decision for me.

“I arrived at ScotHot half an hour before the competition started and only intended to watch it. Scott Gemmel greeted me and this man doesn’t take no for an answer! The peer pressure was intense – as it turns out, luckily.

“I came up with the concept of the cocktail and the recipe on the spot then spent the next 20-25 minutes gathering my ingredients at the trade show: the base rum and smoked sugar syrup from the guys from Dorchadas Rum, fresh jalapeños from the tortilla food truck, lime juice from the LA bar, a bunch of basil from a supplier of kitchen equipment (it was the decoration at their stand) and of course a few bottles of my chosen mixer from Franklin & Sons. I then signed up, borrowed some bar tools from other competitors, made two versions of my cocktail back of house then went on stage.

“The other competitors I talked to are all seasoned bartenders and mixologists. They came prepared with well-thought-out concoctions, fat washed spirits, exciting garnish using molecular mixology… I tend to use these myself normally but with no preparation this time I felt like my creation wouldn’t stand much chance against theirs. Definitely tough competition and as the judges mentioned, the decision to choose the best drink was difficult.

“I had genuinely no expectations so the win came as a huge surprise. It’s a great personal achievement and a professional feedback I really needed. On top of that, the HIT Scotland scholarship I have won will be a fantastic tool for improving my skills and knowledge.”

Kyle McCutcheon of Lamlash Bay Hotel took second place on the day, with Angelo Di Minica of Rusacks St Andrews taking home the third-place trophy.