Putting Pen to Shaker 2014 : The Pickled Ginger

Literature and cocktails. Books and booze.

Perhaps not the most obvious partnership, but that’s what Putting Pen to Shaker is all about. It’s a cocktail competition with a difference. Create a cocktail, with it’s inspiration in a piece of literature – book, play, graphic novel – using the spirits of the Poshmakers – and present it to three judges.

With heats in Portugal, Spain, and the UK, it’s a beautifully European competition, with a wealth of literature to choose from.

I was lucky enough, for the second time to be one of the judges at the Manchester heats.

I know, it’s a hard life isn’t it?

But, as you’ll see from the entries below, it was certainly a hard decision and a lot of stunning cocktails to sample. And, as you’ll read, a little unexpected nudity, a hint of BDSM and a fairy tale. It was an interesting afternoon.

The heats were once again held at the glamorous Gaucho Restaurant and my fellow judges Tim of Hammonds of Knutsford, and David of 10 Degrees C, the company responsible for bringing the Poshmakers brand to the UK. And with Dave the Drinks Enthusiast and casting his own eye over the proceedings and Jimi Pearce the bar consultant running the event, I was in very experienced company.

Dave selected the running order by random (names out of a hat) and we were off.

First up, was Kyle of The Violet Hour in Didsbury and the book he selected was The Hunger Games. He admitted that this wasn’t a book he’d bought, but more one that he’d read out of necessity while on a plane where the entertainment was limited and he’d enjoyed it more than he’d anticipated.

As he explained, though the Districts in the book live hand to mouth, the Capitol experiences feasts and banquets – and this inspired him to create a punch – a symbol of the extravagances and excesses of the people there.

The flavours of the punch took an additional element from the story, namely the ending of the first book where both Kat and Peeta would rather eat poison and both die, than one be the winner of the Games. Kyle selected ingredients that have toxic elements – rhubarb (it’s leaves are toxic) and Elderberry (the berries are poisonous if consumed raw).

To Kill a Mockingjay combined AKA Vodka, Ish Gin, Elderberry liqueur, rhubarb and apple juice and rhubarb bitters into a rich, sweet punch, heavy – but not unpleasantly so – a good allegory to the wanton richness of the Capitol.

Our second entry was from Chris Bowker, from Gaucho in Leeds. He’d taken a step back in time for his literature to The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

The themes between the book and the Polar Twin cocktail ran throughout, from the use of Ish London Dry Gin (the setting for the book), to the garnish (an edible flower, representing the innocence that Mr Hyde destroys during the book.

Additionally, the Ish Gin, AKA Vodka, Creme de Mure, Creme de Cassis and Fernet, combined to create something lightly medicinal in flavour, reminiscent of the potions consumed by Dr Jekyll. The addition of dry ice, and conical flasks, adding to the laboratory theme and hinting at the London smog.

Our third cocktail was from Joe, from MOJO in Leeds. He too had chosen a Victorian era book, this time Sketches by Boz from Charles Dickens.

Interestingly, this was one that none of the judges were aware of and our interest was piqued by the descriptions of the gin shops, in particularly those centred around the area known as the Rookery on Tottenham Court Road.

The book describes the gin shops in detail, glass windows and gas lights, polished mahogany, casks of gin on the back wall and baskets of cakes and biscuits on the counter top for customers to sample.

The finished cocktail, the Out and Out was a delicious combination of fresh coriander, Ish gin, Creme de Menthe, lemon juice and Mr Pickwicks Particular Tawny port (another nod to Dickens), served alongside fresh scones, with lime and ginger jelly (with Ish Limed) and cream infused with Gorda Rum, another of the Poshmakers brands.

Our fourth contender was Hank from local bar Tusk.

Taking inspiration from Alice in Wonderland, he wanted to visit the ‘Eat Me, Drink Me’ element of the book and created the Curiouser and Curiouser.

