Keisha Shakespeare-Blackmore, Staff Reporter

Ben Reed from IP Bartenders in England makes a fantastic basil-flavoured cocktail. - photos by Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer

On June 3, J Wray and Nephew hosted the Appleton Estate UK Bartending Challenge at the Ruins, University of the West Indies, Mona. Bartenders Rich Hunt, Paul Mant and Bruce Hamilton, were the three finalists from the United Kingdom out of 50 hand-picked bartenders to visit the island for the final showdown.

Rich Hunt, 28-year-old winner of the competition, is the head bartender at Mahiki in London. He has been in the industry for the past 10 years but was recently promoted to head bartender.

He got into the field while attending Oxford Brooks University in Oxford, London. He went full blast after he graduated and abandoned French, his major in university. "I love talking to people and this job allows me to be creative. Plus, being a French instructor or something like that is boring," he said.

He also notes that he enjoys his job, and though it does not pay that much, it has its perks. But, he points out that nowadays, the bartending industry is much more profitable than in pervious years.

Hunt told Food that Mahiki is the largest distributor of Appleton rums in the UK. He said the bar gets a wide mix of individuals who come in to get a taste of the great Jamaican rum. He notes that Appleton V /X is a big hit at his bar but he loves Appleton Extra. "It is well balanced, has enough burn from the alcohol and has beautiful rounded sweetness."

That certain flair

Bartenders are usually expected to have certain flair when they serve up a drink. But, he said often the concept of flair is misunderstood. "People tend to think that it's all about throwing bottles around. But even the smallest thing like pouring a drink may be considered flair."

His style of bartending is a combination offlair and mixology. For him, it is all about pleasing the customers.

Bruce Hamilton, 29 years old, is the Scotts man with a Trinidadian heritage. Hamilton is a bar manager at Tigerlily Hotel in Scotland. He was a former information technology instructor who started doing bartending as a part-time job and fell in love with it. He said that the more hours he did, the more he fell in love with it, so he quit his job and went into bartending.

He notes that in late '90s, people in Scotland would just order rum and coke, for example, but now, people are recognising the Appleton brand. He said the brand is quickly becoming very popular and is known for its quality. "One glass of Appleton can run you up to £3," he said.

Favourite Appleton drink

His favourite Appleton drink is a straight daiquiri made with Appleton Reserved, a bit of sugar and some lime juice. His signature daiquiri was among the drinks he made at the competition.

Currently, his job as bar manager entails staffing and quality control of the bar. However, he uses every opportunity to get behind the bar to serve up drinks. Upon his return to Scotland, he will shortly relocate to Australia to work as a bar manager. Hamilton's dream is to own a bar one day.

Paul Mant, 28, got into the bartending industry by telling a fib. He was 17 years old at the time and had to lie about his age to get a part-time job as a bartender. In college, he was known as a 'tear away (bad boy)'. Thus, he was kicked out. "My instructor told me before throwing me out that I needed to learn discipline," he said. He was left in a bind and decided to go into bartending full-time.

Challenging job

He notes that his job is challenging at times, especially on his social life. He also faces a bit of stigma where people, especially women, are of the opinion that all bartenders are flirts. This makes it a bit harder to get into a serious relationships with some of the fairer sex.

He said that bartending gives him a certain satisfaction. It allows him to be creative and meet a lot of 'cool' people. Currently, he is operating a bar called Quovadis Sugar, a members-only bar. Clientele includes socialites and mostly English folk from the old school.

No stranger to Antigua, Mant's future plans include opening a bar in that island.

Left: Ben Reed adds a bit of bitters to his cocktail to bring out the flavour at the Appleton Estate Jamaica Rum cocktail academy held at Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel in June. Riht: Richard Woods (left) garnishes a cocktail he made with orange peel while Paul McFadyen looks on.

Left: Gregor De Gruyther (left) and Rich Hunt busily use the Appleton Rum to make cocktails for guests at the Appleton Estate Jamaica Rum cocktail academy. Right: Ben Reed (left) gives Rich Hunt a hand as he makes his coffee cocktail. - photos by Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer