Cocktail guide features recipes from top 50 mixologists
Sugar snap peas, “homemade spruce water,” sumac and smoked thyme are among the ingredients used by the 50 top mixologists in the world.
And in a bid to place the art of mixology on the same plane as haute cuisine, spirits and alcohol giant Diageo Reserve has launched a new website this week dubbed the "World Class 50," a group made up of some of the most innovative and trailblazing cocktail artists in the world.
The club is made up of the finalists of the World Class Bartender of the Year competition 2013, which took place in July, as well as previous winners from 2010 and 2012.
In addition to cocktail recipes, master mixologists in The Definitive Drinking Guide share travel tips on the most sophisticated and trendsetting places to stay, shop and dine in their hometown.
Recipes are ambitious, carefully crafted flavor pairings that elevate spirits and sodas into imaginative, culinary and artistic creations.
This year’s Bartender of the Year, 37-year-old Spaniard David Rios, for instance, shares a cocktail he’s christened “Aroma,” a drink rich in aromatics such as honey, spice, fruit and oak, paired with the tropical richness of coffee and coconut.
The result?
“The drink is delivered in flavoured layers, with the robustness of the main mix being sipped through a light coconut mousse to meld into a complex and intensely aromatic whole.”
Bartender of the Year for 2012 Tim Philips's Rhubarb Fizz likewise shares a recipe that takes cues from the classic gin fizz and is reworked to highlight local, Australian rhubarb. After fresh lemon juice, Tanqueray No. Ten, and a dash of egg white, the recipe calls for making a fresh rhubarb compote with vanilla bean and a sprinkling of sugar.
The list, meanwhile, spans the world with mixologists representing 44 countries including contestants from Japan, the US, Puerto Rico, France, Trinidad, Bali, Hong Kong and Canada.
A Pinterest version of the site is also expected to launch this week.
Meanwhile, Chicago mixologist Charles Joly, beverage director of The Aviary, was named America's best bartender at the annual Tales of the Cocktail event in New Orleans this summer.
