Signature Drinks

[kingseven]

Can anyone clarify the rules for signature drinks in competition.

As far as I understand it - no alcohol, must have espresso.

Beyond that what are the limits? Can I use foodstuffs to have the judges eat before and after?

I am working with a restaurant on some things - some very very odd things - who knew you could poach in liquid nitrogen! Just want to know where the cut off is.

I have had my brain turned upside down, in terms of flavour and cooking, in the last week. I like it!

[Raf]

Sounds interesting. Be sure to let us in on all the secrets afterwards!

[tisri]

You're based in London according to your profile. If you come up with something spectacularly tasty and need someone else to taste it drop me a PM

[anette]

The rules for the signature drinks are basically that there can be no alcohol, you must be able to taste the espresso, and it has to be drinkable, not a dessert. You can find the rules and regulations from this years WBC on http://www.worldbaristachampionship.com ... ations.doc
The rules are prone to change but the basics for the signature drink have been the same for a while and should stay so.

[ianboughton]

That's only the WBC. Some other contests do allow alcohol - notably, I think, the Brasilia one which is currently the biggest British contest. Although the WBC would say it shouldn't be.

Among typical entries, I think, are Thomas Polti's 'Highland Fling', which is a super whisky latte. I quote from our own magazine, in which Thomas said some interesting things about speciality/signature drinks and competitions

“I very strongly believe a ‘signature’ drink should be practical – not something which takes you fifteen minutes, just to impress the judges and look pretty in a photograph. In the Brasilia contest, where we were allowed to work with alcohol, I was wondering what to do with whisky. I decided to try a liqueur, and my Highland Fling was liqueur, Kahlua, cream and coffee… and we sell a lot.
“It’s very easy to be proud of a complicated signature drink and put it on the menu, until on a Saturday night you hear someone asking for three espressos, two lattes, two beers, a gin, and two signature drinks… and you think ‘oh ****, I’ve put it on the menu now, I can’t say I haven’t got time to do it, because people will ask if I’m a winner or not’.
“Highland Fling takes me a minute, and I can do it as part of several jobs at once. Doing only one thing at once is what wastes time – to learn how many things you can do at once is good.”

-IanB