Ahh England. It would be nice to win SOMETHING this year. No Euro 2008, no rugby…

Well there is a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. Yesterday afternoon the ViewLondon team headed along to the finals of the England heat for the 42 Below Cocktail World Cup at one of my favourite bars, the Haymarket Pool Bar.

I have to say I was pleased to see that some of my favourite London bars dominated the heat. Mahiki, Gilgamesh, The Loft, Great Eastern Dining Room, Fifty Five Bar, Exhibit, Hoxton Pony, Stanza, Sake no Hana and Lab all made appearances. Graphic were a no-show and Hanbury Club in Brighton and Raouls made up the successful finalists from elsewhere in England.

It was a pretty tough job for the barmen, who had fought their way here through the area heats. Upon arrival, everyone was in jubilant spirits (pardon the pun!), dressed in fancy dress – from pirate gear to big afro wigs. And, best of all for a reviewer used to ‘upmarket’ canapes, there were sweeties on offer to nibble on. Oh yes. Fried eggs, flying saucers – good times. The fun and excitable atmosphere (probably thanks to all the sugar!) took the edge off the nerves as the barmen took to the table to show off their skills to a panel of expert judges (and us ViewLondon guys, naturally!). In Round One they had seven minutes to concoct the bespoke cocktail they produced to get them to the final in the first place. My personal favourite was that of Mahiki – presented in a coconut, the slightly sweet coconut milk gave it a soft, delicate flavour that would soon have me knocked out. Most experimental came from Stanza, where smoked cedar wood (smoking is this year’s foam dontcha know?) gave a subtle aftertaste that lingered in the mouth. The drinks were inventive and exciting, the only stipulation being that 42 Below vodka was used.

Then came Round Two – now this was a toughie, aptly named ‘Ready, Steady, Shake’. Each contestant was given just four minutes to come up with a new cocktail creation from a list of six unusual ingredients. They had to use at least three, but the more they utilised, the more points they got. Ingredients on offer included absinthe, beetroot juice, ginger, egg, cream, mint, blackberries… a whole plethora of choices that had me scratching my head as to what the hell they’d create… And it has to be said they all did a decent job considering. The Stanza contestant showboated big time, winning over the crowd. Lab’s contestant remained cool under pressure and didn’t blink at the challenge, completing his drink first and looking calm the whole time. My personal favourite came from Fifty Five Bar’s Stuart – a delicate, easy to drink cocktail that avoided the dreaded beetroot ingredient!

I’m rather smug to say that I correctly predicted two of the three winners. It was pretty obvious that Mahiki and Lab deserved to go through, and coming from two of the top cocktail bars in London it was bound to be the case. However, the third finalist was a little tricky – in the end the charmingly funny Stanza contestant went through and was undoubtedly the popular – and deserved – choice.

And their prize? They’ll be flown out to Queenstown, New Zealand in September to compete in the World Finals. With such challenges as shaking a cocktail whilst bungee jumping, I’m sure it will be a toughie – but undoubtedly huge amounts of fun. Now I just need to beg to fly over and report on it… Maybe not!

Good luck guys, fly the flag for London and bring home a trophy please!