4th September - 15 bartenders from 14 countries around Asia were competing jigger against jigger at Qba, Westin KL last night for the place to represent Asia to the coming Grand Finale in Paris end of September.

This was the first time ever Monin Asia held a championship involving every country in the region and had it in Malaysia, giving great opportunities to young talents to showcase their creativeness and exchange knowledge with bartenders from other countries. Malaysia being the hosting country and celebrating the 100th year Monin anniversary, the event also marked the handing over of Cedric Clouzeau’s 9 year service with the brand as a Managing Director for Asia region to Christophe Bernard-Bacot. When asked how he felt about leaving, Clouzeau said, “Malaysia is a great place for the brand, but France is home and I really miss it a lot.”  Clouzeau has been a judge to all the Monin Cup Malaysia in the past years but was not sitting in the panel this time.

The championship saw cocktails inspired by the contestants’ country culture and popular Asian ingredients such as The Drunken Beauty by David Ding from China featuring the beauties in Chinese history; Malaysians Joel Poon infused his bourbon with sautéed bacon adding in locally produced hibiscus jam created the Afternoon Delight and Zaintiar Desy Renaldi prepated a local favourite artisan tea blooming Jasmine with mint Sayuri, making it the only hot beverage in the competition.

The more international side of preparations are Passion Beat by Miyuki Hongo from Japan combining tequila with passion fruit, guava, orange and rose; Le monde est rose by Seree  Panjanapongchai from Thailand joint western melon and pink grapefruit with Asian lychee flavour in gin; Dragon Dance by Paulo Layao from Philippines uniting raspberry and rose together with dragon fruit and Monin Citron Verte (lime) in rum.

Following the nowadays more conscious mind among Asian drinkers, Taiwanese Chang Chien Chih-Wen designed his Summer Grace cocktail surrounding the use of ingredients which were fat free e.g. gonjak jelly (konnyaku); Vietnamese Tran Van Huy created his Monin Centennial cocktail with an expensive taste of infusion ginseng.

Green Grass from Gin Green by Nilar Win from Myanmar served a refreshing cocktail with basil in a pretty champagne glass that gave a clean look and Willy Gunawan from Indonesia garnished his Orchid Bourges Martini with an orchid and orange slice, the cocktail was served chilled with a foamy top.

Egg white was a very popular ingredient in this competition. Hong Kong Nokoy had his Oriental Medicine cocktail prepare with egg white shaken in Yellow Chartreuse; Han Sol Lee from Korea used the egg white to create a meringue in her Romantic Brunch; Oyuntsogt Munkhbayar from Mongolia married his egg white to gin, adding some fruity flavour that made the Asian Glory then New Zealand James Goggin had his egg white dry and wet shake with tequila in Moloma.

The uniform of the contestants also showed their local bar culture. Most of the contestants wear a the bartender barbacks shirt-and-vest uniform but the gold cheongsam worn by Singapore contestant, Jenny Ma whist preparting Fruit of Eden Cocktail was an enjoyable scene as it showed femininity behind bar. There were 4 female contestants in this championship and out of 2 went into the final. It is very encouraging to see that they all showed tidiness and great organisation skills throughout their preparation.

6 finalists were selected at the end of the preliminary round. They were Miyuki Hongo from Japan, Han Sol Lee from Korea, Joel Poon and Zaintiar Desy Renald from Malaysia Chien, Chih-Wen from Taiwan and Tran Van Huy Chang from Vietnam. After the finalists were announced, they took the stage and were revealed their secret ingredients in the 6 boxes containing a selection of Monin Syrup, Monin Fruit Mixes, fresh juices, soft drinks, vegetables & spices as well as fresh fruits.

The contestants were to pick their ingredients from these boxes and prepare their recipes in 15 minutes. They were judged not only for their creativity but also to test their professional skills and routine which they would have been carrying out daily as a bartender.

Presenting a clean and tidy workflow together with a balance mix of fruit and vegetable cocktail, Hongo won the championship. Chang Chien was awarded the first runner up for his meticulous hand technique during his preparation and Ranald walked away as the second runner up for his charm and robust fruity cocktail concoction.

The women bartenders were receiving a great support from the crowd during the competition. They were all very engaging during their preparation and their smiles were heartwarming. In this event, we saw strong scene in women bartending and that was inspiring as they truly showed determination and grace in the profession, giving a soft touch to the used to be male oriented industry.

The following are the 15 carefully prepared cocktail and mocktail recipes by the contestants for their preliminary round. We have also included the six recipes from the final.


