On Wednesday, August 1st, Sagatiba Cachaça invited spirits industry leaders, top mixologists, members of the press, and nightlife and bar professionals to the Whitney Museum of American Art in a truly unique celebration of the Art of the Cocktail.  Guests including Charlotte Voisey, Alan Katz, LeNell Smothers, Sasha Petraske, Matt Ge, and Leo Degroff enjoyed new Latin classic cocktails and original Sagatiba creations by Willy Shine and Aisha Sharpe of Contemporary Cocktails prior to a private viewing of the exhibition, Summer of Love: Art in the Psychedelic Era. Shine and Sharpe’s  “Sagadelic” (Sagatiba Pura, honey, lemon & pomegranate juices, and sparkling water) and “A Brazoni in Thyme” (Sagatiba Pura with muddled cucumber, melon and thyme shaken with Campari and sweet vermouth, served over frozen melon balls) provided delicious and colorful refreshment on a warm summer night.

Following the tour, limousines whisked the revelers downtown to hotspot Thor @ Hotel on Rivington for another round of Sagatiba signature drinks created by celebrated and emerging mixologists. Eben Klemm’s “Vento Arance” created for Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans, blends orange-peel infused Sagatiba Pura, prime arance, blood-orange rose syrup, and mandarin puree. Ryan Magerian’s “Amazonian Love Honey”, also created for the New Orleans event, paired Sagatiba Pura with fresh orange and lemon juices, honey, handmade bitters, and a splash of prosecco. Somer Perez, beverage director at Thor, crafted a delightfully refreshing cocktail with an Italian twist: the “Bela Vista” featured Sagatiba Pura shaken with fresh pineapple, mint, lemon juice, and Galliano.

A Brazoni In Thyme
Original drink by Willy Shine and Aisha Sharpe

Muddled cucumbers, honeydew melon, fresh thyme
1.5 oz Sagatiba Cachaca
1 oz sweet Italian vermouth
.5 oz Campari
Frozen melon balls & thyme sprig garnish

Muddle cucumbers, honeydew melons, fresh thyme and add the rest of the ingredients shake and double strain into an old fashioned glass over frozen melon balls and garnished with a sprig of thyme.  Nice one!

Sagadelic
Original drink by Willy Shine and Aisha Sharpe

.75 oz fresh lemon
1 oz honey syrup (3-1 honey to water)
.75 oz pom wonderful
1.5 oz Sagatiba pura
1-1.5 oz Pellegrino

Pour all ingredients accept sprite into cocktail shaker and shake.
Strain over cubed a hi-ball glass, top San pelegrino. Garnish with a long lemon twist

Amazonian Love Honey
by Ryan Magarian

1 1/2 oz. Sagatiba Pura
3/4 oz. Clover honey syrup (1:1 honey to water)
1/2 oz. freshly squeezed lemon luice
3/4 oz. fresh squeezed orange juice
2 dashes Regan’s No. 6 Orange Bitters
1 oz. Prosecco

Shake Sagatiba, honey syrup, lemon and orange juices and bitters with ice.  Strain into a flute and finish with prosecco.

Vento Arance
by Eben Klemm

1-1/2 ounces orange peel infused Sagatiba Pura
1 ounce prime arance 
1/2 ounce blood orange rose syrup*
1/2 ounce mandarin puree

Shake all ingredients with ice and serve up in a cocktail glass.  Garnish with an orange wedge and rosemary spear

*Blood orange rose syrup
4 cups sugar
10 whole star anis
2 jars rose or rosehip jam
3 cups orange juice
1 cup Campari
Rose water

mix sugar and anis with just enough water to give it the consistency of wet sand and bring to a boil.  Do not stir.
Immediately add all ingredients except rose water.  Stir in and return to boil.  Add rose water, remove from heat and strain.

Bela Vista
Somer Perez, Thor @ Hotel on Rivington

1 1/2oz. Sagatiba Cachaca
1/2 oz. Galliano
5-6 pineapple cubes
3 mint sprigs
1 oz. lemon juice

Shake and strain into a rocks glass filled with ice.  Garnish with a pineapple wedge.

While Harry Johnson didn't publish the first bartenders manual, it is one of the first which actually goes into amazing detail as to the role and responsibilities of the bartenders of the day. This book represents one of the great works of the day which helps us better understand the history and evolution of the bartender. 

The Bishop and Babcock Company sold a large line of beer service supplies, and in this promotional booklet, they interspersed listings of the various products they sold with recipes for cocktails of the day. Not being a specialist in cocktails, there are some inaccuracies in the recipes presented, but this booklet does provide a glimpse of what some of the cocktails of the day were back in 1900. 

The Albert Pick Company was a well established supplier of supplies for Saloons and similar establishments prior to Prohibition. They eventually branched out into owning a chain of hotels.

