Round 2...Food Fight!
In which I fall out of a Kokopelli tree
A few months ago, I won Round 1 of the annual 505 Food Fights cocktail competition. Perhaps you read about it.
Well last week was my quarterfinals match—against a bartender from one of my favorite bars in ABQ. The venue was packed, all proceeds going to charity.
The emcee started the show and introduced us and the local early childhood center, whose funds we were raising with our creations. Then he announced our liquor du soir: Weller Special Reserve wheated bourbon—a well-rounded and nicely spiced 90-proof whiskey.
Finally he revealed our secret ingredient: canned beets.
I tasted the bourbon and the beet juice, and started trying different combinations, eventually settling on something with coconut milk and sriracha honey—and set about building and fine-tuning the ratios.
15 minutes goes by fast
As the clock counted down, we finished up and presented our secret-ingredient cocktail for the judges.
“So what are you calling this one?” the emcee asked after I explained my drink.
“Fell Out of a Kokopelli Tree,” I said into the mic—and after a moment it sank in, the crowd burst into chuckles.
Then while the judges scored our first drink, the emcee kicked off the next segment, the classic-cocktail challenge using tonight’s spirit. Ours: Whiskey sour.
To egg or not to egg?
“Your best interpretation of a whiskey sour,” the emcee replied to the question. “Just remember you have to make twenty.”
Well fair enough. Guess that answers that. I hustled back to the kitchen to find a pallet of eggs for both of us.
Then I regarded the ingredients I’d brought and considered going with my seaweed syrup—but decided on the macerated strawberry & lemon peel syrup instead.
High craft, high volume
The whiskey sours went out to the judges, and then it was time to make 20 samples of each drink for the flights—for sale among the audience, along with one voting chip.
“There’s only twenty flights,” the emcee reminded everyone. “And they usually sell out, so don’t miss your chance to taste all four of these amazing drinks!”
Final countdown
The People loved their samples—but I ended up losing the match by 2 judge points, meaning the people’s choice vote never even factored in. And I confess I can’t help but wonder what might’ve happened if the third judge hadn’t been AWOL that night…
But regardless, I had an incredible time and enjoyed the rush. And the fernet t-shirt I wore garnered all the nerdy hype and backslapping I could’ve hoped for.
Most importantly, we raised a ton of money for the charity—there was so much demand for sample flights, that the organizers asked if we’d be willing to make a few extra. So we stretched our ingredients and wound up putting out 30...
Fell Out of a Kokopelli Tree
1.5 oz Weller Special Reserve wheated bourbon
.75 oz beet juice
.75 oz coconut milk (plus ~.25 oz for garnish)
.75 oz sriracha honey
.25 oz lemon juice
In a shaker, combine all ingredients.
Add ice and shake hard.
Strain into a collins glass over fresh ice.
Top with a float of coconut milk and a lemon twist.
Sriracha honey: Stir 3 parts honey with 2 parts boiling water (to make the sweetness equivalent to 1:1 simple syrup). Then add ~1 part Sriracha to taste.
Strawberry Whiskey Sour
2 oz Weller Special Reserve wheated bourbon
.75 oz lemon juice
.75 oz strawberry-lemon syrup (or use simple + fresh muddled strawberries)
1 eggwhite
(3-4 strawberries, if using simple)
In a shaker, muddle the strawberries, and then add other ingredients.
Shake vigorously without ice (~30 sec)
Add ice and shake again, even harder.
Tea-strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice
Garnish with a few drops of Angostura bitters in the foam
Macerated Strawberry-Lemon Syrup: In a gallon ziplock bag, combine 350 grams of sugar with the peels of 1-2 lemons and 350 grams (~1 pint) of fresh strawberries, sliced as thin as you can. Remove all the air: Zip the bag most of the way, and submerge in water to just below the zipper before sealing. Then knead the bag until sugar covers every fruit surface, and refrigerate overnight. Strain and press the solids (and do something yummy with them). Store the syrup in the fridge