Jacob Cohen wins the Southern Comfort Travelling Tales Cocktail Competition

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The soul of New Orleans was brought to Sydney on Tuesday night by Southern Comfort as NOLA hosted the National Finals of the 2017 Southern Comfort Travelling Tales Cocktail Competition.

NOLA Smokehouse and Bar in Barangaroo was a suitably fitting venue, with NOLA being an abbreviation of Southern Comfort’s birthplace, New Orleans.

South Trade International have recently added Southern Comfort to their impressive portfolio and are on a mission to bring some authenticity back to the brand. Prior to the takeover Southern Comfort didn’t actually contain any whiskey, and for this reason was discredited by many bartenders. South trade International have brought the spirit back to its roots and returned it to it’s rightful whiskey shelf, much to the delight of everyone in the room at NOLA.

Bartenders across the country entered the Southern Comfort Travelling Tales Cocktail Competition by submitting an original Southern Comfort-based cocktail inspired by an authentic story for their chance to be crowned Australia’s national champion.

Ten of Australia’s finest mixologists made it through their respective state finals, two from each state. On the night of the final, each finalist presented their cocktail by creating it live in front of a panel of judges, whilst describing the story that inspired it.

The top ten finalists were:

  1. Wen Yu Wang, Bro Fist (NOLA smokehouse & bar, NSW)
  2. Emma Burns, The Shoreditch Sazzy (The Clock Hotel, NSW)
  3. Jacob Cohen, The Bootlegger (Three Wolves, QLD)
  4. Ryan Lane, Lalaurie Zoom (The Gresham, QLD)
  5. Gregory Perrot, Southern Comfort Hot Toddy(Skycity Casino, NT)
  6. Dan Wall, Saving Grace (Nola, SA)
  7. Genevieve Maladay, Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop (Garden State Hotel, VIC)
  8. Hayley Dixon, Battle & Hum (Lily Blacks, VIC)
  9. Peter Van Zeller, Blazing Heron (Daddy Long Legs, WA)
  10. James Mason, Berry Herbed (Ku De Ta, WA)

The winning cocktail was The Bootlegger created by Jacob Cohen from Three Wolves in Queensland. His cocktail was made with 60ml Southern Comfort, 25ml NOLA rebirth pale ale/aperol/honey reduction, 20ml lemon juice, one barspoon of saline solution. He will receive an all-expenses paid trip to New Orleans including tickets to ‘Tales of the Cocktail’ and an honorary bartending spot at one of the city’s top bars.

There were three refreshing cocktails created for those who came to see the Southern Comfort Travelling Tales Cocktail Competition final: Southern Hurricane (made with Southern Comfort, fresh lemon juice, orange juice, pineapple juice and a splash of grenadine), Southern Lousiana Lemonade (made with Southern Comfort, triple sec, sour mix, a dash of bitters and topped with lemonade), and Southern Comfort Old Fashioned (made with Southern Comfort, soda water and bitters).

The delicious canapes on offer were oysters rocks and pacific, wood fired capsicum tartlet, hiramasa kingfish pastrami, blackened voodoo wings, tuna sashimi lightly torched, seared scallops, chargrilled lamb ribs, buttermilk fried chicken bites, smoked garlic potato croquettes and a selection of sliders.

For more information of Southern Comfort travelling tales cocktail competition visit: https://southerntalesau.southerncomfort.com/

Post was written by Abigail Andrews.

Sydney Event Blogger was an invited guest

Coffee and cocktails unite with the Tia Maria + Coffee Project launch in Australia

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On a wet Wednesday night, Tia Maria and coffee roaster Welcome Dose Specialty Coffee celebrated the Australian launch of Tia Maria + Coffee Project.

Tia Maria is a coffee liqueur made with Arabica coffee beans, vanilla and Jamaican rum. It was popular in the 80s drunk straight or over ice. Now, Tia Maria has a new-look, sleeker bottle and is back in vogue. It is more commonly drunk as a base for an espresso martini or other coffee cocktails.