"The proper use of beverages distinguishes the thoughtful host or hostess and lends enjoyment to the occasion. To you who seek perfection in the expression of hospitality we humbly dedicate this little booklet and trust that its suggestions may prove helpful." 

Note: This guidebook is currently incomplete. The remaining pages will be inserted as they are cleaned up by our expert team of image manipulators.

"The drinks in this book have been mixed in the pre-prohibition era over a period of 17 years, at bars of notable patronage in New York City and also in other states. A few have been mixed during the days of prohobition at private functions with prohibition ingredients. I have observed the novice and his conception of mixing drinks and have noticed that too much of the proper ingredients were used for the various drinks. The object of this book is to help revive the lost art of mixing drinks correctly, and the recipes contained herein are selected from years of mixing. I hereby give you a varied selection to choose from as the vogue of today is variety."

 

"The purpose of this book is to give the individual in concise form sufficient knowledge of wines and liquors so that he may know how to recognize quality, how to detect imitation and adulteration, how to keep and how to serve alcoholic beverages. Directions for preparing the popular cocktails are included."

"The cocktail recipes in this book were chosen after months of careful study. Old-time bartenders of Boston have assisted in their choice and we feel certain that all of these drinks will prove delicious."

 For five years now, our good friend Ann Rogers has been mustering the troops and organizing one of the nations most important gathering of mixologists down in New Orleans for the annual "Tales of the Cocktail" event.

This year marked the fifth anniversary of this event, and several new and notable additions to the event were made, ones which we hope will become a regular part of the weeks festivities.

The Spirit Awards represents the culmination of a world-wide search for the best and most noteworthy contribution in several different categories. Providing well-earned recognition for those people and establishments who have worked hard at supporting and progressing the world of cocktails.

The Bar Chef Challenge was a fun, entertaining, and inspiring event which pitted several of the nations best bartenders against one another in a timed challenge to create unique cocktails based on a secret ingredient. The challenge was Emceed by Dale DeGroff, Kevin Brauch, and Lorin Gaudin.

The Spirit Awards

Here are the details of the winners at this years Spirit Awards

Bar Chef Challenge

At this years Bar Chef Challenge, six competitors challenged themselves as well as each other to create two original drinks based on the chosen secret ingredient: Orgeat.

The competitors were: Chris McMillian,(Library Bar at Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans)  H. Ehrmann, (Elixir, San Francisco)  Tad Carducci, (Pluckemin Inn, Bedminster NJ) Lu Brow, (Swizzle Stick Bar at Cafe Adelaide, New Orleans)  Todd Thrasher, (Restaurant Eve, Washington D.C. Bartender) and Bridget Albert (Southern Wine and Spirits of Illinois).

Judging this event were: Tony Abou-Ganim, “The Modern Mixologist,” Kate Krader, Senior Features Editor of Food&Wine , Ted Allen, star of “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,” Per Hamansson, sensory analyst for V&S Spirits and Francesco LaFranconi, director of mixology and spirits educator for Southern Wine and Spirits.

At the conclusion of the tense competition, the winner was announced as being Bridget Albert. Here are the recipes that she prepared:

Winning Recipes by Bridget Albert

Hope Floats

• 1 oz Cruzan Vanilla Rum
• 1/2 oz Grand Marnier
• 1/2 oz Cherry Herring Liqueur
• 2 diced strawberries
• Pinch of ground cinnamon
• 1/2 fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 oz Fee Brothers Orgeat Syrup

In mixing glass muddle strawberries, cinnamon, lemon juice, and Fee Brothers Orgeat Syrup.  Add Cruzan Vanilla Rum, Grand Marnier and Cherry Herring.  SHAKE HARD! Strain over crushed ice filled cocktail glass. Top with dollop of Orange Flower Water flavored whip cream.*

* In a cold metal bowl, whisk 1 cup of heavy whipping cream, 3 oz Orange Flower Water,  and 4 oz Fee Brothers Orgeat Syrup

99˚ In The Shade

• 2 oz Absolut New Orleans
• 3 spoonfuls ginger mango compote*
• Splash of fresh lemon juice
• Splash of Fee Brothers Orgeat Syrup
• Egg white
• Champagne

In your mixing glass muddle Absolut New Orleans, lemon juice, ginger mango compote, and Fee Brothers Orgeat Syrup. Add egg white.  SHAKE HARD!  Add 1/2 oz of champagne.  Rock gently.  Strain into a champagne glass rimmed with smoked salt, super fine sugar, and black pepper.  Garnish with a burnt lemon.

* Ginger Mango Compote:
In a pan add 6 mango cubes, 2 ginger slices, 1/2 oz of fresh lime juice, 3 oz Fee Brothers Orgeat Syrup.  Let simmer for 15 minutes on High.  Pepper to taste.  Set aside to cool.