The Bartender Challenge - The Bartender Challenge

An ongoing & biased ranking of the world’s best bartenders when given one challenge:

One drink. One spirit. One fruit. One spice.

… And no preparation time.

We update this list regularly.

The most recent challenge:

Gin. Orange. Cinnamon. No honey.

Bartenders Challenged: 200+

First Place:

Simone Rubio @ the old CDM Speakeasy

Newport Beach, California

Freshly squeezed blood oranges, tangerines, and clementines. Gin with cinnamon and cinnamon cordial. Served up.

@simone_rubio

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Second Place:

Artit Surit (Tae) @ Stella at The Capella

Bangkok, Thailand

Bulldog gin, chinotto, lime, house-made cinnamon syrup, passion fruit, fresh orange juice, and “a little” yuzu. Served up.

@artit_sunday21

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Third Place:

Harry @ Sette Bar at The Bulgari

London, England

An entire whole orange blended with condensed milk, Bombay gin, cinnamon syrup, lime, orange juice. Strained and served on ice.

#4 – Nash & Jin as a team (allowed) @ Tippling Club – Singapore

Montenegro, orange juice, lemon juice, egg white, Bitter Truth all spice liquor, Prohibition Christmas gin + London dry gin.

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#5 – Arathorn Grey @ Tippling Club – Singapore

House gin, fresh orange juice, heavy whipped cream, chocolate liquor, fresh cinnamon.

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#6 – Frank @ Stella at The Capella – Bangkok, Thailand

Iron Balls gin, orange juice, jasmin syrup, seriously sour cocktail mix, bitters, several dashes of things no one can remember, lit cinnamon sticks.

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#7 – Janne @ Life Is Beautiful – Brussels, Belgium

Brick gin, dry curaçao, Big Daddy’s falernum, yuzu sake, cinnamon stick, bourgoin ver jus.

@jannevrk

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#8 – Matteo @ Artists’ Bar at The Dorchester – London, England

No 3 gin, Campari, fresh orange juice, dash of simple, topped with grated cinnamon and served up.

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#9 – Mark @ The Fumoir at Claridges – London, England

30ml Tanqueray, 20ml crème de cacao, 25ml fresh orange juice, 15ml lime juice, 5ml vanilla syrup, 5ml demera syrup, grated cinnamon sticks, shaken and served up.

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#10 – Johh @ Bouchon – Napa, California

Half ounce of cinnamon syrup, half ounce of ginger liquer (canton), half ounce of orange juice, 1/4 lemon juice, 1/2 ounce Botanist gin, 6 dashes of foaming bitters

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#11 Melvin Lim @ Bar Trigona – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

A traditional orange and lime gin fizz with cinnamon.

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#12 Liv @ La Whiskeria – Barcelona, Spain

Tanqueray 10, 10ml Cointreau, dashes of cardamom, vermouth, cinnamon smoked glass.

@livrosengren

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#13 Kim @ MO Bar at The Mandarin Oriental – Singapore

Hayman’s exotic citrus gin 30ml, Montenegro 10ml, Aperol 10ml, broken cinnamon sticks, fresh orange juice 20ml, Benedictine 5ml. (With a bit more cinnamon this could have made the top 5).

@jh_20.5

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#14 KK @ Frank’s Bar – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Fresh orange juice and Campari gin fizz with a dash of cinnamon.

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#15 Joe @ The St. Regis – San Francisco, California

Gunpowder gin, freshly squeezed orange and lemon juice, old fashioned bitters, house-made jalapeño basil syrup, ground cinnamon, egg white.

@_mezcal_papi

Judged by TwoBarSeats.