Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/33511
Tim Rita, Jr., President of USBG Hawaii prepares his cocktail as Tony Abou-Ganim looks on. “I saw an impressive improvement in understanding creative use of ingredients,” said Abou-Ganim. Judging the contest were award-winning mixologist and consultant Tobin Ellis; Kit Codik, CEO of Liquor.com; Camper English, independent spirits writer and blogger for Alcademics.com; and this reporter. Cocktails were rated on sliding scales for taste/flavor, creativity/originality/use of secret ingredient, presentation and, finally, overall impression. In the Aperitif category, with surprise ingredient ginger, entries were impressively varied, from Tim Rita’s cocktail combining Magellan gin with Kai Young Coconut shochu, yuzu, fresh ginger and lemon, to Cat Miltenberger’s Clergy Aperitivo using Chartreuse, muddled ginger, peach bitters and an Aperol foam. But the winner was Drew Levinson, whose entry combined Hendrick’s gin and Domain de Canton ginger liqueur with fresh ginger syrup and lemon juice, muddled basil leaves and Martini & Rossi Asti sparkling wine. For the Long Drink, with surprise ingredi- ent passion fruit, Chris Chamberlain made a Dominican Passion Mojito by muddling mint leaves with simple syrup, adding lime juice, Brugal Dominican rum, fresh passion fruit and topping with club soda and ginger beer; Sly Cosmopoulos’s Fresh Passion mixed bison grass vodka with St-Germain elderflower liqueur, passion fruit purée, lime juice, Monin lavender and ginger ale. But the best entry was Cat Miltenberger’s Passion Gimlet, which combined Effen Cucumber vodka with Yuzu Luxe Sour, passion fruit purée, simple syrup, a float of New Amsterdam gin, lemon bitter soda and a sorrel-lemon garnish. Sly Cosmopoulos of Republic National Distributing. With the Dessert Drink, using mango as the surprise ingredient, competitors all showed their strongest—not only because they were already warmed up, but also perhaps because it was the most creatively open-ended. Nathan Way combined Riazul Añejo tequila with mango nectar, simple syrup and cream; Tim Rita mixed Kai Coconut Pandan vodka with blackberry rum, fresh mango, pineapple and orange juices, a top of sparkling wine and garnish of cinnamon, pineapple and mango slices. But the winner, again, was Miltenberger, with an outstandingly pretty and delicious São Paulo Batida made from Sobieski Karamel vodka, Coco Don Q rum, Coco Reál coconut cream, cream, Maker’s Mark vanilla syrup (bourbon, vanilla bean, peach bitters and simple syrup) and a garnish of fresh mango coated with caramel and coconut. So, with two wins and a strong first entry as well, Miltenberger was unani- mously declared the first Iron Mixologist by the judges. “I’m blown away. This is the first competition I’ve done like this,” she said afterward. “I had some crazy thoughts going on—I had an out-of- body experience—but I brought six ideas with me, and I was very focused.” Who will compete against her next year? Cat Miltenberger’s winning dessert drink: São Paulo Batida made from Sobieski Karamel vodka, Coco Don Q rum, Coco Reál coconut cream, cream, Maker’s Mark vanilla syrup and a garnish of fresh mango coated with caramel and coconut. june 201 1 / the tasting panel / 127