Glasgow bartender Mairi McDowall has won SLTN’s Spirit of the Sixties: Revolution! cocktail competition, after besting a diverse field of competitors from Glasgow, Dundee, Fife and Moray.
At the final, held in Malo in Glasgow city centre earlier this week, Mairi, from Sebb’s in the city’s Miller St, wowed judges with her entry cocktail, ‘Lil’ Pink Pill’, a celebration of the sexual revolution wrought by the hormonal birth control pill, and then followed that up with a winning volume serve, ‘Away From Home’ – which will now be the welcome drink at this November’s SLTN Awards ceremony.
SLTN print editor, Dave Hunter, said: “For our second Spirit of the Sixties competition we challenged bartenders to draw inspiration from the revolutionary spirit of the 1960s and, once again, Scotland’s bartenders didn’t disappoint.
“Everyone who entered rose to the occasion but we were blown away by the talent, passion and creativity of our six finalists. They all did an amazing job on the day.
“After a hard-fought competition, Mairi McDowall was named as our winner. She did an outstanding job of creating and presenting her drinks – her skills were on point, the stories behind her cocktails were excellent and the drinks themselves were tremendous.
“We can’t wait for guests at this year’s SLTN Awards to taste Mairi’s winning cocktail! Thanks to everyone who entered Spirit of the Sixties: Revolution! You did us proud!”
Inverarity Morton marketing executive, Georgie Jolliffe, commented: “On behalf of Inverarity Morton, I would like to congratulate the winner, Mairi McDowall, and all entrants of this year’s SLTN Spirit of the Sixties cocktail competition.
“The competition was a true celebration of creativity and craftsmanship within Scotland’s vibrant bar community. We are delighted to have partnered with Sazerac as the competition’s sponsors, bringing together our shared passion for quality spirits and innovation in mixology.
“The standard of entries was outstanding, reflecting the dedication and flair that make our industry so special.”
