On Monday, July 8 2013, the MadeWithLove National Mixology Competition held its Vancouver finals at Yaletown’s Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre. For the well organized occasion, over 250 eager participants enjoyed an entertaining evening of culture and creativity while tasting original cocktails specially created by eleven mixologists selected in last April’s regional qualifiers.
Of the eleven finalists, Mike Shum of the Fairmont Pacific Rim was awarded the MWL Jury’s Choice for his “The Roundhouse Kick”, a Campari and SKYY Vodka variation of the classic “High Kick”, while Shea Hogan from The Shameful Tiki Room received the Public’s Choice award for his Canadian Club based cocktail, “Walker”. As a result, both will move forward in the competition to represent the city at the national finals that will be held in Montreal in July 2014, where they will put their talents to the test along with twelve other winners from six major Canadian cities. The third winner of the evening, Keenan Hood from The Keefer Bar, walked away with the Media’s Choice award for his Hendrick’s Gin based “Siamese Slipper”, which is a twist on the classic “Japanese Slipper”.
Top 3 in Each Category
Media’s Choice: 1. Keenan Hood (Keefer Bar) 2. Shea Hogan (The Shameful Tiki Room) 3. Marc Smolenski (Max’s Burger)
Judge’s Choice: 1. Mike Shum (Fairmont Pacific Rim) 2. Keenan Hood (Keefer Bar) 3. Rob Scope (Calabash Bistro)
Public’s Choice: 1. Shea Hogan (The Shameful Tiki Room) 2. Mike Shum (Fairmont Pacific Rim) 3. Dave Mott (Brandywine Bartending School & Oakwood Canadian Bistro)
Gaspare’s Secondo (Tableau Bar Bistro)
Second Wind (Oakwood)
The Maurice Kan Rhubarb Float (Killjoy)
The Details are in the Devil (Clough Club)
Jacob’s Love Child (Calabash Bistro)
Winning Recipe: “The Roundhouse Kick” by Mike Shum (Fairmont Pacific Rim)
1 oz Campari
1 oz vanilla and star anise infused SKYY vodka
1 oz fresh lemon juice
½ oz simple syrup (2:1)
4 fresh thai basil leaves
4 fresh mint leaves
1 dash Scrappy’s Chocolate Bitters (optional)
1 egg white
Campari powder for garnish (Place 375 ml of Campari in a pan in an 180°F oven for 12 hours, remove and carefully scrape the bottom of the pan. Crush in a mortar and pestle and allow to air dry further)
Chill a cocktail coupe. Measure all ingredients into a cocktail shaker and dry shake (without ice in order to emulsify the egg white). Fill the tin with ice and shake. Double strain into the coupe. Garnish with Campari powder.
Winning Recipe: “Siamese Slipper” by Keenan Hood (Keefer Bar)
1 ½ oz Hendrick’s Gin
¾ oz Freshly juiced honeydew, cucumber and kiwi
¾ oz Freshly juiced Lime
¾ oz David’s Tea Tea blends made Into a tea syrup (Japanese Sencha, Chinese “Dragonwell” and Kiwi’s big adventure)
Shake all ingredients, double strain into any fancy classic glassware, add a couple of heavy sprays of absinthe over the drink, and garnish with a kiwi wheel and an edible flower.
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