Matteo Vanzi of Italy is Crowned the Bombay Sapphire World's Most Imaginative Bartender with New Cocktail Named The Pastorini, (Perfect Lady)

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May 17, 2013, 06:00 ET

LONDON and FLORENCE, Italy, May 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Matteo Vanzi of Italy is the winner of the BOMBAY SAPPHIRE® World's Most Imaginative Bartender competition. Matteo Vanzi took home the top honors at the global final in Tuscany, Italy, which saw him compete against professional bartenders from around the world for the accolade and a prestigious prize. The world's fastest-growing gin brand by volume and value^[¹^]challenged the competitors to create a cocktail inspired by Tuscany, the home of the juniper berries, which lies at the heart of Bombay Sapphire gin.

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The bartenders took part in a four-day event, in and around the historical city of Florence where they experienced the region. The winner, Matteo Vanzi of Italy was chosen from 11 finalists from around the world.

Hosted at Il Salviatino, a 15th-century villa high in the hills over Florence, Raj Nagra Bombay Sapphire Global Brand Ambassador who compered the competition commented, "By working with the most creative talent from behind the bar, the Bombay Sapphire World's Most Imaginative Bartender competition not only challenges these bartenders, but it also aims to support them on their journey to becoming the most imaginative bartenders in the world."

In addition to being crowned the Bombay Sapphire World's Most Imaginative Bartender 2013 for his cocktail, he received the competition's coveted trophy; has been invited to be judge at next year's competition and will also become latest addition to the Bombay Sapphire Cocktail Hall of Fame - partaking in various duties, including attending the opening of the Bombay Sapphire Distillery at Laverstoke Mill in Hampshire, England, later this year. Furthermore Matteo Vanzi will have the unique opportunity to work with Virgin Atlantic to create their new signature cocktail, which will feature as part of the airline's Clubhouse^[²^] menu, giving consumers worldwide a taste of their imagination.

Matteo Vanzi commented on winning the competition, "I had many experiences throughout the trip that sparked by imagination, however it was the passion and love shown by the Pastorini family who harvest the juniper berries, one of the Bombay Sapphire botanicals, that gave me the inspiration for my cocktail and the theme of love. Tuscany is a very romantic region that combines the passion of Italian people like the Pastorini's, with history and style; the essence of these things helped me to create my winning cocktail. It is truly an honour to be named the 2013 Bombay Sapphire World's Most Imaginative Bartender."

Bombay Sapphire Global Category Director, John Burke, said: "Each of the finalists has learned over the course of the event, imagination is core to the Bombay Sapphire gin brand, from the care taken in sourcing each of our exotic botanicals to the unique vapour infusion distillation process and our iconic blue bottle. Our aim is to spark the imaginations of not just these finalists, but bartenders and gin-lovers worldwide."

Experience the journey of the Bombay Sapphire World's Most Imaginative Bartender by visiting http://www.bombaysapphire.com/imaginativebartender

NOTES TO EDITORS:

^[¹^]Data sourced from International Wine and Spirit Research (IWSR), for the 12 months to the end of December 2011. Major brands are those that feature in the top 5 by volume and value globally.

^[²^] The winning cocktail will be available at the following Virgin Atlantic Clubhouses: Heathrow, Gatwick, Hong Kong, San Francisco, Washington, JFK, Newark and Johannesburg.

The Pastorini (Perfect Lady) - Matteo Vanzi's Winning Cocktail Recipe

Overall recipe ingredients

50ml Bombay Sapphire gin
10ml St Germain infused jasmine green tea and pink grapefruit peel
15ml Martini Bianco
20ml White Balsamic Vinegar with verbena and camomile
Homemade shrub
1tsp juniper berry meringue

Overall method

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker
Shake, fine strain and serve in metal picnic mugs

Homemade shrub

1 cup caster sugar
1 cup white balsamic vinger

Method for homemade shrub

Heat vinger and allow sugar to disolve and then filter

Infusion

375ml St Germain
3 tbs Jasmine green tea
Peel of one Pink grapefruit

To make the infusion

In a Vienna coffee machine lightly infuse the green tea and pink grapefruit peel with the St Germain

Juniper Berry meringue

125g egg white
125g caster sugar
5 whole fine gounded juniper berries

Method for meringue

Whisk to mergine

The Finalists:

Austria: Markus Altrichter, Hammond Bar, Vienna
Canada: Franz Swinton, Cube Tasting Lounge, Calagry
Demark: Niklas Frank, The Union, Copenhagen
Germany: Mathias Noori, Roomers Bar, Frankfurt
Italy: Matteo Vanzi, Stravinskji Bar hotel de Russie, Rome
Japan: Mai Seike, Cellar Bar, Rihga Royal Hotel, Tokyo
South Africa: Assaf Yechiel, Orphanage cocktail bar, Cape Town
Spain: Joao Eusebio, Magatzem Escola Borne, Barcelona
Switzerland: Nico Colic, Hotel Rivington & Sons, Zurich
UK: Joe Wild, Berry & Rye, Liverpool
USA: Rustyn Vaughan-Lee, The Sporting League, Las Vegas

About Bombay Sapphire

The world's fastest growing gin brand by volume and value^[¹^]. Based on a secret 1761 recipe, Bombay Sapphire gin is created by perfectly balancing a unique combination of 10 hand-selected exotic botanicals from around the world. The natural flavours of the botanicals are captured through a delicate distillation process called Vapour Infusion which results in the tantalising, smooth and complex taste that is Bombay Sapphire.

Bombay Sapphire - INFUSED WITH IMAGINATIONTM

Bombay Sapphire aims to inspire people into expanding their minds, thinking differently to reveal more about themselves and their Imaginations. The team at Bombay Sapphire believes everyone has imagination and therefore aims to give everyone the opportunity to be inspired, and to infuse their imagination with Bombay Sapphire.
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Enjoy Bombay Sapphire responsibly. BOMBAY SAPPHIRE IS A TRADEMARK.

SOURCE Bombay Sapphire