Cocktail competition final

Graham’s hosts cocktail competition final

Thursday 28th March saw luxury Port producer, Graham’s, hosting the UK final of its annual Blend Series Cocktail Competition at London’s 1 Lombard Street.

The competition, which is in its third year, is now held across 17 countries and saw 11 finalists competing in this year’s UK final.

To qualify, each entrant was asked to produce an original port cocktail, using the Graham’s Blend Nº5 White Port or Blend Nº12 Ruby Port. Those selected for the final were then judged by an esteemed panel of judges that included Anthony Symington (5th generation family member), Sandrae Lawrence (Co-Founder & Editor of The Cocktail Lovers) and Jean Vital (Head Bartender at The Ivy Collection).

Graham’s Port has long been regarded as one of the most innovative Port companies and were the first to create a range of Ports specifically for mixing with their Blend Series. Its versatility is a key strength, as evidenced by the diverse range of cocktails that were on display during the competition.

This year’s winner was Stuart Hudson of Forgotten Hospitality, and his cocktail Bittersweet Symphony. Stuart was awarded a 4.5 litre bottle of Graham’s 10-Year-Old Tawny and will now go on to represent the UK in the Global Final which will be held in Porto this May.