The Fairmont Pacific Rim team cleans up at the global competition

Another day, another global win for Botanist Bar. Bartenders Grant Sceney, Jeff Savage and Max Curzon-Price have just been crowned the “Bols Around the World” bar team of the year.

Earlier, they had been selected to represent North America as one of six global teams competing in the 10th annual contest. (The others are Eastern/Central Europe, Western Europe, Asia Pacific, South/Central America and Africa/Middle East.)

At the global finals held in the Bols headquarter city of Amsterdam, Netherlands, teams from all over the world were challenged to design a cocktail inspired by a painting that is currently on display at the iconic Rijksmuseum.

Botanist Bar was given a portrait of a Dutch Girl at Breakfast painted by Swiss artist Jean-Etienne Liotard in 1756. The Botanist Bar team recreated the painting by dressing Curzon-Price as the girl at the centre of the portrait, accompanied by a clarified milk punch designed à la minute. It was a bold and complex risk for a timed challenge.

To round out the finale, each team re-created their home bar experience as a pop up on Reguliersdwarsstraat, dubbed Central Amsterdam’s “cocktail street.” At their “bar,” the Botanist team served their competition cocktail submission, Into the Æther, a floating libation inspired by the fifth element of spirit and featuring Bols Genever as its base. The cocktail is available at Botanist Bar, botanistrestaurant.com.

—by Joanne Sasvari