UKBG announce the winner of the National Cocktail Competition 2025

By Oliver Catchpole

Published: 15 September, 2025

The UK Bartenders Guild (UKBG) has announced that Sam Chatterji (pictured), from Bittersweet in Edinburgh, has won The National Cocktail Competition 2025: The Moutai Expedition.

Held on 23 July at Lucy Wong in Fitzrovia, London, the contest encouraged UK bartenders to make cocktails with China’s national drink, Baijiu.

Kweichow Moutai, which is known for its Flying Fairy baijiu, sponsored the event, in an attempt to educate the industry about the category, which has only recently been emerging in the West.

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Chatterji impressed the judges with his Toast of the Town, which is now the first Baijiu cocktail accredited under the UKBG Collective Trademark.

As part of his prize, he will visit the Moutai distillery in China this September, as well as representing the UK at the International Bartenders Association Cocktail Championship in Colombia in November.

Commenting on his win, Chatterji said: “I am honoured to be selected as the winner of this year's National Cocktail Competition. The Baijiu category is truly fascinating and steeped in heritage and cultural significance, it was a pleasure to work with the liquid. I am thrilled to be heading out to the Moutai distillery this month.”

The competition was hosted by Luca Rapetti, UKBG director of curatorial and business affairs, with a judging panel including Gary Sharpen – co-founder of The Cocktail Lovers, Ben Salguero – a Baijiu expert, and Cristiana Pirinu, assistant director of mixology at The Donovan bar.

These judges assessed each cocktail in the categories of storytelling, execution, balance, originality, and their ability to showcase Baijiu as ‘the hero spirit’.

After Chatterji, second place went to Laurie Howells, from Archive & Myth, with The Ritual Cocktail, and third place was awarded to Xu Zhamming, from Yun Lab, with the Jade Spring Cocktail.

Howells will represent the UK at the IBA Lotus Cup, an international Baijiu competition, while Zhamming will compete for the UK at the Mattoni International Cocktail competition 2026.

Claudia Carrozi, UKBG president, said: “It is an honour to work with Moutai and to educate the bartending community around such an emerging category. We were genuinely impressed by the engagement and the calibre of drinks served. This is a clear example of how the Guild connects bartenders and brands through meaningful education, while amplifying category awareness in a credible and lasting way.”

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