Tasting "Victoria" - Patrón competition cocktail by Jules Verlinden

When you think about bartenders competing in prestigious international cocktail competitions, you automatically think of top-level bars in big cities like Amsterdam, Brussels or Antwerp. In Diest, a small market town in the east of Belgium, you will find a restaurant called “De Nieuwe Haan” (“The New Rooster”). The owner’s son is Jules Verlinden. In the restaurant he works front of house, but his true passion is developing amazing cocktails. 

In 2019 I was part of the jury for the Amaro Montenegro BeLux cocktail competition. I was very happy to send Jules to the global finals in Italy with the ‘Monterinha’ cocktail. This weekend I visited the restaurant to taste ‘Victoria’, his entry for the Patrón Tequila Perfectionist cocktail competition. 

In cocktail competitions you need a combination of a delicious cocktail and a good entertaining story. The cocktail must be replicable in bars all around the world and the story needs to be a perfect match with the cocktail. Not just any fairy-tale will do. Jules matches the Victoria cocktail to the history of ‘Cinco de Mayo’. The holiday remembers the battle between Mexico and France. On May 5, 1862 the Mexican soldiers won the battle at Puebla from the much larger French troops. Jules used Mexican and French spirits in his drink and even the smoked salt on the rim reminds of the ashes on the battlefield. The name Victoria stands for Victory… and is also a hopeful reminder that the end of the current pandemic might be coming soon. In my opinion this is a solid match. 

The drink itself is a Margarita-style cocktail with added pear-flavors. It’s a bit more sophisticated than that because he uses lime cordial and infused spirits, but I just want to give you a general idea about the taste. What I love about all of Jules’ cocktails is that he creates drinks that give you a series of flavor experiences. 

In this drink you start with the earthy pear, followed by the Tequila with keeps going for a while. My only concern for this creation was the limited aroma in the nose, probably caused by the very large icecube in the serve. Jules agreed and will try to use a smaller cube for the competition. Since we’re still under corona-rules, the competition is completely remote and the cocktail will be prepared by another bartender, following Jules’ instructions. When the jury judges the drink itself, they will always judge on taste, aroma and presentation. 

We also tasted a few other original creations on the menu. He improved the Monterinha which now brings a pretty different experience with an eggwhite layer. But I was most amazed by his interpretation of the Mojito. This is a cocktail I normally don’t like at all. In most bars you get an awful sweet and sticky drink that you can hardly call a cocktail. It’s just sugar, rum and ice with a pinch of lime. Jules created a totally new drink, served as a Martini, reconstructed with all the flavors that should go in a Mojito. On the menu you will find versions with and without alcohol. I tasted both. This is next-level mixology. It was a very positive surprise. And you should see the faces of the customers when they get this serve instead of the “highball glass filled with crushed ice” they expect 😉 

In every bar I visit, I always order an Old Fashioned in their signature style. In this restaurant the Old Fashioned is not yet on the menu, because just like the Mojito, Jules wants to create a totally different interpretation of the Old Fashioned. The cocktail is still under development, but I got to taste it anyway. It was certainly different and packed with taste. I don’t want to give away too much just yet, but think of a very clean Japanese style cocktail. I’m still thinking how it can be further developed because it sure has potential. 

Extra tip when you want to visit Jules to sample a few cocktails. His father Dirk (actually an old friend of mine) is the owner and Chef of the restaurant. I highly recommend his cooking. After our tasting we enjoyed a great lobster and Chateaubriand dinner with a view at the bar where all the action was going on. 

Thanks Jules, we had a great evening.
Wishing you all of luck with the Patrón competition. 

Disclaimer : All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.

Verslag van Patrón Tequila Perfectionists 2017 Finals Belgium-Luxembourg

Vorige vrijdag waren we aanwezig op de Belgische finale van de Patrón Tequila 2017 Perfectionists cocktailwedstrijd. Deze finale ging door in cocktailbar Victoria op de Guldenvlieslaan in Brussel.

De zes finalisten: Ruben Patoor (de nieuwste aanwinst bij Cocktails at Nine in Antwerpen), Patrick Vercambre, Cédric Buscemi, Tim Devriendt (The Cobbler, Gent), Karim Britel en de laureaat uit het Groothertogdom Luxemburg, Thibaut Dodeler (Octans, Luxembourg City). De meeste kandidaten waren sinds hun inschrijving van bar veranderd, dus ik vernoem alleen de bars waarvan ik zeker ben...

De cocktails van deze kandidaten werden beoordeeld door drie juryleden : Chocolatier en Mexico-kenner Dominique Persoone (die tevens instond voor de lekkere “El Dominico” welkomst-cocktail), bartender Jef Berben (El Jefes Cocktails) en Global Brand Ambassador van Patrón, David Alan.

Elke kandidaat had zijn eigen presentatiestijl, variërend van storytelling tot het activeren van de jury door hen zelf de cocktails te laten shaken. Het was dus alleszins een zeer geanimeerde wedstrijd.

Persoonlijk vond ik het zeer leuk dat Thibaut Dodeler gebruik maakte van een eau-de-vie van Mirabellen, gestookt door zijn vader en jarenlang gerijpt. Dit is een zeer typische Luxemburgse spirit die binnenkort ongetwijfeld weer overal te proeven is tijdens D’Miselerland Brennt, de jaarlijkse “Distillery day” van de Luxemburgse alcoholstokers. Normaal gezien brengen we daar ook dit jaar weer verslag van uit op onze blog.

De winnaar die binnenkort ons land mag vertegenwoordigen op de Patrón Tequila 2017 Perfectionists Global Finals in Mexico is Tim Devriendt van The Cobbler. Thibaut Dodeler haalde het net niet en eindigde op de tweede plaats.

Na afloop van de competitie mochten we nog proeven van enkele signature-cocktails en was er ook een tastingsessie voorzien van vier verschillende Patrón Tequila bottelingen (Silver, Reposado, Añejo en de Gran Patrón Platinum). Zelf heb ik voor deze blog al enkele Tequila-reeksen van andere merken geproefd en kan met zekerheid bevestigen dat Patrón zich kan meten met de betere premium merken.

Net voor we naar huis gingen kregen we van Dominique Persoone nog een schitterende praline, een echt smaakbommetje van chocolade, zout en Tequila.

In het album op onze Facebookpagina kan je nog wat extra foto’s bekijken van dit event.