Tia Maria + Coffee Project is a global initiative combining coffee and cocktails. Tia Maria aligns itself with bespoke coffee roasters in each region to make delicious coffee cocktails. In Sydney it has teamed up with Rosebery based Welcome Dose Specialty Coffee to launch Tia Maria + Coffee Project to Sydney trade and media.

The night started off with the ever so popular classic Espresso Martini. Guests enjoyed the drink mixed with Tia Maria and snacked on beef sliders and delicious tiramisu desserts. Continuing to the next refreshing station, guests tried the Tia Mint Americano and the Tia Mint Frappè, both great cocktails.

As the rain continued, Tia Maria’s brand ambassador, Matteo Fabbris, explained the flavour sensations of Tia Maria when combined with quality coffee beans. Then guests went back to listening to great tunes and chatting all things coffee and cocktails.

The night finished off with and Iced Popcorn Frappè, a pure indulgence!

All guests were given a bottle of Tia Maria to take home and the six recipes listed below:

  • Tia Espresso Martini – 25ml Tia Maria, 25ml vodka, double or single shot of espresso, 5ml sugar syrup
  • Tia Mint Frappe – 25ml Tia Maria, double shot of espresso, 6 mint leaves and 50ml milk
  • Tia Mint Americano – 25ml Tia Maria, double shot of espresso, 10ml sugar syrup, 6 mint leaves and 30ml sparkling water
  • Tia Iced Popcorn Frappe – 50ml Tia Maria, 50ml milk, double shot of espresso, 20ml of popcorn syrup and popcorn
  • Tia Flat White – 25ml Jamaican Rum, 25ml Tia Maria, shot of espresso, 5ml demerara sugar and 30ml milk
  • Tia Cappuccino – 25ml Tia Maria, 25ml vodka, shot of espresso, and morello cherry or salted caramel foam.

Thanks to Tia Maria, coffee lovers can now enjoy coffee from a morning cup to an evening cocktail!

For more information about Tia Maria + Coffee Project, go to: http://www.tiamaria.com/news/the-tia-cofee-project-is-live

The Lobby Bar at Le Montage launches in the Inner West

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Sydney’s first whiskey and cocktail bar designed with events in mind, The Lobby Bar at Le Montage, launches in Lilyfield on Wednesday 7 June 2017.

Le Montage is an elegant wedding venue with views of Iron Cove Bay. In my early 20s, I attended a couple of weddings here and was impressed by the elegance of the venue. Now, the Navarra family (who have owned the venue since 1996) have added another touch of sophistication and style to the venue with the new concept Lobby Bar that is perfect for pre-events, post events, private events or for just coming in for a drink.

The Lobby Bar at Le Montage is contemporary in style and decor.  It is a haven for whiskey and cocktail enthusiasts serving the finest local and international whiskeys sourced from around the globe, and making their signature cocktails from the best ingredients. The wine bar has premium local wines and craft beers, alongside their exposed wine cellar.

If your impressed with the luxurious decor of The Lobby at Le Montage, be prepare to be blown away with the menu, which is designed by Vanessa Martin and her team of executive chefs. Vanessa Martin started her culinary career in 1999 when she opened her first restaurant, Il Piave in Balmain, at the young age of 24. She received the first of six conservative one chef hat awards after being open for just six months. She closed it down and set up Mercato e Cucina in Gladesville with her brother, Robert Martin. Mercato e Cucina is part deli, part cafe, part up-market providore, part restaurant, part bar, part pizzeria, part patisserie, part bottle shop, part greengrocer. She then set up the Italian food and wine emporium, Bel & Brio at Barangaroo.

Guests were guided through the venue by MC Peter Deppeler, a reporter from the Kyle and Jackie O Show on KIIS 1065. They night started upstairs in one of the reception rooms where guests sampled the culinary delights made by Vanessa Martin, including: sesame crusted sashimi tuna with white balsamic soy dressing; Waygu bresaola cigars, artichoke hearts and endive; tempura zucchini flowers filled with mixed cheeses; mini fried chicken sliders with chilli mayo and slaw; pea panna cotta with blue swimmer crab meat and snow pea leaf; mini eggplant parmigiana with micro basil; and vitello tonnato made with Italian crispbread, seared veal and tuna mayonnaise.

