BAR MANAGER’S SMASH, GRABS HONOURS AT NATIONAL COCKTAIL COMPETITION

01/03/2008

A St Ives bar manager has shaken off the best of the UK’s bar trade to take one of the major honours at a national cocktail competition.

John Lister, bar manager at the Hub Bar and Brasserie in St Ives, reached the finals of the Matthew Clarke Icon Drinks competition, held in Bristol,

after impressing judges with his cocktail creation – the ‘Have a Smashing Thyme’.

The thyme, peach, Tequila and sweet and sour crush created by John, who has worked at the Hub for the past 18 months, caught the eye of the

judges and saw him go through to the final 16, where he was up against some of the most talented cocktail mixers in the country.

After mixing four of his Smashing Thyme’s for the judges live on stage, John took third place in the national drinks competition.

“I was absolutely delighted to take third place – although disappointed on just missing out on second spot – as there were hundreds of initial

entrants from across the UK and an extremely strong final 16, including mixers from some renowned cocktail bars in London.

“The judges really liked the balance of flavours and the presentation which was really pleasing as one of the judges was Peter Dorelli who is

regarded as a God in the cocktail world,” said John.

Before moving to St Ives John worked in the award winning Kino Cocktail Bar at the Hotel Barcelona in Exeter, the Black and White Bar in

Brighton and the Blue Rooms in Bath and also has experience in setting up cocktail bars in the French Alps.

According to Hub owner Richard Boon, John’s award shows that one of the best cocktail talents in the country is here in Cornwall.

“It’s fantastic that John has done so well in this competition and a reflection of his talent and creativity when its comes to cocktails - which can

be seen through our cocktail menu. He has a real passion for mixology and his award win along with the rest of the bar team here proves that

its a myth that you have to go to London or the South East to find a really good cocktail bar.

“We now have a really creative team in place here through John who heads up the bar and our head chef Paul Learney who is creating a

new menu for the Hub,” said Richard.

For more information on the Hub contact them on 01736 799099.