Female+ bartenders in focus: Bar Queens 2026
The lowdown
In an ideal world, we wouldn’t need female+ only cocktail competitions. But as Katy Wicks and Eímear Corr were savvy enough to realise, while we’ve come a long way since women behind the bar were referred to as ‘bar maids’, there’s still a considerable distance to go.
Need confirmation? Let’s repeat this stat from our previous call for entries post for Bar Queens 2026: while women represent at least 60% of the hospitality workforce in the UK, only 33% of working bartenders are women. Which is due a radical reboot as far as Katy and Eímear are concerned. Hence their decision to start Bar Queens.
Not that Bar Queens is the first cocktail comp unapologetically aimed at women. However, as far as we’re aware, it is the first from one of the major global drinks brands. The brand in question is Pernod Ricard and Katy and Eímear, both Customer Account Execs with Pernod, came up with the competition after becoming increasingly frustrated by the lack of females taking part, let alone taking the top prize in comps. But Bar Queens isn’t just about encouraging women+ to step outside their comfort zone, it was very much set up with empowerment in mind. As Katy and Eímear are at pains to point out, it’s a movement to level the playing field for young female+ bartenders while supporting the growth of future industry leaders by providing visibility, recognition and international exposure.
The competition
For its third year the competition was given a refresh. Out went solo entries and in came dynamic duos, which meant the Queens could buddy up with a women+ bartender of their choice. And seeing them in action at the final, the camaraderie and support was palpable. Working in pairs allowed everyone to shine – if one person dried up, the other could step in and take over; when one was preparing the drink, the other could pour out samples. There was fluidity and fun, creativity and connection, but perhaps best of all from a judges POV there was strength and solidarity.
There were five national heats in total – one each in Cardiff, Edinburgh Leeds, Liverpool and London and the new brief gave them the freedom to really express themselves as they were tasked with creating two drinks, one spritz, one bespoke, both starring a minimum of 30ml of Lillet Rose and inspired by an iconic duo.
Liverpool finalists Miley Pendragon and Jazz Yorke chose Princess Bubblegum and Marceline the Vampire Queen from Adventure Time to base their drinks on. Their spritz featured Lillet Rose, strawberry and banana cordial, and waste prosecco reduction, while the bespoke drink representing the Vampire Queen was made by balancing Lillet Rose with blood orange peel infused gin, Maraschino, saline solution and rose water.
Princesses Peach and Daisy from Mario Kart were the inspiration for Beth Cunningham and Rachel Graham who won the Leeds heat. Delicate peach flavours shone through in their ‘Peaches & Dreams’ spritz (Lillet Rose, creme de peach, lemon punch with vanilla yoghurt, topped with prosecco), while their bespoke drink ‘Daisy Chain’ featured Lillet Rose, chamomile flower tea gin and St. Germain topped with a salted caramel foam.
Representing Scotland, Carrie Adams and Chloe Yeung took us to the drama of Cabaret, inspired by its two stars Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly. ‘Razzle Dazzle’, their spritz, did exactly that, thanks to a mix of Lillet Rose, cryo peach and jasmine tea cordial, cremante and soda, garnished with freeze-dried blackberry and pink peppercorn dust. ‘He Had It Plum-ing’, their bespoke drink took in Del Maguey mezcal spritzed inside the glass, Creole Bitters, pickled plum, sable grapes alongside the Lillet Rose, topped off with an olive and cherry garnish.
The finalists repping the South were Lottie Malin and Scher Powell from Cardiff. Taking cues from Wicked, they created a ‘Galinda’ spritz using Lillet Rose infused with lemon peel, summer berry cordial, vanilla extract and tonic water, while their bespoke ‘Elphaba’ cocktail featured Lillet Rose, baked apple Irish whiskey, amylase biscuit syrup and clarified baked apple yoghurt.
SpongeBob SquarePants was the driving force behind Mandi Tabatabai and Monty Beaumont’s two drinks. The London Queens spritz, called ‘The Maison Blush’, incorporated Lillet Rose, grapefruit verbena, ‘strawmegranate’ syrup, silver needle white tea and soda, which was followed by ‘Sundae Sunrise’ featuring salted hibiscus, ‘goober colada’ milk punch and Lillet Rose.
All five teams did themselves proud in terms of their presentations and creations but in the end Miley and Jazz took the top prize, thanks to the way they went the extra mile in terms of incorporating all of the senses. The pair cleverly wove in a soundtrack, Lillet scented candles, a specially designed booklet and screen, plus humorous and informed chat in addition to their drinks.
The second prize went to Lottie and Scher, while a special mention was given to Chloe and Carrie for their He Had It
Plum-Ing’ which was the judges drink of the competition.
Oh, we didn’t mention the judges did we? Joining last year’s Bar Queens winner Martha May Markham at Pernod Ricard HQ in London was Estelle Martin, Head of Experiential & Consumer Activation Pernod Ricard UK, and The Cocktail Lovers.
The prize
Each winning pair will receive a three-day educational and cultural trip to the Athens Bar Show in November for global networking, trend exploration and career development.