After dinner, guests moved downstairs to the Lobby at Le Montage where they were served french fries with graded cheese and drunk gin and tonic from the Hendricks cart; rusty nail from the whiskey bar, and house beer and wines from the main and wine bar.

The Lobby Bar at Le Montage is located at Le Montage at 38 Frazer Street, Lilyfield NSW 2040.

The Lobby Bar at Le Montage is open Wednesday and Thursday evening from 5pm until late and Friday through to Sunday from 4pm until late.

For more information about The Lobby Bar at Le Montage, go to: http://www.lemontage.com.au/the-lobby-2/

 

The Toast the Macallan event series launches The Macallan Double Cask 12 Years Old in Australia

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The Macallan, the world’s most luxurious whisky brand, has something in common with Australia. The Macallan Estate started making whiskey in 1824, the same year Australia got its name. To celebrate this common beginning and to launch The Macallan Double Cask 12 Years Old in Australia, The Macallan hosted an exclusive pop-up dining experience called Toast the Macallan from 1 to 3 June 2017 at the Roslyn Packer Theatre, Walsh Bay, Sydney. I attended the event on Friday, 2 June 2017.

The Toast the Macallan dining experience included: signature cocktails served alongside perfectly matched canapes on arrival; a whisky-tasting masterclass featuring the Fine Oak 12 Years Old, the new Double Cask 12 Years Old, and The Macallan Rare Cask expertly guided by Brand Ambassador Sietse Offringa; and a perfectly paired three course menu, curated by one of Australia’s most acclaimed chefs – James Viles of Bowral’s two hatted Biota Dining – and designed to complement The Macallan’s rich, fruity, full bodied flavour characteristics. James Viles was present on the night to introduce every meal.

There were two canapes on arrival with matching cocktails consisting of: pear and sheep’s milk blue, charcoal and whipped roe which was matched with Fine Oak 12 Copa (made with The Macallan Fine Oak 12 Years Old, Oloroso Sherry, Tonic and lemon thyme); and fermented garlic and clay cooked beetroot tartare, duck ham, endives and goats cheese which was matched with a Double Cask 12 Old Fashioned (made with The Macallan Double Cask 12 Years Old, brown sugar, Angostura and orange bitters).

For the entrée guests were served: smoked kingfish loin, finger lime, white radish and kelp oil; corn cooked over coals; and citrus and wild fennel salad matched with The Macallan Fine Oak 12 Years Old. For the main, attendees enjoyed glazed beef rib, chestnut crème and and rappe stem; gathered wild mushrooms from the local Southern Highlands forest matched with The Macallan Double Cask 12 Years Old. For dessert, guests tucked into the honey crème, toasted rye and j choke ice-cream matched with The Macallan Rare Cask.

The Macallan 12 Years Old Double Cask is made by seasoning American and European casks with Oloroso Sherry for 18 months. The emptied casks are then filled with The Macallan to make the new spirit. Once it has matured, the whiskey in the two different cask types is blended together to make The Macallan 12 Years Old Double Cask.

The Macallan distillery makes Highland single malt Scotch whiskies. The Macallan 12 Years Old Double Cask has a creamy butterscotch, toffee apple, candied apple and vanilla custard aroma. On the palate, you can taste ginger and nutmeg, citrus, caramel, raisins and resinous. The finish is oaky, warm, sweet and drying.

The food was amazing and the whiskey was first-rate. Guests had a mixed preference between the The Macallan 12 Years Old Double Cask (which retails at approximately $100-$120 a bottle) and The Macallan Rare Cask (which had a Christmas cake aroma and retails for about $700-$800 a bottle). At the first Toast the Macallan dinner attended by industry on 1 June 2017, The Macallan Rare Cask (of which there is limited supply) almost sold out! The Macallan Rare Cask whiskey is a collector’s item and will increase in value over time 9as have their previous whiskeys).

Further, Toast the Macallan was an event open to the public on 2 and 3 June 2017 for the cost of $90. The food alone was worth so much more!

For more information about The Macallan, go to: https://www.themacallan.com/

        

The International Exhibition of Sherlock Holmes launches in Australia

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You can put your detective skills to the test by visiting The International Exhibition of Sherlock Holmes launched at the Powerhouse Museum on Thursday 1 June 2017.

