Think you can sling a mean cocktail? Well, here’s your chance to run with the mixology big dogs. Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, in collaboration with Visit Phoenix and the Arizona Restaurant Association, is launching Spirit of Phoenix: Craft the City’s Signature Cocktail Competition, which, as its longwinded name suggests, is a contest to see who can create a deliciously quaffable cocktail that captures the essence of Phoenix.
The competition is open to all Phoenix residents, no matter their skill level, and the first step, for those interested in competing, is submitting a recipe online. Naturally, a set of criteria has been established. For one thing, the cocktail must contain one full ounce of Milagro Tequila (one of the sponsors of this event). The use of local or indigenous ingredients is encouraged, but the ingredients used or created must be replicable. Only traditional bartending techniques will be accepted, which means drinks may be shaken, stirred or thrown, but no blenders, spindles or machines may be used. For more detailed information about what is required and what isn’t acceptable, go to phxcocktail.com.
Here’s how the contest will work. From March 15 to April 1, a panel of esteemed, beverage industry heavy hitters will act as judges, reviewing all submissions, choosing the top 20 best recipes, then, after a blind tasting, narrowing the list down to the top four cocktails. The top four cocktails will then be made available in April for the public to taste and evaluate at multiple locations throughout the Valley. Locals will decide on the top two, then vote again between the top two (featured and voted on throughout May) to find the No. 1 cocktail that best captures what we’re all about here in Phoenix, AZ. Voting ends May 26, and the winner will be announced on June 2 (a date reflecting Phoenix’s zip code!). The last drink standing will be appropriately named The Phoenix.
Who, you may wonder, will be making the early decisions? An elite panel of judges composed of Aaron DeFeo (co-owner of Little Rituals), Kim Haasarud (cocktail cookbook author and owner of Garden Bar), Jason Asher (co-owner of Century Grand), Jax Donahue (Pour Form Consulting), Micah Olson (beverage director for Arizona Distilling Co.), Shannon A. Krol (event planning and beverage expert), and Zach O’Haire (of Distilled Hearts, an industry consulting firm). It’s an impressive group, and if you’re into cocktails at all, you surely have heard of most of them.
I chatted with Kim Haasarud to get her take on what makes a great cocktail and here’s a distilled version (how appropriate!) of what she had to say: Creativity is not mixology. In short, don’t get so creative and out there that you forget to make a drink that tastes good, something people would like to drink again. There’s no need to have seven ingredients, which makes for a “more is less” situation. The cocktail should be something the average drinker can wrap his or her head around and that seems pertinent to the city of Phoenix. Try to create a balanced drink — not too sweet, not too acidic, not too any one thing. Last of all, use a classic cocktail as a template and riff on that, always a good starting point.
As Mayor Kate Gallego herself said, “May the best drink win!”