This used double cream and egg white to make it a twist on a Gin Ramos Fizz, along with grenadine, gingerbread syrup, lemon juice, Ish Limed and AKA Vodka, shaken twice and topped with soda water.

Served alongside gingerbread and cherry cookies, this was a sweet, creamy, citrussy cocktail, light, despite the double cream.

At the half way point, our fifth entry was from Marcel, of the Gaucho Manchester itself.

Marcel had selected Goldilocks and the Three Bears as his literary inspiration – one of my own favourite childhood stories.

He had even created a garnish to go perfectly with the tale. Three bowls of porridge made from rice pudding garnished the finished cocktail, one ‘too hot’ featuring chilli, one ‘too cold’ having been turned into an iced sabayon and ‘just right’ featuring Gorda Rum.

The Can’t Bear to be Golden featured golden honey, Ish Gin, AKA Vodka, black pepper and chocolate bitters was lovely, impressing the judges with its simplicity.

Our sixth bartender was Amir from Epernay Champagne Bar, Manchester.

Amir had selected one of his own childhood favourites, Tin Tin and in particular, the tale Red Rackham’s Treasure. Alluding to the history of Tin Tin and the change of type of adventure he experienced following the beginning of WWII (the stories moved to far away places as the author was very aware of sensitive nature of relations with other continental countries), this tale centres around the Caribbean, inspiring Amir to use Gorda Rum in the cocktail.

Eschewing a shaker and utilising a suitably branded water bottle, Amir blended chocolate tea infused Gorda Rum, hazelnut liqueur, lemon juice walnut bitters and strawberry jam to create a fruity cocktail that was then topped with an AKA Vodka and marshmallow foam. Garnished with chocolate coins and cookies, the Fool’s Gold was something very grown up from lots of childhood flavours

On our last laps, number seven was Tony from Under New Management.

Tony had selected, the perhaps controversial book, Fifty Shades of Grey. This raised the judges eyebrows a little, especially when Tony chose to read from the chapter ‘Kinky Fuckery’ from the book ahead of creating his cocktail. The man has cojones.

The cocktail itself, a combination of lemon, Aphrodite Bitters, Ish Gin, Gorda Vodka, Kamm & Sons, honey syrup was entitled was a blend of citrus and herbal flavours and one of my favourites of the day.

And was garnished with grapefruit, rose petals and fellow bartender Adam Binnersley half naked, sporting a ball gag.

Our penultimate entry was from cocktail queen Susie from Cuckoo in Prestwich.

Susie had picked Swan Lake for her literature – originally a Russian fairytale, this has since been translated into plays, ballets and is in many cases the basis of other fairytales involving princesses.

Another cocktail based on the Gin Ramos Fizz, the Odette was made from marshmallow syrup, Cacao Blanc, Gorda Rum, AKA Vodka, cream, egg white and topped with elderflower presse.

The result was a gently sweet, floral cocktail, that was served in an appropriately delicate jewellery box with some beautiful vanilla candyfloss. Delighfully feminine.

Our final contender was Tom, also of Gaucho Manchester.

Choosing Paddington Bear as his literary inspiration and had even made his own marmalade using Gorda Rum to both use directly in the cocktail and in the marmalade sandwiches served as garnish.

His twist on a Breakfast Martini combined the marmalade, Ish Gin and Ish Limed into a deep citrus cocktail, garnished with lime to balance the deep bitterness of the marmalade.

With our final cocktail sampled, we headed around a corner to deliberate. Discussions took place over the various areas on the judging sheet – everything from brand knowledge, to timing (each entry had to complete within 6 minutes or a penalty was added), cocktail flavour to elements of spirit within the cocktail (the idea is to showcase the spirit, rather than drown it in other flavours).

Never an easy task, we eventually reached a conclusion and our finalists were selected.

In runner up spot, was Joe of MOJO in Leeds with his Out and Out. The judges loved his interaction with the audience, his selection of literature and his cocktail. The scones didn’t hurt.

But the winner was Susie of Cuckoo.