Julian Hulbert Wins The Mr Black Coffee Cocktail Challenge 2021

Earlier this year, Mr Black set out to find the ultimate original coffee cocktail.  The crew at Mr Black enlisted the help of Steve the Bartender for the search for the Coffee Cocktail Challenge champion. With over 900 original coffee cocktail submissions, more than double the submissions from 2020, and over 44,708 public votes so the judges had quite the job ahead to pick the winner.  Ultimately, Julian Hulbert of The Athletic Club emerged on top as The Coffee Cocktail Challenge Champion for 2021 with his Mr Black Forest cocktail.

Coming off a very engaging first year of The Coffee Cocktail Challenge which debuted during the heart of the pandemic last year when people were in lockdowns, Mr Black came back to challenge bartenders once again to come up with the best original coffee cocktail.  This year’s judges included – Martin Hudak (Maybe Sammy), Matt Whiley (RE) Stephen Kurpinsky (Mr Black) and Tara Fougner (thirsty) – of course, Steve The Bartender was on hand as well.

Stephen Kurpinsky, Brand Ambassador of Mr Black, shared with us, “Julian nailed this cocktail, there were a lot of tasty drinks this year, but in the end, we all agreed that his Mr Black Forest was a clear winner. The balance, the berries pulling out dark fruit notes in the arabica coffee, and the pop of acidity from the shrub made for such a delicious and enjoyable, drinking experience. Bloody well done.”

Julian Hulbert shared of his inspiration for the Mr Black Forest cocktail, “Mr Black Forest draws inspiration from the flavours of a Black Forest gâteau. It’s a boozy rich curtain-raiser that entertains your childhood memories of eating cake and will leave your senses pondering with nostalgia.”