Ben Vials from Tandem in New South Wales and Joseph Chisholm from Brooklyn Standard in Brisbane were announced as the first regional winners of the Patrón Perfectionists Queensland Regional Heats.
Hosted at Brisbane’s Dalgety Public House in Teneriffe, six bartenders from Queensland and New South Wales competed in front of the expert panel of judges.
Judges included Jeremy Blackmore from Tios Cervecería, James Frostick from The Weekend Edition and Andres Valderrama, Senior Brand Manager at Patrón Tequila Australia.
Vials secured the win with his cocktail Quarantine which featured Patrón Reposado and Patrón Anejo along with roasted ginger syrup, tonka bean caramel syrup, achacha juice, kaffir lime leaf and lemon juice.
Competing for the second year in a row, Joseph Chisholm’s drink was labelled Easy to Appeas, showcasing Patrón Silver, smoky whisky, acid-adjusted pea juice, lemon juice, apple tarragon syrup and oil and mint leaves.
“A lot of people underestimate vegetables so that’s why I went for a cocktail a little left field,” says Chisholm.
Vials and Chisholm will now compete against the four winners from the Victorian and Western Australian heats.
In total, six bartenders from across the country will compete at the national finals in Sydney on 15 October.
The crowned national winner will travel to the Patrón Hacienda in Guadalajara to compete at the Global Finals of Patrón Perfectionists Cocktail Competition.