Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/343109
july 2014 / the tasting panel / 79 Our ten wonderful judges (left to right): Zahara Bates, Bar Consultant; Ray Ewers, Artisanal Group Portfolio Manager for Southern Wine & Spirits; Meridith May, Publisher and Executive Editor of THE TASTING PANEL; Eric Shani, General Manager of The Pikey; Rich Williams, Bartender at The Spare Room; Sarah Banaszek Diehm, Key Account Manager for Southern Wine and Spirits; John Pazera, California Account Manager at Hood River Distillers, Inc; Justin Fix, Mixlogist at The Blind Barber; Keri Eliason, Marketing Brand Manager at Hood River Distillers, Inc; and Aidan Demarest, owner of Neat. EAST Whit and Wonder by Nick DeLorenzo, Gray's on Main, Franklin, TN ◗ 1 oz. Broker's London Dry Gin ◗ 1 oz. Carpano Bianco Vermouth ◗ ¾ oz. St-Germain ◗ ½ oz. fresh lemon juice ◗ 4 dashes Regan's Orange Bitters ◗ 2 dashes Angostura Bitters ◗ Orange peel for garnish ◗ Combine ingredients into shaker tin and shake hard. Double-strain into a chilled cocktail coupe. Garnish with an expressed orange peel. If It Ain't Broke by Andrew Maurer, Soul Gastrolounge, Charlotte, NC ◗ 2 oz. Broker's London Dry Gin ◗ ½ oz. Cynar ◗ ½ oz. wild hibiscus syrup ◗ ½ oz. fresh squeezed lemon juice ◗ ¼ oz. Dubonnet (float) ◗ Lemon peel and mint sprig for garnish ◗ Build in mixing glass, shake hard and strain over crushed ice in a Collins glass. Float Dubonnet over top and garnish with an expressed lemon peel and mint. The Magritte Cocktail by Eric Witz, MIT Press, Medford, MA ◗ 1 oz. Broker's London Dry Gin ◗ 1 oz. Laird's Bonded Apple Brandy ◗ ½ oz. fresh lemon juice ◗ ½ oz. Benedictine ◗ ¼ oz. real maple syrup ◗ 3 drops Fee's Whiskey Barrel-Aged Bitters ◗ 3 drops Ardbeg Uigeadail ◗ Cinnamon-dusted apple slice for garnish ◗ Shake very well with ice and fine strain into a chilled cocktail coupe. Garnish with three drops of Ardbeg Uigeadail and a thin, cinnamon-dusted apple slice—run through with a cocktail pick so the slice balances on the edge of the glass. Winner