Tales of the Cocktail - A winning formula...

Here we stood at the foot of our own Mount Olympus(read Hotel Monteleone) in New Orleans that we would need to climb over & over again in order to reach the Gods of alcoholic spirits, elders of bartending techniques & just to join the other drunks(read cocktail enthusiasts) the week of the annual summit that is Tales of the Cocktail.

Our timetable for this event held in New Orleans would be quite full this week. We were presenting 2 seminars this year - "Shake Outside the Box" & "Bubble, Bubble, Ferment & Trouble", there was filming to be done at the Dutch Cafe with some of the worlds best bartenders & most importantly to discover the origins of some of cocktail histories most famous classic cocktails.

Armed with only loose morals, overpriced cameras & super-size amount of bravado we set out to conquer.

The Big Easy is famous for spawning such classics such as - The Ramos Gin Fizz, Sazerac, Grasshopper & French 75. It is where Peychaud's Bitters was first combined & where Southern Comfort was first concocted by a bartender as a cocktail called "Cuffs & Buttons".

While we were busy getting our fix in the vomit-inducing merry-go-around that is the Carousel Bar in the Monteleone Lobby there was a stage being prepared outside for Ann Tuennerman to address the bartending nation, crown this years cocktail champion & give out awards to important people. Naturally we wanted to hang with the cool kids so we joined the crowd.

Confetti rained down on to the street, there were loud noises & a check for $1,000 for one lucky son-of-a-gun called Zachary Faden of Mirabelle in Washington D.C. He'd entered the annual Tales of the Cocktail official competition & beat out a whole bunch of other bartenders to become king of the hill.

This year's theme was - The Martini - so this man definitely knocked it out of the park with this little number dubbed "Embrasse de la Terre". Zachary had our curiosity when he'd won but most definitely caught our attention with the name. Find the recipe below:

INGREDIENTS: 2 ounces Rutte Old Simon Genever ounce Dolin Dry Vermouth de Chambéry

1⁄4 ounce Yellow Chartreuse

3 dashes Bitter Truth Celery Bitters

DIRECTIONS:

Combine the ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir to chill. Strain into a chilled coupe. Enjoy.No garnish.

The drink blooms while stirred and is pleasantly aromatic.

The man of the hour in all his glory:

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