All photographs by Matt Sell
On Thursday February 9th, the first Alcohol By Volume event went down, finding Rob Jones facing off against Richy Rivera, with Wes Winship providing the soundtrack. These masters of their craft made two excellent cocktails using the secret ingredient but alas, only one would claim victory.
The secret ingredient: Rothman & Winter Orchard Apricot Liqueur. Apricot brandies and liqueurs add all sorts of options for improving classic cocktails. While liqueurs like Pernod, Chartreuse and Fernet Branca are high proof and smack you in the face with their herbal flavors, Orchard Apricot is smooth and subtle. The apricot flavor is pure and not-too-sweet, making Rothman & Winter’s perfect for when you want to change the feel of your cocktail without overpowering the base ingredient.
So what did our bartenders make? Here are the recipes!
Richy Rivera went with a variation of a Bourbon Smash, and it was delicious.
In a short highball, muddle one cube of sugar, Bitter Truth Aromatic Bitters and a little of the Rothman & Winter’s as a solution.
In a separate mixing glass:
Muddle two basil leaves and one quarter of a blood orange.
1 oz Orchard Apricot
3/4 oz Bourbon (Richy used Maker’s Mark)
3/4 oz Yellow Chartreuse
1/2 oz Bitters Solution
A squeeze of fresh blood orange
Shake and pour over ice, add a basil leaf and blood orange peel for garnish.
Rob Jones went with a version of a Ramos Gin Fizz with a really cool twist.
In a tin shaker combine the following:
One egg white
1 oz heavy cream
1/2 oz honey syrup (Half honey, half hot water, allowed to cool)
1/2 oz Green Chartreuse
1 oz Orchard Apricot
1 oz gin (Rob used Tanqueray)
2 dashes of Regan’s Orange Bitters
Dry-shake as hard as you can. This in effect beats the egg white, helping to create a foam
Add 1/4 cup of ice, then shake again, hard, until the ice is gone.
Strain into a collins glass
Here’s the cool part: Light 1/4 oz Green Chartreuse on fire and drizzle it over the cocktail to caramelize the egg white foam, effectively creating a meringue on the fly.
Garnish with an orange peel.
Wes Winship, our Dj and judge got to try both cocktails and decided that Rob’s was the winner for the night. Everyone at the event who wanted to got a chance to try them out for themselves and make their own judgements, but what do you think? The cool thing about these recipes is that they are both fairly simple so if you weren’t there you can go ahead and make them yourself at home!
Thanks again to Richy and Rob, as well as Wes Winship and The Red Stag Supper Club for hosting the event. We’ll post some more pictures below and open the comments up if anyone wants to post their own drink recipes using Orchard Apricot. Make sure to put April 12th on your calendars as the night of the next Alcohol By Volume. All details and updates, as well as more pictures will be posted on the Alcohol By Volume Facebook page.
Always a good idea to start any competition with a friendly toast.
Using a fine strainer keeps out tattered basil leaves and unwanted blood orange pulp.
Rob and the dry-shake. In order to break up the egg white you have to really whale on that shaker.
In the foreground Rob is pouring the flaming Chartreuse over the sample drinks he made for the audience. Cool!
Rob Jones and his winning cocktail.
Richy Rivera and his cocktail.
