If you’re after a genuinely world class cocktail you’d be forgiven for thinking you’ve got to head into the city to find what you’re looking for. But one of the shire’s best kept secrets is officially out. Sutherland cocktail bar Frank and Blanco was chosen to host the prestigious Australian Bartenders Guild national cocktail competition late last month and one of their own managed to make his way to the final. Shire local Alex Wood finished runner-up to reigning champion Dula Lorenzohewa, the man voted most technical bartender in the world last year. Not a bad effort for a 21-year-old who had never set foot behind a bar until he marched into Frank and Blanco just after they opened a little over a year ago and asked for a job. In Wood’s favour was his mentor, Brendon Hill, the bar’s owner and director. Hill, 26, was the 2014 national champion and took Wood under his wing to help teach him the art of making the perfect cocktail. Hill, said Wood had done the bar proud in what was only his second competition. “[Alex] walked in the first week we opened. He had zero experience, knew nothing about bartending. But he had a really good attitude,” he said. “I just saw something in him and thought ‘let’s give this guy a go.’ We wanted people with experience but I felt like someone gave me a chance once. He picked up things so quickly. He was going home and learning about the tequilas we were using in the bar. After six months he was one of our best bartenders. He was up against a guy with so much international experience and he absolutely killed it.” With Hill and Wood behind the bar, as well as Hill’s business partner Shahir Galal – who finished runner-up to Hill in the 2014 national – it’s not a stretch to say you can find a genuinely world class cocktail right here in the shire. “For me, [a good cocktail] is all about balance,” Hill said. “You don’t want one that’s too sweet or too sour. That’s our motto, simple but balanced.” “I know when I drink cocktails I want to drink four or five, maybe try a few different ones. And they’ve got to be right the first time or people will revert back to a beer or whatever. “Literally you want to be able to drink it and before you realise it you want another. For the national competition, competitors were required to make five of the same cocktail, a completely original creation, from no more than six ingredients. Wood went for a peach cobbler, made with tequila, peach, pumpkin puree, apple juice and lemon. The creation obviously went down a treat. “We spent hours after work hanging around trying to work out ways to make it taste better,” Hill said. “We were tweaking each aspect of the drink to improve the balance. “That’s the thing with a cocktail competition. The first sip you really need to wow the judges.”