Cocktail jockeys to mix it with the best

CRAIG SIMCOX/The Dominion Post

OUT TO MAKE A STIR: Queenstown cocktail maker Jason Clark in action. The winner was Claire Harlick, from the Matterhorn in Wellington.

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Cocktails to die for – including one made with gunpowder – blew away the judging panel as New Zealand's finest bartenders fought for a trip to Cuba.

Ten New Zealand bartenders, including five from Wellington, had 10 minutes to concoct their top three rum-based cocktails at the national Havana Club Cocktail Grand Prix held at Wellington's Bettys Bar yesterday.

The winner was Claire Harlick from the Matterhorn in Wellington and the runner-up Tim Martin from Mea Culpa in Auckland.

Event organiser Rachel Morrison said they would be flown to the Cuban finals in May.

This would be just the second time New Zealand made an appearance at the biennial event, which usually had representatives from about 90 countries, she said.

The international exposure would help to create a more professional cocktail industry in New Zealand.

"We don't have a huge cocktail culture in New Zealand. We do a rum and coke [and think that is a] cocktail," Ms Morrison said.

Heats were held nationwide four weeks ago and finalists had three weeks to perfect their cocktail recipes.

Jonny McKenzie, who owns Wellington cocktail bars Hawthorn Lounge and Hooch, served up "For My Gypsy"– a cocktail made of rum, lemon juice, sugar, vermouth, and lavender and grey tea, infused with cedar smoke.

Mr McKenzie said the country's cocktail industry was beginning to make a stir.

"New Zealanders are slowly getting more and more into cocktails, and we're seeing a growth ... three years ago there were only three cocktail bars in Wellington."

Cocktails were not everyone's drink of choice, though – Mr McKenzie said his brother, Bret one half of Flight of the Conchords, was more likely to opt for a glass of milk.

- © Fairfax NZ News