The author of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, has made Sherlock Holmes one of history’s most enduring characters. His work of fiction has influenced the world to seek truth through forensic science.

The setting of the exhibition is Sherlock Holmes’ Victorian London. Visitors are given a notebook to help solve the mystery of 221B Baker Street by conducting their own experiments. The exhibition is divided into three rooms. The first room focuses on the author and features over 350 objects, including original manuscripts and first editions, The second room is one of the world’s most accurate recreations of 221B Baker Street, the home of Sherlock Holmes and his trusty sidekick Watson. The third room is the most comprehensive display of Sherlock pop culture items since his creation 127 years ago.

There are a range of programs during the exhibition including a MAASive Lates night, a True Crime Panel Talk and Sherlock Trivia Night.

The exhibition is also aimed at children. There is an entire case for junior detectives to solve, documenting their crime solving skills in a detective file, as they work through the exhibition.

This is the first time this exhibition has toured outside North America and It will be at the Powerhouse Museum until 29 October 2017. The exhibition is brought to the Powerhouse Museum through a unique arts partnership between Exhibits Development Group (EDG); Geoffrey M. Curley + Associates; Conan Doyle Estate Ltd.; and the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. This is the first time a Conan Doyle family member has been involved in a Sherlock Holmes exhibition.

On view: The International Exhibition of Sherlock Holmes
Dates: 1 June – 29 October, 2017
Address: Powerhouse Museum, 500 Harris Street, Ultimo
Website: https://maas.museum/event/the-international-exhibition-of-sherlock-holmes/
Tickets via ticketek.com

Admission:      
General admission for adults is $27
Concession $25,
Children $16
Family Pass $65.
Discounts available for pre-purchased tickets and groups

       

Wine Tasting the best of Mudgee at the Pyrmont and Mudgee Region Festival; Wine, Food and Art

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There is no better way to taste the wines of Mudgee than at a wine tasting event at The Pyrmont and Mudgee Region Festival: Wine, Food and Art weekend which occurred on Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 May 2017 at Pirrama Park, Pyrmont.

The Pyrmont and Mudgee Region Festival is a family-friendly event with live music, local artists, rides and children’s entertainment. It is in its seventh year and there was over 100 stalls where the public could meet the wine-makers, participate in tastings and sample a broad range of fine foods. Admission was free. Tasting tickets started at $20 with a glass and 5 tickets, and for the first time this year, there was also a beer garden.

For our wine tasting event we started with a crowns and cocktail workshop, where we made floral crowns with real flowers and cocktails using Wellstead Shrubs. A shrub is a sweetened vinegar based syrup. This drinking vinegar is infused with fruit juice, herbs and spices and used to mix drinks.

Then we met representatives from three major wineries and tasted some award-winning wines. From the Petersons Winery we sampled the chardonnay and Jamie’s Quatro (vintage 2015) wines and heard about the history of this Hunter Valley family-owned business that also has a vineyard in Mudgee. From the Burnbrae Winery we sampled the 2016 Burnbrae Cuvee and 2017 Bella’s Moscato. It is the oldest vineyard in Mudgee and still has the original winemaker’s cottage. From Botobolar Winery, we tasted the organically grown The King 2006/7 (made from cabernet sauvignon and shiraz), the Shiraz 2013, and the Shiraz 2016 (preservative free). Botobolar has been making organic wine for over 40 years and is the first fully certified organic vineyard in Australia.

Mudgee Region is the third largest grape growing region in NSW and one of the oldest too. They have been grapes grown here since 1850 and there are more than 110 growers and over 30 cellar doors to visit.

Mudgee specialises in Chardonnay. Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon also benefit from the temperate climate of vineyards high above sea level allowing the berries to slowly ripen in the rich red soil.

The Mudgee Region is also well-known for its food. The area includes Mudgee, Rylstone, Gulgong, Kandos, Hill End, Soffala, Hargraves, Glen Davis, as well as other villages and towns. Food products include honey, free range lamb, pork and beef, hazelnuts, pomegranates, olive oils and chocolate (where the beans are sourced from Vanuatu). The High Valley Cheese Company is making some award-winning cheeses and you can visit them for cheese tastings.

