Restaurant Pine’s head barman, Luke Riley, has been named as one of the UK’s top 10 bartenders in the Diageo World Class Great Britain competition.
The annual Diageo World Class cocktail competition takes place across the world, with the GB leg taking place each April. Each year, World Class issues a series of challenge briefs for their owned spirits. Competitors from bars across the UK are then invited to submit recipes for original cocktails that meet the specific requirements outlined in each challenge.
From the hundreds of entrants, the top 100 are selected and invited to attend one of five World Class Judging Roadshow events, held in cities across the country – including London, Bath, Manchester and Glasgow. During the roadshow segment of the competition, each entrant is challenged to recreate a chosen cocktail serve in front of three high-profile judges from some of the UK’s top cocktail bars. The judges evaluated each competitor based on established scoring criteria as they narrowed down the participants to determine the final top 10.
For his part, Luke was tasked with recreating his cocktail – Golden Hour for the Singleton 12 of Dufftown Sense The Moment Challenge, an immersive experience that explores how a person’s sense of touch informs their perception of flavour.
Luke’s cocktail combines Singleton 12-year-old whisky with aromatised mead and caramelised honey. The cocktail is then aged in a specially crafted bottle made from clay sourced around Hexham. It is finished with a kyobancha tea ice cube and a hint of roasted walnut oil. During the tasting process, the judges were invited to touch and experience the various textures of the bottle and the clay coaster on which the cocktail was served while enjoying the drink.
The next round will be for the GB finals in Scotland on June 16-18, where the top 10 will be given several more challenges as they battle it out for the GB crown. The winner will then go on to represent Great Britain on the global stage in Toronto in September.
“Every year, so many bartenders give it their all in this competition, and it takes guts, passion and a whole lot of hard work to get into the topflight,” said Luke. “Massive respect to everyone who puts themselves out there – it’s no small thing. A huge shout out to the North East too – we had three bartenders representing the region this year, which is amazing to see. I’m really proud to be part of such a strong, supportive scene and it’s safe to say that as a region, we’re up there with the best.”
Sian Byerley, co-owner of Restaurant Pine, added: “We couldn’t be prouder of Luke, he’s made a big impact since he joined the team and he’s helping lift our reputation for serving the very best cocktails and mocktails, helping to enhance our pre-dinner guest experience even further. We can’t wait to see how he gets on competing against the other nine bartenders in the top 10. We wish him all the best and have everything crossed. We hope he will go on to represent the region and the nation in Canada in September.”
