Bombay Sapphire Gin to be exact … and used in original recipes made by Charlotte’s top bartenders. Last night was the Bombay Sapphire and GQ Magazine’s Most Inspired Bartender Contest at Loft 1523.
The contest consisted of lot of the same bartenders as the Bar Wars event at Alley Cat — but it was a lot classier of an event with a lot higher stakes. The winner of the event last night will be flown to Las Vegas to compete against bartenders from all over the country — and that winner will then be featured in GQ Magazine and be credited for creating Bombay Sapphire’s new drink to be mass-marketed in the U.S.
I felt like I was in Hell’s Kitchen for bartenders, slash a science fair. Anyone that thinks bartending is easy is apparently only a beer tub girl because bartending is a science … literally. Mixology is chemistry.
The bartenders were using fruits and ingredients I’d never even heard of before. There were edible flowers frozen in ice, lemon peels wrapped around ice tubes, homemade jams lacing the glasses and extraordinary garnishes. And there were a lot of recipes involving cucumbers; apparently cucumbers are the new it ingredient — like pink is the new black, cucumber is the the new pomegranate.
And the winner is … (drum roll please)
Stefan from Cosmos Cafe in Ballantyne with his Queen Charlotte cocktail that reminded me a bit of a mimosa. Good luck in Vegas Stefan, way to represent the Queen City!
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