There is also a micro distillery. Baker Williams Distillery, that is making spirits and liqueurs focusing on regional flavours and influences. Their range includes Moonshine, wheat Vodka, Gin, Cumquat Liqueur and even Limoncello and Butterscotch Schnapps. They also make a Rouge Vert Jus-spirit.

Mudgee is only a 3.5-hour drive from Sydney. For more information about Mudgee, go to: https://www.visitmudgeeregion.com.au/

For more information about The Pyrmont and Mudgee Region Festival: Wine, Food and Art, go to: http://pyrmontfestival.com.au/

Chef Matteo Zamboni cooks up a storm for The Chef’s Series Masterclass at Casa Barilla

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Chef Matteo Zamboni from Zambo Restaurant was invited to demonstrate his most popular dishes at The Chef’s Series Masterclass at Casa Barilla on Monday 19 May 2017.
Casa Barilla runs a range of cooking classes at their premises at 4 Annandale Street Annandale. For the Chef’s Series Master Classes, Barilla invites a chef from a popular Italian restaurant to demonstrate his best dishes. Participants watch from their table; consuming each dish prepared by the chef throughout the class. All classes include Prosecco and antipasto on arrival, all food, a glass of wine (or two) with your meal, and gelato for dessert. PLUS everyone gets a generous goodie bag with Barilla pastas, sauces and desserts to take home (pictured below).
For the Chef’s Series Masterclass featuring Matteo Zamboni, he prepared: the Casarecce, WA Yabbies, capsicum and hazelnut entree and the delicious wild caught barramundi, Colatura butter, chicory and sundried tomato main meal.

For the Casarecce, WA Yabbies, capsicum and hazelnut entree, he started with putting the yabbies in ice for one hour and then blanched them in boiling water for 90 seconds. He strained them and put them back in the ice to stop the cooking process.  He peeled and diced them and reserved the shells for the stock. For the stock. he cooked the garlic, chopped tomatoes, added the shells and parsley stalks. When the shells were roasted, he added brandy and let it flame. He then added enough water to cover the yabbies and let them boil for 30 minutes. After the stock rested for 30 minutes, he strained it. He then cooked the diced capsicum and added the yabbie stock to bring it to a boil. He cooked the Barilla Casarecce in salty boiling water, then strained and tossed in the yabbies stock. He served it in a bowl with sliced hazelnuts, parsley and lemon zest.

For the wild caught barramundi, colatura butter, chicory and sundried tomatoes main meal, he removed the barramundi from the fridge 45 minutes before cooking and cut it in 150 gram pieces. He boiled the fish stock and added diced butter to create an emulsion. He then added Colatura, lemon juice and salt. He cut the chicory and cooked it in a pan over medium heat with a clove of garlic. He added 50g of the stock and let it evaporate, and seasoned it with salt and vinegar. Then he cooked the barramundi. He placed the chicory, barramundi, and colatura butter on the serving dish, and garnished it with fresh oregano, sundried tomatoes, and Barilla sundried tomato pesto.

Casa Barilla run the best value cooking classes in Sydney and their food is delicious. Their hands-on cooking classes are $90 and their Chef’s Series Masterclasses are $60. This is the price of a restaurant meal but you get so much more.

For more information about The Chef’s Series Masterclass or Barilla Hands-on cooking classes, go to: https://www.barilla.com/en-au/casa-barilla

Waterfall by Crown Group is unveiled at a star-studded black tie event

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The new Waterfall by Crown Group residential development, featuring Australia’s tallest man-made waterfall, was unveiled at an exclusive black tie event at the Royal Hall of Industries, Moore Park, on Wednesday 17 May 2017.

More than 2,000 guests were invited to the exclusive unveiling of the new Waterfall by Crown Group development including: City of Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore; Prince of Malaysia HRH Tunku Naquiyuddin; Princess of Malaysia HRH Tunku Hayati; Crown Group Chairman and Group CEO Iwan Sunito; Crown Group CEO Paul Sathio; supermodel Paula Verhoeven; former Channel Nine The Block stars, Shannon and Simon Voss; model, Rachael Finch; and former Miss Universe Australia, Laura Dundovic.

