Some cocktails are constructed round approach. Others are impressed by taste. Rebecca Ardman’s successful cocktail, SPF-U, started with a reminiscence.
Named the 2026 U.S. East Coast Winner of the Bols Cocktail Battle, Ardman impressed judges with a cocktail that blended technical precision with considerate storytelling. Impressed by the sensation of a quiet seashore at sundown, her drink earned her a visit to Amsterdam, the place she’ll characterize the East Coast on the prestigious Bols Cocktail Fever expertise alongside bartenders from all over the world.
We caught up with Ardman to speak concerning the inspiration behind her successful cocktail, the challenges she confronted in the course of the competitors, and the recommendation she’d give bartenders contemplating their first cocktail competitors.
What impressed your successful cocktail, and what story have been you hoping to inform by means of it?
Thanks very a lot! The inspiration got here from a kind of philosophical conversations that solely appear to occur just a few drinks in—when somebody asks what your dying row meal could be or what your excellent final day would appear to be. Earlier than my two canine graced my life with their presence, my reply was at all times the identical: sitting on a seashore after everybody else had gone house, having a cigarette or cigar, a chilly tequila, and no person needing to get in contact with me.
What stayed with me most wasn’t the tequila. It was the sensory reminiscences, just like the odor of tanning oil and salt within the air, heat sand beneath your toes, and that lingering heat that makes you would like the day would decelerate for just a bit longer. SPF-U was my try to seize that feeling.
Each competitors has its challenges. What was the largest impediment you confronted in the course of the course of, and the way did you overcome it?
The most important impediment was me. I began with a very totally different idea. I spent an unreasonable period of time looking down components I couldn’t discover after which needed to make main adjustments lower than 48 hours earlier than the deadline, particularly after reviewing the judging parameters.
Trying again, the time crunch was most likely a present. Up till that time, I had so many concepts floating round that I used to be principally internet hosting a committee assembly in my very own head. As soon as I needed to pivot, the noise disappeared, and I lastly dedicated to a route.
What does successful the Bols Cocktail Problem imply for you at this stage of your profession, and the way do you hope it influences what’s subsequent?
Successful means a major quantity due to how unlikely this path was for me. My first job on this business was with the group I’m nonetheless presently employed by. I utilized as a bartender with zero restaurant expertise and was rapidly humbled in the course of the interview course of. I began on the host stand, requested for the possibility to bar again, then begged six months later to develop into a bartender.
Although there was skepticism about selling me—and rightfully so—I received fortunate. Earlier than selling me, my beverage director ended an extended dialog by joking, “I’m excited to see what occurs, however promise me you received’t be the explanation we lose our liquor license.”
A number of years later, I’m headed to Amsterdam to characterize the East Coast in a world competitors. I’m pretty constructive this isn’t one thing both of us would’ve predicted throughout that dialog, however I’m without end grateful that he took an opportunity on me.
How did working with the Bols portfolio encourage your creativity, and did you uncover a spirit or liqueur that stunned you?
I used to be excited to work with the Bols portfolio as a result of I gave myself a inventive problem from the beginning. Blue cocktails have a tendency to hold numerous preconceived notions, and I used to be curious to see if I may create one thing that felt layered, balanced, and just a little surprising.
What I loved most concerning the course of was that it rewarded curiosity. Each time I believed I knew the place the drink was going, a brand new ingredient would ship me in a special route. Bols Banana Liqueur was most likely the largest shock—it fully modified my method and finally helped form the ultimate cocktail.
For those who may give one piece of recommendation to a bartender serious about getting into their first cocktail competitors, what wouldn’t it be?
My recommendation has two fundamental parts: don’t be your personal worst enemy and cease ready till you are feeling prepared. We’re all so busy making an attempt to be spectacular that we overlook to be fascinating. Individuals keep in mind emotion, not perfection. What stays with us isn’t at all times essentially the most polished—it’s what leaves an impression. Don’t be scared to submit an thought simply since you really feel too “inexperienced.”
For those who’re searching for inspiration, begin with a reminiscence. Recreating nostalgia by means of taste is extremely troublesome, however when you’ll be able to take a sense that solely exists in your head and make another person expertise a chunk of it, that’s fairly particular.
SPF-U
by Rebecca Ardman
Elements
- 45 ml Partida Tequila
- 22.5 ml Bols Banana
- 15 ml Frangelico
- 15 ml Lemon Juice
- 7.5 ml Bols Blue
- 2 drops Vanilla Extract
- Pineapple Cinnamon Foam*, stick, nutmeg (for garnish)
Preparation
- Mix components right into a shaking tin.
- Shake the drink after which nice pressure it into an vintage coupe glass.
- Prime the cocktail with the pineapple cinnamon foam in a layering method, grate nutmeg excessive, then place a flower off to the aspect of the glass.
- Torch a cinnamon stick and punctiliously place it throughout the foam.
*Pineapple cinnamon foam
Elements
- 12 oz egg whites
- 5 oz pineapple cinnamon syrup
Preparation
- Crack about 12oz of egg whites into an iSi quart guide whippet.
- As soon as chilled, add in 5 oz of the pineapple cinnamon syrup and cost the canister.
- Be certain the components are effectively chilled.
- Shake the canister vigorously then place it within the fridge till the cocktail is ready.
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The put up Bartender Rebecca Ardman on Turning a Seaside Reminiscence into Successful the 2026 Bols Cocktail Battle appeared first on Chilled Journal.
