Made in Blyth – Britain’s best Margarita named by Pub & Bar
16th October 2024
Blyth is officially home to Britain’s best Margarita after a bartender from the town’s The Commissioners Quay Inn walked away with the accolade from the 2024 Classic Cocktail Competition finals in London.
Competing against 14 fellow talented slingers from across the country, Demi Harper wowed the judges with “an inspired” Spicy Watermelon Margarita that came out on top of the panel’s scoring.
Returning for its second year, the Classic Cocktail Competition by Pub & Bar Magazine challenged bartenders to make six different classic cocktails each, all served in their own signature style during strictly timed heats.
The standards on display were high, with Demi up against fellow bartenders from respected hospitality businesses, including Albert Schloss, Lounger’s, and Rank Group, underlining the quality of her winning creation.
Scored on the balance of flavours, overall taste and enjoyment, presentation, knowledge and skill, Demi’s use of lime zest and chilli flakes alongside classic margarita ingredients created a well-balanced drink that shone through.
After her first taste of a competitive cocktail contest, Demi is eager to develop her skills further and add more accolades to her name at next year’s event.
Demi said: “I enjoyed the competition; it was the first time I’d ever done anything like that, and I’ve got the bug now!
“Going up against the calibre of people who were in the room was quite an experience and to take one of the titles was just brilliant, but it would have been even nicer to come away with more!”
Discussing her winning creation, Demi added, “Chilli, watermelon, and lime pair well together, with the sweet, sour, and spicy hitting off and complimenting each other’s profiles to create a well-balanced drink.
“Muddling chopped watermelon with chilli flakes to fully infuse them together is what gives the drink its kick and adds to the classic margarita ingredients, including lime juice, tequila, Cointreau and agave.
“The rim of chilli salt applied to one side of the glass using agave syrup balances all the ingredients together and the judges liked what they tasted.
Demi earned her place at the bar for the finals after triumphing in an internal qualifying competition run by The Inn Collection Group, where the contestants were required to make the same classic cocktails as at the finals.
Challenged to produce High Balls, Long Island Iced Teas, Margaritas, Negroni’s Old Fashioneds and Pornstar martinis, an added twist saw local ingredients and spirits used as much as possible.
The head of beverage at The Inn Collection Group Dave Walker was impressed by what the qualifying contests served up and is keen to make competitions a fun way of driving standards and customer experience across the group.
He said: “It was a tough decision on who to put through to the finals because the standard from our qualifiers was incredibly high, which was a nice position as it highlighted the quality of cocktails our teams are serving in our inns.
“Demi’s performance on the day was brilliant and she measured up superbly in a field of incredibly talented bartenders in what was her first live competition and deservedly won the Margarita of the Year award.
“Though it’s not the version that you’ll enjoy if you call into the Commissioners, we’re working on trying to make that possible and in the meantime, you can be assured you’ve got a very talented mixologist making what we do have on the menu”
“The finals were an exciting event and we’ll be keen to repeat being involved next year and developing our qualifying process to encourage more of our people to put their hat into the ring.”