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PORTFOLIO TASTINGS YOUNG'S MARKET COMPANY "POOLS" NORTH AMERICAN WHISKEYS AND SELECT RUMS FOR AN AL FRESCO COCKTAIL PARTY THAT'S A Darker Shade of Brown story by Deborah Parker Wong / photos by Nikki Ritcher t he lush courtyard of Chambers Eat + Drink at San Francisco's Phoenix Hotel set the stage for a pool-side performance by a cadre of mixologists, distillers and brand ambassadors eager to showcase an artful collection of original brown spirit and rum-based cocktails. With this much talent in one place at one time, Young's Market Company once again made a trip to its category- wide "Sipology" tasting well worth the effort. The trade fl ocked to sample cocktails crafted with the last of the summer's produce and a nod to warm, exotic spices. Marc Mueller, VP of Trade Development for Young's Market in California, sees this refreshing approach as more than economies of scale. "We've grouped North American whiskey and select rum brands around a unifi ed theme to give our customers a better idea of the depth that our portfolio has in each category." THE TASTING PANEL took the plunge. We tasted our way through a tsunami of cocktails that rivaled any cocktail competition we've ever reported on for creativity and style. Meet the sipologists who made these products the ones we remember. october 2012 / the tasting panel / 105