Cocktail Competition
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BÄRENJÄGER COCKTAIL COMPETITION
Last night at a secret NYC speakeasy the finals of the Bärenjäger cocktail competition went down, and yours truly was one of the finalists! Myself and about 60 other bartenders submitted recipes online ...
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Hey bartenders (both professional and hobby!), I spotted this announcement on Cocktail Times for 2009's competition to crown the official drink of Tales of the Cocktail. Click here to ...
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[caption id="attachment_564" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The Bronze Autumn wins Gold!"][/caption] And not just because he has a dope website, Rejiggered, about his forays into recreational mixology with tons ...
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Another Cocktail Winner From NYC!
[caption id="attachment_518" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Cameron mixes it up for Belvedere"][/caption] It's turned out to be cocktail competition week here on SpiritMeAway! But now over to the vodka ...
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UPDATE: THE MARTIN MILLER’S MASTER IS…
[caption id="attachment_509" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Sam Ross is the Gin Master!"][/caption] Sam Ross from Milk & Honey!! In my previous post (you can read here) I mentioned ...
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Hendricks Limerick Cocktail Competition
Hendricks Gin held is NYC Limerick Cocktail event at Employees Only, and while the cocktails with serious the mood was quite light. 5 bartenders competed, and had to bring ...
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Martin Miller’s Masters Competition
Yesterday the Martin Miller's Master Competition went down at Death & Co, and it was a long but fun afternoon! While ultimately it was an individual competition, the spirit of the afternoon was definitely UK vs USA. There was a ton of good-natured ribbing from both sides, though I have to give it the Brits I think they won in the punchline department! Each contestant had to create an original recipe using Martin Miller's gin, either "Miller Lite" as many called the original or Westbourne Strength, which was more favored, and a classic recipe. The row of stools that made up the judging panel was quite impressive! Gary Regan, LeNell Smothers, Sasha Petraske, Dave Wondrich, Paul Clarke, Tom Sandham and Ann Rogers all made sure the bartenders were on their A game. Disclaimer: Between accents, crowd noise, homemade ingredients and drinks being passed around, I didn't get everyone's official recipe. I'll give the jist of it here and update when I get more trustworthy info that my own memory! Also my camera crapped out halfway through so I'll will be getting better photos from the good folks over at Martin Miller's. Team GB, as the Brits called themselves went first, with Gilles Looker leading off. He created a twist on the Pimms Cup he called "The London Cup". The recipe included MM's Westbourne, dry Martini & Rossi, Campari, Cointreau, fresh OJ and grapefruit. He used fresh strawberries and cucumber and topped off with Sprite and garnished with a mint sprig. I didn't get to taste every recipe, but I did get one of these and it was great! Very refreshing, I liked it better than its inspiration! [caption id="attachment_471" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Yours Truly with The London Cup"][/caption] Gilles also brought with him a prototype of a drinking boat race game he's building for his bar back home, where four drinkers have to race their boats by drinking through a straw. Looks fun! He pulled the Corpse Reviver 2 for his classic cocktail, which he made with MM Westbourne, fresh lemon, lillet and of course an absinthe rinse. Jake Berger was the next GB rep and he created the "Rue Brittanica" for his original creation, which he said was a twist on the quintessential martini. He used MM Westbourne, rhubarb liqueur, a pinch of dry lavender, campari, some Fee Brothers orange bitters ( I don't think the standard version but I couldn't hear exactly). After straining this mixture, he added a grapefruit twist and a mint sprig garnish stuck into a grapefruit wheel. He made the White Lady as his classic cocktail, and made one with touch of blue curacao, which got a round of applause and made it a vibrant blue color. [caption id="attachment_473" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Jake Berger behind the stick"][/caption] Jason Scott was up next, and he coined his drink the "Union Jack Black" which was inspired by sangria. He used MM Westbourne, lime juice, grapefruit bitters, simple syrup, Noilly Prat dry, and he once it was in the glass he topped with some version of port, I think port mixed with a neutral spirit but I couldnt quite hear. He used vanilla straws and shaved fresh nutmeg as a garnish. I got to try this one, loved the vanilla straw! Jason made the Clover Club for his classic, I was busy tasting the Union Jack Black going around so I didn't totally catch his creation, but I love Clover Clubs and I'm sure his was fantastic. [caption id="attachment_477" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Jason Scott"][/caption] Ben Reed was next (very sad my camera died at this point b/c he is a character!). I got a chance to hang out with Ben on Friday night when I caught up with the British crew at PDT and he was stickering everyone with photos of his face. He continued the schtick at the compeition, even bringing his own t-shirts, coasters and mugs branded with his face. It was hilarious. Ben is the self-appointed captain of Team GB, and also claims to have invented the pineapple. So if you don't know him I'm sure you're gettting a picture by now! He created a cross between the Ramos Gin Fizz and the pina colada that he called Reedo's Gin Jizz, charming I know. He used MM Westbourne that he had distilled over a bunsen burner with pineapple and infused with cinnamon tea bags. He used lemon, lime, cream and some secret ingredient I couldn't discern but will find out! For his classic recipe, Ben made a Negroni, with equal parts Westbourne, Campari and sweet vermouth. Next up was Sean Muldoon, who created a new version of the French 75 he dubbed the French 71 (after his birthyear. He used MM Westbourne, sherry, simple syrup, lemon juice and champagne. For his classic recipe Sean made the Martinez but switched up the standard and added madeira to it and served with both dark and bittersweet chocolate. Beautiful presentation! That concludes the Team GB portion, continue after the jump for the rundown on the American team!
