At the recent SF Chef’s food, wine and cocktail extravaganza, Skyy held a cocktail competition. The competition was held over 3 days and featured 6 top San Francisco bartenders. Each day featured spirit and secret ingredient, Iron Chef Style. The semifinals pitted 3 bartenders from a larger field of 15, the six would vie for a spot in the Finals. The finalists and winner would be picked by a panel of 3 judges. Cocktails would be judged on balance, presentation, use of the secret ingredient and other attributes.

Enjoy this day be day account.

Semifinal 1: Spirit - Whiskey, Secret Ingredient - Fresh Herbs

Drink 1 - Brandon Skaggs of Cortez - Irish Peach (Tullamore Dew, Cynar, peaches, sage, bitters, honey)
Drink 2 - Nick Varacalli of RN74 (Wild Turkey Rye, American honey, honey, canton, thyme) winner
Drink 3 - Joel Baker of Bourbon & Branch (Russels Rye, Luxardo, lemon juice, peaches, mint, Curaçao, bitters)

Semifinal 2: Spirit - Skyy Infusions, Secret Ingredient - Fresh Cherries, Apricots & Peaches

Cocktail 1 Carlo Splendorini of Gitane - (Skyy citrus, canton, ferlum, peach, orange, hot salt, chartreuse, ferlum) The Bouquet winner
Cocktail 2 - Scott Baird of Romolo 15 (Skyy passion fruit & pineapple, ferlum, cherry and more)
Cocktail 3 - Borys Saciuk of Zapatistia - The Passionate One (Skyy pineapple & passion fruit, peaches, apriocot, cherry, allspice dram & more)

Finals: Spirit, anything from Gruppo Campari, Secret Ingredient - Peppers

Nick vs. Carlo

Ambassador Pepper
by Nick Varacalli of RN74

1.5 oz. Wild Turkey Rare Breed
0.5 oz. Luxardo Maraschino Liquer
0.25 oz. Orange Curacao
0.25 oz. Velvet Falernum
0.75 oz. Lemon Juice
Dash of Orange Bitters
Muddled Red Pepper

Carlo Splendorini of Gitane Restaurant & Bar

1.5 oz. Cabo Wabo Reposado Tequila
1 oz. Malthilde Pear Liqueur
0.5 oz. Green Chartreuse Liqueur
1 tbsp. Honey
¾ oz. Lemon
Jalapeño

and the winner is …
Ambassador Pepper
by Nick Varacalli of RN74

photos & recipes courtesy Skyy Spirits

Old Potrero is a re-creation of an 18th century American whiskey. It’s made with 100% rye mash. Most rye makers mix corn and/or barley in the mash, which would make the spirit sweeter.

It’s copper-pot distilled and aged for two years plus in toasted oak barrels.  The reason they don’t call it a “rye whiskey” on the label despite the fact that it has a much higher rye content than other American whiskeys is that U.S. standards require the oak to be charred in order to give a whiskey that designation.

I’m not as picky as the U.S. government, so I’m calling it rye.

Made by Anchor Distilling in San Francisco (the Anchor Steam beer folks), this rye whiskey is relatively hard to find. According to the bottle, it is only sold in California.

It’s a rough spirit, not as refined tasting as a Kentucky bourbon or the 51% rye mash rye whiskeys we’re accustomed to. However, the heat and kick of this whiskey won’t deter true spirits enthusiasts.

The grassy nose and oily mouthfeel are unique, and followed by overwhelming warmth and a peppery finish.  It has a peaty flavor that is unusual for a traditional rye.

It could easily overwhelm a Manhattan, but could be an intriguing choice for a sazerac.

I’d recommend letting it open up before drinking. If you like the heat, sit back and enjoy. If not, add an ice cube to balance the liquor.

A bottle will run you anywhere from $50-$100 … depends on where you live.

Old Potrero 18th Century Style American Whiskey

The sazerac is one of my favorite cocktails. So I was hesitant to mess with it.

But I had some raspberries in the fridge and a funny name in my head — Razerac … sounds like Scooby Doo saying “Sazerac.”

Thus the Razarac was born. And it’s awesome.

It’s still quite a stiff cocktail. Just like a sazerac, it’s just rye, simple syrup and bitters. However, it has a little sweet twist.

Accounting for the extra sweetness from the raspberries, I skipped the Peychaud’s bitters and stuck with the slightly more dry Angostura bitters. Also, rosemary is a more subtle herbal flavor than anise, making it a better match for the fruit note. It doesn’t cling to the glass the way a liqueur would, but it does impart a nice flavor.
The “special” syrups and waters used here are really just things you can make easily at home by boiling some water.

Razerac

2 oz. rye whiskey
Rosemary water (recipe below)
1/2 oz. raspberry simple syrup (recipe below)
3 dashes Angostura bitters
Lemon peel

Chill a rocks glass by filling it with ice and a little water, letting it sit for a minute, then dumping it out. Then pour rosemary water into the glass, coating the bottom and sides, and empty the glass. In a cocktail shaker with  several ice cubes in it, pour in the rye and simple syrup and add the dashes of bitters. Stir gently. You do not want to shake this one. Strain into the chilled, coated rocks glass. Squeeze the lemon peel over the drink. Unless you want the drink to have a Lemon Pledge kind of finish, don’t drop the lemon peel into the drink. Enjoy!

