Hennessy My Way 30 Second Challenge to create iso cocktails

Mary White from Kittyhawk prepares her La Salamandre cocktail for #hennessymyway iso cocktails. Photos & Video by Christopher Pearce.

As part of an initiative launched by Hennessy to support the hospitality industry during venue closures and restrictions, bartenders around the world were engaged while in lockdown to create a Hennessy cocktail or serve in a video of less than 30 seconds, keeping them inspired and creative while at home, while also making their viewers thirsty.

Typically, our 50 Australian bartenders pushed the boundaries on creativity, with Hennessy serves ranged from delicious twists on classic cocktails and luxurious stir downs with home-made ingredients and syrups, to roast chestnuts and mascarpone whipped with Hennessy and rosemary (Nicholas Tsakiris). Of course, it wouldn’t be a lockdown challenge without some baking (Hennessy cacao butter cookies, Tiana Matthews), work-home-from uniforms (Shirt with no trousers, Jon Linsted) and of course At-home blazing (Mary White).

All content created can be found on the #hennessymyway Instagram hashtag.

A big thank you to all the participants…

Aaron Clarke
Alex Brown
Andrea Gualdi
Ben Wainright
Ben Hickey
Breeana Erica
Chad Hanson
Charlie Lehmann
David Debatista
Dre Walters
Drue Stevenson
Francesco Emmulo
George Leung
James Connolly
Basile Jourdan
Jason Song
Jeremy Read
Joe Steadman
Joe Sinagra
Jon Linsted
Julian Cincotta
Kate McGraw
Kayla Reid
Kayla Grigoriou
Kenny D’Souza
Kierran Batchelor
Kris Leombruni
Kurtis Bosley
Laurence Eaton
Mark Luscombe
Martin Rezazadeh
Mary White
Matt Baker
Michael Chiem
Mikey Enright
Millie Tang
Mitch Townsend
Nick Tsakiris
Olivier Remy
Pete Ehemann
Quynh Nguyen
Ross Appleby
Rowan McKay
Sam Egerton
Shannon Deane
Steve McDermott
Tiana Matthews
Tim Pope
Tony Huang
Zachary Guertin

And here are just a few of the recipes:

Improved Grasshopper with Hennessy VSOP Cocoa Butter Biscuits Tiana Matthews, Eau De Vie

  • 40 ml Cocoa Butter Washed Hennessy VS Cognac
  • 20 ml creme de menthe
  • 40 ml cream
  1. Add all ingredients into a cocktail shaker/jar/whatever you have in the kitchen.
  2. Add ice and shake.
  3. Double strain into a coupe and serve with Hennessy VS Cocoa Butter Biscuit on the side.

*Hennessy VS Cocoa Butter Biscuits

  • 135g plain flour
  • 55g icing sugar
  • 100g Hennessy VS cocoa butter
  • 15ml milk
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 Pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Sift flour and salt twice and put aside in a small bowl. Melt Hennessy VSOP cocoa butter in a small pot and put aside until warm. In a medium sized bowl mix Hennessy VSOP cocoa butter and sugar. Mix in egg yolk and milk. Gradually mix in dry ingredients until just combined. Roll biscuits into 3cm sized balls and place on a tray lined with baking paper, leaving about 3cm between biscuits. Work quickly as the batter will start to harden as the Hennessy VSOP cocoa butter sets, warm batter slightly in your hands if it becomes difficult to work. Bake for about 7 minutes until slightly golden brown. The biscuits will still be soft when you remove them from the oven but will harden as they cool.

Unnamed Cocktail by Ross Appleby, Stitch Bar

  • 40 ml Hennessy VS Cognac
  • 40 ml fresh espresso
  • 1 spoon banana puree
  • 30 ml almond croissant orgeat*
  1. Garnish Toasted almonds
  2. Shake and double strain into a sizeable coupe

*Almond croissant orgeat adapted from the Trash Tiki site

  • 1kg boiling water
  • 1kg granulated sugar
  • 2 almond croissants
  • 100ml white rum

Mix it up. Leave for 12 hours. Blend and strain.

Winter’s Night by Kayla Grigoriou, Bar Torino

  • 30 ml Hennessy VS Cognac
  • 20 ml mandarin skin washed Manzanilla*
  • 45 ml acid modified Mandarin juice**
  • 15 ml clementine & vanilla syrup***
  • 2 dashes orange bitters
  • 40 ml soda
  1. Combine all and top with soda.

*Mandarin skin Manzanilla. Nuke in microwave for 3 minutes 4 mandarin skins with 200ml of Manzanilla. Strain it off – happy days!

**Acid Modified Mandarin Juice. juice mandarins. Add 2 parts clarified mandarin juice with 1 part citric acid (1:10 acid:water)

***Clementine & Vanilla syrup. Add 2 clementine skins to 2 cups of water. Bring to boil. Add 1 vanilla bean chopped up to the clementine water. Allow to sit for a couple hours.

La Salamandre Mary White, Kittyhawk

  • 45 ml Hennessy VS Cognac
  • 15 ml cask strength whisky
  • 15 ml black sesame + coconut syrup
  • 2 dashes Angostura Bitters
  1. BLAZE THAT SHIT!
  2. Served hot in your favourite glass.
  3. Garnished with an orange zest and a touch of nutmeg.