Raise a glass to Ireland’s best cocktail maker

The winner of the Irish National Cocktail Championship is Oisin Kelly, a bartender at the Sidecar cocktail lounge at the Westbury hotel in Dublin.

Kelly’s winning creation, called Solstice, was made with Grey Goose vodka, St Germain elderflower liqueur, Peach Reál and Bitter Truth orange bitters.

The competition took place at Catex, a foodservice and hospitality event, at the RDS in Dublin 4, and is run by the Bartenders Association of Ireland.

Kelly will now represent Ireland at the World Cocktail Championships in Chengdu, China, in November.

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Last year's Irish National Cocktail Championship winner, Ariel Sanecki, went on to finish as runner-up at the World Championships in Estonia last October.

Sanecki, senior bartender and resort mixologist at Adare Manor hotel, took the gold medal in the sparkling cocktail category, one of six at the finals, for his Cocktail King, made with Finlandia vodka, De Kuyper elderflower liqueur, calvados, Reàl Agave Nectar infused syrup, Monin rhubarb purée and Schlumberger dry sparkling wine.