Award-winning Galway bartender Chris Lally just gave city-goers another reason to stop in to The House Hotel to taste his infamous and innovative cocktails, and it’s called Spirit of the West.
A mix of Finlandia Vodka, amaretto, Captain Morgan’s spiced rum, lime juice, and honey, Mr Lally’s newest cocktail was one of the highlights of last week’s regional heat of the Finlandia Vodka Cup Cocktail competition which took place at the Meyrick Hotel on Tuesday afternoon.
Mr Lally’s perfectly blended concoction was praised by the judges not only for its tart taste but also for its wonderfully artistic presentation. Coming in runner up by only a very small margin, Mr Lally was beaten by The Raspberry Dream, a chocolate-raspberry-lime drink mixed up by bartenders from the Knockranny House Hotel in Westport. Both winners will take part in the national heat of the competition in Dublin in early November.
The winner of the national rounds will go on to represent Ireland in the Finlandia Vodka Cup in February 2009, at a Lappish ice hotel located just north of the Arctic Circle. Each year around 2,000 bartenders from more than 30 countries worldwide take part in the Finlandia Vodka Cup, making it one of the biggest, most respected competitions of its kind.
Tuesday’s competition was judged by a blind panel of judges that included expert mixologists, bartenders, and your average cocktail drinker. The bartenders were critiqued on the presentation, aroma, and taste behind their creative cocktailing, as well as how well they reflected the premium nature of Finlandia Vodka. Honourable mentions chosen by the judging panel on the day included the Bingo Bongo, the Frozen Citrus, and Valentine Kiss.