Raspberry Simple Syrup

Boil equal parts sugar and water along with some raspberries. Strain into container, disposing of the smooshed raspberry leftovers. Chill until ready to use. (I used 1/2 cup each water and sugar, with 10 raspberries — making enough for several cocktails)

Rosemary Water

Boil equal parts water and fresh rosemary. Strain into container, setting aside the rosemary. Chill until ready to use. (I used 1/2 cup each water and rosemary. You can use the rosemary in soups or sauces still.)

more Drink of the Week cocktails

Finally! Season 3 of “Mad Men” premieres August 16. And it’s just not “Mad Men” without booze.

Who can forget when Sally Draper mixed a Tom Collins for the grown-ups? Or when Don Draper wooed Rachel Menken with one of the prettiest Mai Tais I’ve ever seen? And of course there was Freddy Rumson’s … incident in the office after one Screwdriver too many.

So what better way to celebrate the start of this new season than with a 1960s Mad Men cocktail party!

Here are a few cocktails we’ve seen characters order, plus some additional suggestions appropriate for the era.

Old Fashioned (Don Draper)

1 sugar cube
1 dash bitters
1 tsp. water
2 oz. rye whiskey

Muddle the sugar cube, bitters and water in an old-fashioned glass. Add rye and stir. Add ice plus a twist of lemon peel. (Don’t leave the peel in the glass) Garnish with an orange slice.

Vodka Gimlet (Betty Draper)

1 oz. lime juice
1 tsp. simple syrup
1.5 oz. vodka

Shake with ice then strain into a cocktail glass.

Gibson (Roger Sterling)

2.5 oz. gin
1/2 oz. dry vermouth

Stir with ice, then strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a cocktail onion.

Brandy Alexander (Peggy Olson)

1/2 oz. Creme de Cacao
1/2 oz. brandy
1/2 oz. heavy cream

Shake with ice and strain into cocktail glass.

Other 1960s cocktails:

Greyhound
Moscow Mule
Bloody Mary
Negroni

Related articles by Zemanta

• Mad Men and Drinking, Season Two, Part I (offthepresses.blogspot.com)
• 12 of My Favorite Mad Men Quotes (slideshare.net)
• countdown to season 3: mad men (popbytes.com)

Black Maple Hill is a damn fine, 95-proof bourbon at a damn fine price. My friends and I call it “the one that smells like bananas,” but there’s more to it than its tropical nose.

It starts out mellow on the tongue with a bit of a sweet, fruity taste and quickly brings on a little heat to let you know that, yes, this is Kentucky bourbon you’re drinking. The result is a solid, complex bourbon that builds in flavor and intensity without overwhelming or giving too much spice.

At around $32 a bottle, it’s well-priced. Straight or in a cocktail, it delivers.

Contrary to what many blogs and online retailers say, Black Maple Hill is not distilled by Heaven Hill or Buffalo Trace. The bottle says it’s bottled by Black Maple Hill Distilling Co. (which does not appear to have a website) and distributed by CVI Brands in California (which has a bare-bones site with no further information). I’ll let the air of mystery remain … until I take a trip to Kentucky to visit distilleries, in which case this one has to be on the list.

Bourbon cocktail recipes:

Mint Julep
Regal Ransom
Orange Bourbon Press
Sidecar
Black Maple Hill @ K&L Wine Merchants
Photo credit K&L Wine Merchants
CVI Brands

The first session I attended during last week’s Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans was a panel titled “2009 Big Trends in Cocktail & Spirit Service”. The panel consisted of Jim Meehan - PDT, NYC, Michael Waterhouse, Devlin Tavern, NYC, and Simon Difford - Source Guide and was moderated by Ryan Magarian - Aviation Gin. The program covered the 4 Ps of Cocktail Service Success, not unlike the 4 Ps of marketing, Product, Precise Execution, Promotion, Passion. It was here that I discover the magic of Tales of the Cocktail, this was no boring seminar and they were serving drinks! A few samples of the cocktail being discussed. Sure is was 10:30 am , but this was New Orleans.

The Panel started off with a discussion product trends.

Spirits
Overall the trend is for full-flavored spirits, moving away from the vodka craze of late. Mezcal, Gin (the new vodka?) and Rye Whiskey are at the forefront of the full-flavored Renaissance. In addition, aged rum is exploding and Jameson sales are through the roof. Cacacha is also making huge strides from just a few years ago.

Sweet
Fortified wines like Sherry, Lillet and vermouth are popular ingredients in cocktails, as well are rice wines sake and shochu. St. Germain elderflower liqueur appears on just about every cocktail menu, and other flower based liqueurs are popping up. Other trending sweeteners include specialty sugars, Agave nectar, Maple syrup and orgeat.

(more…)

Looking for a Father’s Day gift that is both thoughtful and quick?

These picks are unique liquors that stand out among other spirits of the same type. What better way to show Dad that you think he’s one of a kind.

I’ve included multiple price ranges, but these were chosen for their taste and not their price tag.

Here are a few liquor picks for the discerning Dad on your gift-shopping list:

Single-Malt Scotch: Aberlour A’Bunadh

This scotch combines warmth with spiced honey flavors and a citrus finish. It’s an unusual scotch aged in Sherry casks, which the distillery says is how it was done in the old days. Price seems to vary, depending on where you buy it. Expect a $60-$70 price tag.

Gin: TRU2 Organic Gin 

Boasting more than just an “organic” moniker, this gin goes through only one distillation to hang on to the flavor of the 14 botanicals used in its making. But it’s not a flavored gin. The botanicals impart a strong character without losing the smoothness that marks a high-quality gin. If Dad likes a gin martini, this will make him smile. And at about $25, it tastes more expensive than it is.

Bourbon: Red Stag (more…)