They have about as much objective integrity as the NBA slam dunk competition, but I love em still.
I've never even WON one, and still, I love.
Why?
Because it's an excuse to PLAY!!!!
AND...they somehow almost always birth a brand new cocktail, not not just a freestyle experiment that gets forgotten the next night, but a legitimately original cocktail with a precise recipe and even its own name. I dare say there must be at least a few modern classics that were born out of some lame contest or another.
The latest and greatest of these mixicological over indulgences was put on by the good folks at Grand Marnier via Diageo with the Grand Marnier and Navan Mixology Summitt. Unfortunatelty yours truly will not be jetting off the Vail in April, thanks to Lauren Mote of Chow, who did a fantastic job of brand evangelism for Grand Marnier and will be a great contributor to the summit in April.
I still must extend my appreciation to Grand Marnier for wining and dining me and the rest of Vancouver's bartending set, AND giving me a couple of sample bottles to play with, which is all they really needed to do to get me in their corner.
Sometimes, playing with booze an be a battle, as it was with the Navan Vanilla Cognac
and some other times, things just fall into place perfectly, as they did with the Grand Marnier.
Either way, the results never cease to amaze me, it's too bad that this wasn't actually a "mixology" contest, more of a brand loyalty one, because I think I've stumbled upon a couple of solid recipes.
As I mentioned, the Navan was a battle for me. The flavour is so distinctly raw vanilla bean that I found it was over powering any other ingredients I attempted to use. That all changed when a couple of the boys from George Ultra Lounge down the street came by and asked for a Primo Jalisco made with Sagatiba Cachaca instead of Tequila, and a the dim Edison era bulb above my head became a Vancouver Police Service ghetto bird flood light. If anything had the moxie to stand up to the Navan, it was Cachaca.
The rest fell into place quite nicely, with the Primo Jalisco as the inspiration:
The Celladhor
1oz Sagatiba Cachaca
1/2 oz Navan
1/2 oz Grand Marnier
juice of 1/2 lime
3/4 oz ginger syrup
dash Peychaud's bitters
Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass and shake. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a cube of candied ginger.
The name of the drink comes from an essay written by JRR Tolkien where he surmises that the phrase "cellar door" is one of the most beautiful sounds in the English language. My spelling is an attempt to approximate how "cellar door" might sound in his English accent.
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