The idea – dreamed up by Andrew and Diane Hay, owners of The White Swan Inn and Restaurant, at Warenford, near Belford – attracted a wide entry from regular patrons and others in what Andrew has described as "one of the most hotly-contested events I've ever come across!"

And the competition was won in this heavily male-dominated field - by a local lady!

Many of the entries relied on secretly-guarded old family recipes handed down over generations.

"That was the hardest part of the event," said Diane, "because entrants insisted on maintaining the secrecy of their recipes and we had to undertake that their secrets would remain exactly that."

She joked: "The recipe secrecy remains to be seen if news of the competition reaches the ears of international drinks conglomerate Diageo with a substantial offer!"

Sadly, former National Hunt jockey, John Burke, won the wooden spoon "for the most dreadful concoction known to man" according to the judging panel.

John, whose career highlights included winning the Racing Post Cup on a horse called Antonin at the Cheltenham Festival Cup, was way off course with his entry on this occasion.

Entries were delivered to the pub in a variety of bottles which were then entrusted to the care of Warenford resident and accountant, John Clifford, whose task it was, as independent arbiter, to rebottle and code-number all entries into clear-glass bottles for the judging panel.

Andrew said: "To make the competition absolutely squeaky-clean, the judging panel comprised all of the entrants, who were issued with judging panel scoresheets but without any knowledge of the names of the competitor for each individual entry."

After much sniffing, holding up to the light and quaffing, the result was a runaway success for Jane Mallen, Northumberland Estates manager of holiday cottages which include the Warenford and Lucker areas, with Diane Hay as runner-up.

Jane was presented with a silver cup by Andrew Hay and his wife Diane to the, by now raucous, cheers of all members of the judging panel who later returned home by taxi!

The competition will be held, once again, next year when entries will have had even longer to mature and heads have cleared.