Guests were treated to the exclusive unveiling of the Waterfall by Crown Group project model and the visionaries behind this unique 331-apartment development. The MC for the night was Channel Ten news presenter Sandra Sully and the formalities of the evening included speeches by: Crown Group Chairman and Group CEO, Iwan Sunito, City of Sydney Lord Mayor, Clover Moore; Prince of Malaysia, HRH Tunku Naquiyuddin, Crown Group CEO of Global Capital, Prisca Edwards, Crown Group Sales and Marketing Director, Roy Marcellus, and Building Management Australia’s Ben Mees.

One of the highlights of the night was a surprise performance by ARIA-award winning Australian songstress, Jessica Mauboy.

 

The $400-million development will be on a 1.2 hectare site at 18-20 O’Dea Avenue Waterloo. Designed by SJB Architects to bring the tropics to the city, the development will have four towers ranging from seven to 20 storeys with 331 apartments.

The waterfall feature, that will be on the side of one of the seven storey towers, was inspired by the world’s largest indoor waterfall in Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay Cloud Forest Conservatory. The development will also contain other waterly features, such as ground-level water gardens with a recreation deck, a rainforest-inspired bamboo-covered walkway and an infinity rooftop pool.

it will also have other resort-like residential facilities such as a cantilevered gym, a function room, a music room, retail outlets, a rooftop lounge and panoramic views of Sydney’s CBD.

For more information about Waterfall by Crown Group, go to: http://waterfallbycrowngroup.com.au/

The 2017 Logitech Media Showcase presents the latest technology for the home

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Logitech invited media to a beautiful waterfront mansion in Mosman on Friday 12 May 2017 for the 2017 Logitech Media Showcase to demonstrate how Logitech, Logitech G, Ultimate Ears and Jaybird products could enhance our lives at home.

On the ground floor, there was a large open plan sitting room and kitchen. In this room Logitech Harmony was used to control entertainment and home automation devices. With just a few easy steps of a remote, tablet or smartphone you can now control your TV, set-top box, speakers, lighting, thermostat, door locks, window shades and other popular devices. Plus, with Harmony Activities, you can easily create one-touch control of multiple products, letting you turn on your TV, dim your lights, adjust the temperature and open your window shades—all at the same time. You do this by either by using your remote, mobile app or in response to sensors. And if you’re away from home, you can check the status and adjust devices from the Harmony mobile app.

Downstairs, there was a smaller sitting room and home gym. The gym featured the Jaybird X3 Wireless Sport Headphones. These next gen wireless in-ear buds don’t require a headphone jack, are sweatproof and offer a universal secure sport fit with improved sound and customisable audio options. The smaller sitting room had some Ultimate Ears bluetooth speakers on display including the new Wonderboom. The Wonderboom is a super-portable, waterproof, Bluetooth speaker that blasts 360-degree sound with clear and crisp bass. It is waterproof and floats on its own in the water. It is also drop-proof from up to five feet, boasts a 10-hour battery life and 100-foot wireless Bluetooth range. You can connect two Wonderboom speakers together to Increase the sound.

In the pool outside, there were a number of megaboom, and ue booms floating around in the pool.

Upstairs in the study and bedroom there were PC’s for work and gaming. In the study, there was the Logitech MK850 performance Wireless keyboard and Mouse Combo, which is a full-featured keyboard and mouse set with a cushioned palm rest and carefully-crafted keys designed for all-day comfort. The keyboard and mouse work together with new Logitech DuoLink software which enables customised functions and navigation. DuoLink enables the mouse buttons to have a different set of actions and gestures when you hold the Fn key down on the keyboard. There was also the 2017 doodle Collection of the Logitech M238 Mouse which is covered with colourful hand-drawn characters and appeals to people with a kid-at-heart attitude. It has up to 12 month of battery life and 10 metre wireless connection.

