Kiwi Bartender Heading to Cocktail Competition in Beijing
Grapes of Wrath is more than a John Steinbeck novel. It's also the name of a crafty cocktail that earned Auckland bartender Solei Paul (pictured) the top spot in the New Zealand Bartending Nationals and sent her to Beijing to take a stab at global domination in the International Bartender's Guild's World Cocktail Competition, pitting her mastery of mixology against top bartenders from all corners of the Earth. And while Paul is the first female to take the title in her country in more than six years, the plucky bartender told the press that she was "surprised more women haven’t won the competition before as they have a better palate for cocktails."
In case you're wondering, the winning cocktail has more than just a snappy name to its credit. Plum schnaps, grape juice, Elderflower liquer, Dubonnet, and homemade vanilla bean sugar syrup make up the magic mixture of ingredients that nabbed the New Zealand title for Paul. But while she's getting set to test her mettle in Beijing in October, anyone who has the wherewithal to travel to Paul's home base, The Library Bar in Auckland, can get a personal lesson in the art of the cocktail straight from the champ herself. Pay close enough attention and maybe you'll be competition-bound yourself one of these days...
