The Regional Final Winners Have Been Announced!
Emporia Brands is thrilled to reveal the winners of the Gabriel Boudier Wizard Award Regional Finals for 2026/2027. Following an impressive 168 entries, five talented UK bartenders have earned their places in the prestigious Grand Final, which will be held at the Gabriel Boudier distillery in Dijon, France in January 2027. Here, these finalists will present their original liqueur recipes and signature serves to the Master Liqueur Wizards. The winner of the Grand Final will receive £1000 prize money, and their winning recipe will be developed for release of Gabriel Boudier’s award-winning Bartender Liqueur range.
The regional finals, held across three key UK cities, showcased the creativity and passion of the bartender community. Competitions took place at Skoll & Hati in Edinburgh for the Scottish final, Albert Schloss in Liverpool for the North/Midlands final, and Albert Schloss in London for the South final. Each participant delivered compelling presentations of their bespoke liqueur recipes, paired with both signature and simple serves that captivated the judges.
Despite the exceptionally high standard of all entries, a select few bartenders distinguished themselves, earning their places in the Grand Final, including one specially commended wildcard entry that impressed the judging panel enough to earn an additional place.
THE SOUTH REGIONAL FINALS
Taking the win in the South final at Albert Schloss, London, Lorenzo Gavelli of Disrepute impressed judges with his Timur Berry liqueur. “The liqueur showcases the versatility of the Timur Berry and its initial floral notes,” says Lorenzo, “developing into a pleasant peppery bite with a long-lasting end note of citrus reminiscent of pink grapefruit” – a profile he built to shine as Timur Spritz simple serve and Timur Paloma signature serve.
Joint winner in the same heat was Rowena Mead of Fight Club, Shoreditch, whose Essence de Cigare liqueur, remarkably free of any tobacco-derived ingredients yet uncannily true to flavour, won over the judges with a Late-Night Tabac simple serve (the liqueur serves simply with an orange twist) and a Backroom Manhattan signature serve. “There are only a small number of tobacco liqueurs, due to the health and safety implications of nicotine infusion into alcohol,” Rowena explains. “My intention with this liqueur to open up that access and broaden smoky tobacco flavour profiles at the ever more popular lower-ABV end of the drinks scene.”
MIDLANDS/NORTH REGIONAL FINALS
In the North/Midlands final at Albert Schloss, Liverpool, Michael Dylan Edwards of Simone’s Cocktail Club, Liverpool, took the win with his Beetroot liqueur. “Beetroot’s distinctive flavour almost has a cassis note to it, just with an earthly back note,” says Michael. “I wanted this liqueur to be inclusive and not overly earthy, ultimately, I think it celebrates the original cassis liqueur while showcasing how the brand can create and innovate.” A returning entrant who has honed his recipe over several years of competition, Michael secured his place in Dijon with an English Royale as his simple serve and New English as his signature serve.
THE SCOTLAND REGIONAL FINAL
The Scottish final, hosted at Skoll & Hati, Edinburgh, saw Rachael Carpenter, a co-owner of Skoll & Hati, crowned winner with her Elderberry liqueur, serving The Elder Tree as her simple serve and Voluspa as her signature serve. “The liqueur was originally conceived when designing a menu around Scandinavian folklore and storytelling,” Rachael explains. “As a berry prominent in Norse stories, with connections to healing and phrophecy, it was an obvious choice for one of our cocktails, the problem was there wasn’t one on the market, so I created my own.”
Judges were so impressed by the standard of entries in Edinburgh, that they announced a surprise addition to this year’s Grand Final line-up: runner up Mia Gander of Bramble, Edinburgh, whose inventive Beurre liqueur will also travel to Dijon. “The Beurre Liqueur is a nod to the luxurious nature of butter,” says Mia. “I wanted to do what does to food, but in a drink form.” Adding body silkiness and hint of salinity without the hours of fat-washing. Sitting at 20% ABV, the liqueur is designed to cut and split base spirits, lowering a cocktail’s overall strength without loosing flavour; Mia presents it as a Beurre Biere simple serve and Auld Alliance signature serve.
Jack Rackham, Managing Director at Emporia Brands and Gabriel Boudier Wizard Judge commented: “Over a decade of Wizard Awards and the quality keeps getting better. This year’s regionals were the strongest yet, both in creativity and technical execution, and it’s a real testament to how much our industry keeps innovating. I can’t wait to see the five finalists go head-to-head in Dijon in January.”
Ashley Haines, previous Wizard Winner, and this year’s Wizard Judge commented: “The standard of this year’s competition has been extraordinary. There were so many liqueurs that could have earned a place in the final, which is testament to the talent and creativity across the industry. The Wizard Award is genuinely unique in giving bartenders the opportunity to create the next flavour in the Gabriel Boudier range, and I can’t wait to see which of these five exceptional finalists is crowned the next Wizard in Dijon.
For more information on Gabriel Boudier Wizard Award or stocking Gabriel Boudier products in the UK please contact info@emporiabrands.com.