In the bedroom, there was the Logitech G Pro gaming Mouse and Logitech G Pro Mechanical Gaming keyboard. Designed in collaboration with top eSports athletes, the new gaming mouse features Logitech’s most accurate optical gaming sensor, a metal spring button tensioning system, onboard memory for driver-free operation on tournament systems, and a comfortable, durable yet lightweight design, while the Pro Mechanical Gaming Keyboard is a high performance, ten keyless mechanical gaming keyboard that is purpose-built for professional competition. The keyboard features Logitech’s exclusive Romer-G™ mechanical switches, offering 25 percent faster actuation than standard mechanical keyboards.

Logitech was founded in 1981. It started making computers, and is now designing products that bring people together through music, gaming, video and computing.

For more information about Logitech, go to: https://www.logitech.com/en-au

 

Twinings Tea announces the winner of the Twinings Design Challenge competition

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The hotly contested winner of the Twining Design Challenge competition was announced at a cocktail party on board the Starship Sydney on Thursday 11 May 2017.

The Twinings Design Challenge is a competition that asked 33 notable Australian women to create artworks that will inspire distinctive pack designs for a new Twinings tea range. Each of these talented Australian women aligned themselves with a charity.

The top four finalists of the Twinings Design Challenge were designs by: Carrie Bickmore (who raised money for her own charity, Carrie’s Beanies 4 Cancer); Emma Freedman (whose chosen charity was Captain Courageous); Samantha Harris (who supported Make-A-Wish Foundation); and Nicole Kidman (who raised money for Variety, a children’s charity). Each finalist raised $12,102 for their charity during the competition.

The winner of the Twinings Design Challenge was Carrie Bickmore, who won for her drawing of a female dancer. Her package design will remaining on supermarket shelves nationally for the next four years. Ten cents from each packet sold will be donated to Carrie’s chosen charity, Carrie’s Beanies 4 Brain Cancer. Bickmore currently hosts The Project on Network Ten and Carrie & Tommy on the Hit Network.

Stephen Twining, a tenth generation member of the Twinings family, is Twining’s tea ambassador to the world. He travelled from England to attend the event. He talked about his ancestor, Thomas Twining, the founder of the company, and the person who opened Britain’s the first tea room at No. 216 Strand, London, in 1706. Thomas was also the first to allow women to enter the tea house. Prior to this, women were forbidden to enter a coffee house and had to send their husbands or male servants to purchase loose-leaf tea from a coffee house.

The brand wanted to celebrate 300 years of women and Twinings Tea. Twinings conducted extensive research to find out what women wanted in their tea and the finding was that women wanted something refreshing. With that finding, Twinings’ Master Tea Blender, Phillipa Thacker, created a Twinings Morning Tea just for Australian women.

In her speech, Carrie talked about her inspiration behind her package design. ‘I was a ballet dancer as a child and was always the first and last on the dance floor’, Carrie said. She wanted to be a dancer when she grew up but was advised to be a journalist due to her conversation skills and her father already working in media.

Brain cancer is the leading cause of death in children and adults aged under 40 in Australia, yet survival rates have hardly changed in the last 30 years due to a lack of research funding. The five-year survival rate of brain cancer in Australia is 22 percent. Carrie’s late husband, Greg Lange, died after a long battle with brain cancer. Now, Carrie is doing everything in her power to try and increase funding for the disease.

The event was a star-studded event with many celebrities from Sydney’s social scene attending, including: My Kitchen Rules 2015 winner, Steve Flood; model, Lauren Vickers; yellow Wiggles, Emma Watkins; radio star, Mel Greig; Real Housewives of Sydney, Christa Billich and artist husband Charles Billich; television presenter Shelly Horton; stylist and wife of Guy Sebastian, Jules Sebastian; model Samantha Harris; former Big Brother host, Mike Goldman; The Loop presenter, Olivia Phyland; The Bachelorette contestant Courtney Dober; TV presenter Justin Hill; The Bachelorette winner, Sasha Mielczarek; and of course the winner of The Twinings Design Challenge, Carrie Bickmore.

For more information about Twinings Tea, go to: https://twinings.com.au/

For more information about Carrie’s Beanies 4 Brain Cancer, go to: http://www.carriesbeanies4braincancer.com/