Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/306378
86 / the tasting panel / may 2014 ITALIAN WORLD CUP Red Farm, West Village and Upper West Side At the downtown outpost RedFarm, Shawn Chen creates cocktails that reflect the innovative menu—a Chinese approach to farm-to-table eating. Chen's drinks combine craft and concept with the ingredients shining through. With Leblon, he says "I wanted to create a refreshing cocktail to welcome spring and summer and I immedi- ately thought of the bright-colored Sicilian blood orange. I decided to pair this unique flavored fruit with rosemary, one of the most commonly used herbs in Italy." "I love using Leblon because it's a very adaptable spirit. Its smooth and clean characteristic allows it plays well with many flavors." BRAZILIAN WORLD CUP Employees Only, West Village At downtown boîte Employees Only, Milos Zica has his priorities straight: ingredient-driven cocktails that have a sense of place. For his Leblon creation, he says he looked to Brazil's flavor heritage. "My inspiration comes from two ingredients that rep- resent the essence of Brazil: guava and cachaça. The grassy and sugarcane flavors of the cachaça pair very well with the tropical notes of the guava. Mixing these two products together show Brazil's diversity." Zica concludes: "I love working with Leblon because it is a challenge; therefore, you must be creative and think outside the box. The spirit goes very well with tropical fruit, herbal, and spicy ingredients." a nine-time Gold Medal winner at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, Leblon launched Maison Leblon Reserva Especial, a single-batch spirit aged up to two years in new French oak. It was a two-time winner in San Francisco, joining Leblon's Cedilla Açaí Liqueur, a 2013 Double Gold and Best Fruit Liqueur winner. The accolades help boost not only the cachaça category, but also Brazil's image, and for Luttmann, the two are inter- twined as illustrated in his new book, How to Be a Brazilian. Part guidebook, part recipe book, it's a tongue-in-cheek primer on how to emulate the friendliest, happiest, sexiest party people on earth. "Everybody wants to be Brazilian, or wants to go to Brazil," Luttmann said. "It's an open culture, very positive, with a good energy. Everyone loves Brazilians: they have a way about them—it's called jinga—a certain spontaneity in their culture that kind of comes through in everything they do, even how they play soccer." But back to cachaça and its impending world domination. To leverage both the spirit's emancipation and the spirit of Brazil, Luttmann has created a global World Cup Leblon program, heavy on bartender education, and with Caipirinhas at the head of the class. In Brazil, Leblon's signature blaze of electric lime green Fiori d'Arancio (Orange Blossom) ◗ Charred half shell blood orange ◗ 1¾ oz. Leblon Cachaça ◗ ¾ oz. rosemary syrup ◗ ¾ oz. fresh lime juice ◗ 1 oz. fresh blood-orange juice ◗ Fresh-squeeze charred blood orange and hand clap fresh rosemary. Add all ingredients into a shaking tin. Shake and Strain into rocks glass filled with ice. Garnish with charred blood orange and rosemary sprig. Libero ◗ 1¾ oz. Leblon Cachaça ◗ ¾ oz. John D. Taylor Velvet Falernum ◗ ¾ oz. fresh lime juice ◗ ¾ oz. Boiron Guava Purée ◗ 1/4 z. light blue agave nectar ◗ 3 dashes of Peychaud's Bitters ◗ Pour all ingredients into mixing glass. Add large ice cubes and shake vigorously for 7–9 seconds. Strain into cocktail glass by using a Heathrow strainer. Gently slap a sprig of fresh mint and place it on the top of the cocktail. Shawn Chen behind the bar at RedFarm in the West Village. Milos Zica channels some Brazilian jinga at Employees Only. TP0514_072-101.indd 86 4/24/14 11:00 PM