Meet the Leeds man crafting cocktails for Manahatta, Banyan and BOX named Bartender of the Year 2024
A Leeds man has been named Bartender of the Year 2024.
Aidan Beaumont, from Leeds-based bar group Arc Inspirations won the title following an impressive performance at the 2024 Classic Cocktail Competition.
The bartender, among the country’s best, was given a task to put his own unique twist on six classic cocktails including a negroni, margarita, long island iced tea, classic highball, old fashioned and pornstar martini.
Recalling the event on Local TV, Aidan said: “I came out on top in two of the categories, so I won Pornstar of the Year and Negroni of the Year, and then my overall score across all six drinks got me the top prize.”
He continued: “The reaction that I had on the day from the judges was brilliant, of people coming up to me saying that [the drinks] were really well-made and I should be proud of them anyway. Going into it, that was all I really wanted.
“I wanted someone to come up to me at some point and say, I really liked your drink because then that whole process of creating them didn't go to waste.”
Aidan oversees all aspects of cocktail creation and drink quality across Arc Inspiration’s Manahatta, BOX and Banyan, all of which have sites across Leeds.
He said: “The satisfaction comes from spending two to three to sometimes up to six months developing a new drink or coming up with a new idea.
“A lot of the time, as a lot of processes go, you hit roadblocks along the way or you end up having to completely scrap ideas and go back to square one.
“But the main satisfaction comes from when all of that work is done and the dust has settled on it, going into the venues and seeing the drinks actually being made, and opening a menu and going, ‘oh, I came up with that’.”
Along with the winning trophy, Aidan walked away with a £1,000 prize, as well as a spot in a worldwide cocktail competition final with sponsor Les verges Boiron, which takes place in Madrid in March 2025. He will also attend a Mix with Britvic immersion session, followed by a pub and bar safari around Leeds.