Brisbane’s Ed Quatermass from Antico, Dr Gimlette and Death & Taxes has taken the top spot at the Australian Moutai ‘Enter the Dragon 3’ Competition
Moutai, China’s most iconic spirit and the world’s No 1 beverage brand, last night crowned the winner of their prestigious ‘Enter The Dragon 3’ cocktail competition at the Sydney Opera House. Following an intense final held across two days, Ed Quatermass from Brisbane’s Cuatro Group (Antico, Dr Gimlette, and Death & Taxes) came out on top with his impressive and innovative cocktail, ‘Beautiful Punch’.
Quatermass took the win from fellow top ten finalists, Bertie Boekemann (Now and Then, NSW), Brendan Scott Grey (Bar Love, WA), Cristiano Beretta (Pocket Bar Terrigal, NSW), Dave Whitehead (18th Amendment, Geelong VIC), Doris Yiyang Gao (PS40, NSW), Gorge Camorra (Non Disclosure Bar, Geelong VIC), Jono Carr (Chuck & Sons, NSW), and Jenny Wang (Sokyo, QLD), Simon Dacey (Applewood Distillery, SA).
The ten finalists had five minutes to demonstrate their uniquely crafted cocktails – incorporating 30mL of Moutai – and present them to a panel of expert judges. The esteemed panel included:
- Pasan Wijesena, Owner of Earls Juke Joint
- Mike Enright, Director and Co-Founder, Barrelhouse Group
- Barney Toy, Groups Bar Manager, Harbour City Hospitality
Quatermass’ Moutai cocktail wowed the judges with its bold creativity, fusing the iconic Australian flavours of Milo and local shiitake mushroom tincture with coffee liqueurs, vanilla, and Moutai Prince. Quatermass edged out his competitors to take the win, thanks to his intelligent serve and the use of innovative processes that allowed the vibrant flavours of the baijiu to shine through.
As winner, Quatermass has been awarded the title of Moutai Master alongside a $10,000 cash prize. His winning ‘Beautiful Punch’ Milo Moutai cocktail will also be available for a limited time in venue.
Quatermass said of his win, “Taking part in this year’s Moutai ‘Enter The Dragon 3’ competition has been an unforgettable experience. I am truly thankful to be part of such a close-knit hospitality community and am incredibly proud of being able to represent Brisbane in such a prestigious event.”
Dan Zhao, Moutai’s Brand and Marketing Manager of Moutai Australia, said, “A huge congratulations is in order for all of our finalists who delivered exceptional creativity, knowledge of Moutai and dedication to their craft in this year’s competition. Our judges were incredibly impressed with their innovation and ability to blend flavours while bringing out the rich complexity of Moutai.”
The ‘Enter The Dragon’ Moutai cocktail competition continues to establish itself as a distinctive platform, connecting like-minded professionals and enthusiasts while providing bartenders with the unique opportunity to engage with one of the world’s most storied spirits. This year’s competition saw a record number of entries with bartenders eager to push the boundaries of creativity and craftsmanship.
Moutai is an esteemed brand of baijiu (pronounced “bye-joe”), a traditional Chinese spirit with a history spanning over 4,000 years. Often compared to Whisky, Gin, and Rum in terms of prestige, baijiu saw significant growth during the Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD) when an early form of distillation was developed. Today, baijiu is the world’s most consumed spirits category, with Moutai at the pinnacle as China’s national spirit.
Moutai Australia
www.moutai.com.au