Thirsty Thursday: And the Winner Is….
I’ve never won anything in my life. I’ve entered all sorts of talent shows, student government elections, homecoming courts, state piano and ballet competitions….I could go on and on. I’ve never won anything in my life…until several weeks ago. And let me just tell you, it was the most satisfying of any win I could ever have possibly been granted. The trophy wasn’t shiny or polished, and I didn’t get a thousand dollars or a brand new car, but my grinch heart grew three sizes that day…or maybe just my ego.
Either way, I was fortunate enough to enter this year’s Toast to Macon competition on behalf of my very own near and dear to my heart Bourbon Bar. Toast to Macon was a cocktail competition hosted by NewTown Macon at the Terminal Station, in which 8 different local bars and talented bartenders competed for the title of “Macon’s Best Cocktail”. The title was presented in three different ways, through three different awards: the People’s Choice, for which all the guests who attended the competition and sampled the cocktails awarded their favorite cocktail a gold coin, which were tallied up at the end of the night – the Spirit of Macon, for which all of the financial contributors and advertising sponsors participated in a blind tasting of each bar’s cocktail and selected their favorite by majority, and finally – the Judge’s Choice, for which NewTown Macon invited two food and beverage professionals from Athens and Savannah to come taste all the cocktails and select the winner based on flavor balance and complexity, preparation, and presentation (among a few other things I may have left out).
Since I already shared my Otis Redding cocktail with you (the one I originally aspired to use as my entry in this competition), it only seems appropriate to share my ACTUAL award winning recipe with you, cause I just love you all that much. 😉 It’s safe to say that the preparation for this cocktail involves every tip and technique I have taught you thus far: from bruising mint and flaming oranges to making shrubs and simple syrups from scratch – all coming together to form the beautiful and complex creation that is my Rhapsody in Pink. It all started with an idea: how could I transform the southern icon of a drink that is the mint julep into something that accurately and deliciously represents Macon?
Well, we all know that one of Macon’s many claims to fame is our international Cherry Blossom Festival, and my boss at the Bourbon Bar asked that I find a way to incorporate cherries into this competition concoction, so of course, I instantly thought of a shrub. If you can think back to one of my first cocktail blogs, you’ll remember that I gave homage to my mentor Kevin Harris’ blueberry mint julep, which involved a blueberry shrub, a vanilla bean simple syrup, and a whole lot of mint and bourbon. This was my square one.
I wanted it to be extravagantly unique, and presuming that most of the other competitors would present a cocktail served over ice, I decided to prepare my special julep creation in a more martini-like fashion. After much research and trial and error, I devised a rather bootleg method of preparing a vanilla bean simple syrup like no other – one that I smoked over an open flame grill, using hickory and mesquite wood chips…for 5 hours. Here’s how it all worked out:
Rhapsody in Pink
2oz spicy rye (I used 13th Colony, out of Americus, Georgia)
3/4oz tart cherry shrub
3/8oz smoked vanilla simple syrup
3 dashes angostura bitters
6-8 bruised mint leaves
lemon twist
Unlike many of the shrubs I’ve made in the past, this one involved a myriad of vinegars and wines (Mirin, rice vinegar, and white wine vinegar). I usually start a shrub with the freshest and most naturally sourced fruit I can find, but alas – cherries were not in season when I began preparing for this competition back in March, so I had to choose the next best thing: organic tart cherry juice. This presented more of a challenge than I can even describe to you, and this shrub had me sweating until the very last minute; this baby took right at 2 months to fill the sweet, tangy and balanced shoes that all of my other shrubs have worn in a matter of weeks. As a matter of fact – it was the day before the competition when this creation decided that the cherries and sugar would have as much time in the flavor spotlight as the vinegar. Whew.
Either way, I was above and beyond delighted when they announced that the impartial food and beverage expert judges from Savannah and Athens had decided my love child of a cocktail was their favorite. Sure, I poured months of my time, energy and creativity into the Rhapsody in Pink, but to finally hear someone who doesn’t know me personally rave about one of my creations….well….yeah. It was immensely satisfying.
Since I presume that you aren’t as enthusiastic about breaking out the cherry juice and eleventy different kinds of vinegar, and/or the wood burning grill and vanilla beans, I think you should just come see me at the Bourbon Bar to try one of these beauties. The Rhapsody in Pink is a whiskey drink for the non-whiskey-drinker, and a fruity drink for the non-fruity-drinker.
And, as I tell all of my wonderful customers, if you don’t like it, I will happily drink it for you.
Cheers!
– Chelsea