China
David Ding
The Drunken Beauty
Ingredients
30ml Hendrick's Gin
20ml Dita Lychee Liqueur
20ml Osmanthus Wine
10ml Monin Elderflower Syrup
10ml Fresh Grapefruit Juice
Glass: Martini
Garnish: Squeezed fresh grapefruit peel
Method: 1. Put ice into the mixing glass 2. Stir the mixing glass 3. Add the rest of the ingredients 4. Stir 5. Strain into the martini glass 6. Squeeze one fresh grapefruit peel on top of the martini glass

Hong Kong
Nokoy
Oriental Medicine
Ingredients
15ml Monin Elder flower syrup
30ml Lime Juice
25ml Egg White
10ml Yellow Chartreuse
45ml Gin
Glass: Champagne saucer
Method not provided

Indonesia
Willy Gunawan
Orchid Bourges Martini
Ingredients
45ml Tanqueray No. 10
20ml St. Germain Elderflower Liquer
15ml Monin Violet
20ml Fresh Lemon juice
60ml Elderflower Foam
Glass: Coupette
Garnish: Orchid flower on bamboo skewer and dehydrated orange with spray of orange essence
Method: 1. Chill coupette glass 2. Pour fresh lemon juice into a shaker 3. Add Monin Violet, Tanqueray No.10 and elderflower liquer 4.Shaked the mixture 5. Double strain into the serving glass 6. Make elderflower foam 7. Top up the glass with foam

Japan
Miyuki Hongo
Passion Beat
Ingredients
40ml Tequila
15ml Passion fruit Fruit mix MONIN
10ml Blood orange syrup MONIN
5ml Rose syrup MONIN
20ml Guava juice
Glass: Martini
Garnish: Lemon peel, orange peel, lime peel, pine leaf, cherry, tooth pick
Method: 1. Put all ingredients in a shaker filled with ice cubes 2. Shake vigorously 3. Pour into a glass 4. Garnish

Korea
Han Sol Lee
Romantic Brunch
Ingredients
30ml Egg White
40ml Tanqueray No.10 Gin
10ml Monin Almond Syrup
10ml Monin Grapefruit Syrup
3ml fresh lemom juice
Glass: Cocktail
Garnish: Torched meringue, lemon peel, orange peel with cocktail pick
Method: 1. Make meringue, pour into a chilled whipping machine, set up nitrogen then let it chill 2. Pour all ingredients into the mixing glass 3. Shake and pour into a cocktail glass 4. Pour meringue into cocktail glass 5. Torch the meringue until brown 6. Decorate with lemon peel and orange peel

Malaysia
Joel Poon
Afternoon Delight
Ingredients
60ml Bourbon Whisky
20ml MONIN Maple Spice
10ml Rosso Vermouth
2 bar spoon Hibiscus jam
Glass: Martini
Garnish: Infused cherry
Method: 1. Pour the infused whisky into the mixer glass followed by 2 bar spoons of hibiscus jam 2. Fill in ice cubes 3. Add in rosso vermouth followed by the MONIN Maple Spice syrup 4. Stir it (20 turns) 5. Lastly double strain into a martini glass and garnish with the infused cherry, served with blackberry espuma.

Malaysia
Zaintiar Desy Renaldi
Sayuri
Ingredients
45ml Bacardi Limon
15ml Monin Triple Original
15ml Lemon Squeeze
60ml Jasmine Blooming Tea
30ml Monin Hibiscus Flower
Glass: Chinese teapot and cup
Garnish: Spring jasmine tea & Blooming Flower Tea
Method: 1. Mix all the ingredients, Bacardi Limon, Monin Triple Original and lemon  2. Squeeze two shots of jasmine tea in a pot and stir well 3. Steam it till hot to give special aroma 4. Put a shot of Monin Hibiscus Syrup and stir 5. Put spring jasmine tea on the top and pour it in the cup  6. Put Jasmine Blooming Tea for the garnish and serve it with spring aroma jasmine tea on the side.

Mongolia
Oyuntsogt Munkhbayar
Asian Glory
Ingredients
40ml Tanqueray Gin
1pc Egg white
15ml Lemon Juice
20ml Monin Peach Puree
5ml Monin Basil Syrup
Glass: Champagne saucer
Garnish: Lemon peel, basil leaf and Edelweiss flower.
Method: 1. Add all the ingredients into mixing glass and shake well 2. Fill it with ice cubes to chill the drink 3. Pour into champagnesSaucer (double strain) 4. Garnish with lemon peel, basil leaf and Edelweiss flower.

