The City of Charleston, South Carolina, was the perfect backdrop for the 2010 Hendrick’s Challenge, held on Aug. 5 and 6, 2010. The Hendrick’s Challenge is a unique two-day event that combines a Hendrick’s Gin seminar and a cocktail-creation contest with a unique bar crawl. On Thursday, Aug. 5, a seminar was conducted for 30 of Charleston’s most influential bartenders and bar owners at High Cotton restaurant by award-winning British mixologist and William Grant & Sons USA portfolio ambassador Charlotte Voisy. 

On the following evening, eight of Charleston’s finest culinary cocktail artists competed in this special contest. Each contestant was charged with the task of creating, naming and serving an original cocktail featuring Hendrick’s Gin. For an added twist, the master mixologists were also required to recite an original limerick while serving their creations. The contestants were then judged by a wandering board of adjudicators, all of whom were decked out in 19th-century Victorian attire. Mr. Michael Moore, from Rue de Jean’s, won first place for his “On Georgia Thyme” cocktail, while High Cotton’s Luca Barwick won for best limerick. The 2010 Hendrick’s Challenge was truly an exhilarating event.