One lucky high roller was the winner of not a poker game or some other kind of table, but instead a casino cocktail challenge at the Grosvenor G Casino in Reading last week. There was a G-Tini Cocktail competition in which competitors were asked to create their own cocktail in a theme that would suit the casino, with three mixologists and one amateur making it through to the final round.

For a while at least no one was focusing on the casino video poker any more but on the bar, as the finalists each had five minutes to create their cocktail in one version which could be sampled by the judges and then one jug to be passed around the audience in the Show Bar. Twenty one year old Chris Gardener called his cocktail Beginner’s Luck; forty one year old Paul Robertson, the one amateur entry, named his the Tia Maria Espresso Martini; nineteen year old Sam Dibley made a Whisky Mojito; and twenty two year old Josh Powell, the eventual winner, called his creation High Roller.

General manager Chris Green said, “I was really impressed with the effort displayed by all the contestants. A great variety of ingredients and tastes. This coupled with some quirky names and inspirations really was In the spirit of Grosvenor G Reading, in that there really was something for everyone. Whilst our Show Bar added the final magic ingredient.”

The High Roller drink is now available on the menu at the Show Bar and throughout the rest of the casino facilities if you would like to try it for yourself: it is made up of a mix of Kahlua, Disaronno, Cointreau, and milk, and is topped with orange peel and nutmeg to be served in a martini glass. Powell was said to be delighted with his win, particularly since he had been struggling to find the train fare to Reading from his home town of Cardiff thanks to the fact that he was just about to start a new job as a cocktail maker, something for which he clearly has a talent.