Myanmar
Nilar Win
Green Grass from Gin Green
Ingredients
50ml Gin
30ml Monin Cucumber Syrup
top up with sparkling dry wine
2 pcs Lime
1 handpick Basil Leaves
Glass: Champagne flute
Garnish: Cucumber sticks with cocktail sauce on the side, and green leaf ribbon on the glass.
Method: 1. Muddle together basil leaves and one of the limes cut in wedges 2. Squeeze the second lime into the mixing glass 3. Pour the gin and Monin Cucumber Syrup 4. Shake with ice 5. Double strain into the glass 6. Top up with sparkling dry wine

New Zealand
James Goggin
Moloma
Ingredients
45ml Buttered Blanco Tequila
30ml Monin Pamplemousse Rose
20ml fresh lemon juice
1 pc egg white
Top up Soda
Glass: Highball
Garnish: Smoke sea salt
Method: 1. Dry shake then wet shake 2. Double strain into a highball glass 3. Then top with soda 4. Served like a fizz 5. Garnish Smoke Sea Salt

Philippines
Paulo Layao
Dragon Dance
Ingredients
45ml Bacardi White Rum
10ml Monin Raspberry Puree
10ml Monin Rose Syrup
10ml Monin Citron Verte
60g dragon fruit
Glass: Martini
Garnish: Dragon fruit balls inside the drink and a dragon fruit slice on top
Method:1. Prepare the dragon fruit balls and slice for the garnish 2. Put the dragon fruit balls for garnish at the bottom of the serving glass 3. Fill the rest of the glass with cubed ice and let stand 4. Muddle dragon fruit in a mixing glass. 5. Add ice 6. Pour all other ingredients into the mixing glass 7. Shake and strain into the serving glass over the ice 8. Garnish with the dragon fruit slice on the rim

Singapore
Jenny Ma
Fruit of Eden Cocktail
Ingredients
30 ml Absolut Peach Vodka
15 ml Monin Raspberry Fruit Mix
15 ml Monin Mojito Mint Syrup
60 ml Ooange juice
Top up Soda
Glass: Long
Garnish: Mint leaf and raspberry
Method: 1. Put in the vodka, fruit mix, syrup and orange juice 2. Top up with tonic water 3.Muddle and shake 4. Garnish

Taiwan
Chang Chien Chih-Wen
Summer Grace
Ingredients
30ml Mozart Amadé Chocolate-Orange
30ml Passion Fruit Syrup
60ml orange Juice
60g gonjak Jelly (konnyaku)
15 pcs Mint Leaves
Glass: Collins
Garnish: Mint leaves
Method: 1. Add mint leaves and Amadé into a shaker and muddle 2. Add Monin Passion Fruit Syrup and orange Juice 3. Shake and strain into a Collins glass with Gonjak Jelly and ice 4. Garnish

Thailand
Seree  Panjanapongchai
Le monde est rose
Ingredients
30ml Hendrick’s Gin
15ml Monin Melon   
10ml Monin Pink Grapefruit
15ml freshly lemon juice
2 pcs fresh lychees
Glass: Coupette
Garnish: Lemon twist or fresh fruit
Method: 1. Muddle lychees in the mixing glass 2. Pour all ingredients into the mixing glass 3. Shake with ice 4. Double strain into glass 5. Garnish

Vietnam
Tran Van Huy
Monin Centennial
Glass: Cocktail
Garnish: Ginseng with lemon wheel
Ingredients
40ml Zubrowka Vodka
30ml Monin Pink Grapefruit
20ml Monin Passion Juice
10ml Infusion Ginseng
Method: 1. Chill the glass 2. Fill all ingredients into the shaker 3. Shake well with ice cube 4. Use double strainers to pour all ingredients into the cocktail glass 5. Garnish

Black Box 6 Finalists

Champion - Japan, Miyuki Hongo
Fire Work
20ml Rum
30ml Monin Passion Fruit Fruit Mix
20ml Pineapple juice
5ml Lemon
5ml Monin Italian Dolce Syrup
10ml Tomato Juice

First Runner Up - Taiwan
Somewhere in Time
30ml Rum
15ml Monin Basil Syrup
15ml Monin Passion Fruit Fruit Mix
30ml orange juice
4pcs blackberry
1pc tomato
 

Second Runner Up - Malaysia, Zaintiar Desy Renald
Bombay Explosion
45ml Gin
30ml Monin Pink Grapefruit Syrup
30ml orange juice
5ml Monin Kiwi Fruit Mix
15ml lemon
1pc tomato  

Black Box Vietnam, Tran Van Huy
Monin'20
40ml Rum
30ml orange juice
20ml Monin Blood Orange Syrup
15ml lime
7pcs mint leaves
top up ginger beer 

 
Black Box Korea, Han Sol Lee
Shangri-la
45ml Rum
10ml Monin Passion Fruit Fruit Mix
20ml Monin Blood Orange Syrup
30ml orange juice
1/2pc lime
10ml tonic  
 

Black Box Malaysia, Joel Poon
Tropical Mojito
60ml Rum
10ml Redbull
20ml Monin Passion Fruit Fruit Mix
30ml cranberry juice
4pcs mint leaves
2ml lime