Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/776532
DEPARTMENT HEADER january/february 2017 / the tasting panel / 71 yet surprisingly appealing cheese- infused whisky cocktail; a dynamic drinking game and several other thoughtful and clever concepts. When Craver and Schwalm stepped up with their "Creation Song," the judges seemed puzzled. "I remember thinking, I don't get this; it can't work," Kinsman recalled. Utilizing a looping pedal and microphone, Craver built a cocktail while Schwalm captured the sounds. "We wanted to elevate the sense of hearing, which you normally don't associate with imbibing. Matt controlled the inputs and enhanced softer sounds while minimizing abrupt, loud noises like cracking ice." The resulting "song" was then played back as the cocktail was sipped by the judges. "It stopped me in my tracks," Kinsman said. "To see her in a pres- sured environment make a cocktail well, while controlling the sound pedal, thinking about the beat, doing it all to an exact metronome. It was brilliant. I could sit around for ten years and never dream up something like that." Next, O'Neill and Taube revealed how the decades-long process and precise controls governing Glenfiddich whisky production inspired them to experiment with a decelerated cocktail construction and serve method. "Instead of building the drink over ice, we assembled and vacuum-cooked it using the sous-vide technique," O'Neill explained. This gentle, temperature controlled preparation harmonized and refortified the ingredients, allowing the drink to unveil its pure character, bitterness and length. O'Neill first served the cocktail at room tempera- ture, allowing the complex texture, mouthfeel and flavors to unfold. Then he stirred a second serve over ice to demonstrate how dilution and chilling draws out acidity and fruit. The centerpiece of the concept, dubbed "Heritage and Roots," was a Taube-inspired stew of venison, blood sausage, cabbage, turnips, sloe berries and heather blooms, finished in a cooking vessel constructed of earth and locally foraged wood. "We wanted to create a dish that celebrates the history and traditions of Speyside— food that would have been eaten by Glenfiddich's ancestors centuries ago in the Scottish Highlands," said Taube. Kinsman confessed the task of crowning a champion was difficult. "The diversity of the competitors was simply astonishing. There were some who did nothing at all to the whisky; instead they augmented the experience of drinking it. Then there's the guys from New York, who cooked the whisky and transformed its flavor in a way I've never seen before. Fascinating!" The winner? Ralph stated it best: "Nathan and John really took the idea of experimentation to another level, with true collaboration and an expertly delivered presentation. I am proud to declare them the winner of the World's Most Experimental Bartender competition." That evening at a black tie gala dinner in the malt barn, Grant Meikel, who admitted feeling "blown away" by the creativity of all the contestants, presented O'Neill and Taube with a twelve-point deermounted trophy. To celebrate their victory, the winning duo (both coincidentally born in 1987) were treated to drams of Glenfiddich 100th Anniversary (1887–1987), a commemorative single cask whisky fittingly aged in American oak. "Drinking my birth year after our win was simply overwhelming," Taube said. "This competition was a life- changing and inspirational experience I will never forget." The winners of the World's Most Experimental Bartender 2016 competition: Sous Chef John Taube and Head Bartender Nathan O'Neill of The NoMad in New York City. "When I create cocktails, the task of finding bal- ance between the dif- ferent ingredients—the meshing of similar char- acteristics—is strikingly similar to skills used in blending whisky" — Nathan O'Neill