Check out the TOP FIVE (5) Finalists in the Silks Gin Garden to Glass Cocktail Competition.

 

The Cooney family, of Boann Distillery, Ireland, invited the Chilled 100 Bartenders to compete for cash prizes in the Silks Gin Garden to Glass cocktail competition. Stay tuned for the Top Five (5) Finalists, followed by the Top Three (3) Winning Cocktails.

 

“We wanted to introduce our contemporary style gin to the world of American bartenders and what better way than to run a cocktail competition with the best of the best!” says Sally Anne Cooney, co-founder, Boann Distillery. “We are always on the lookout for new cocktails and love the creativity that comes with cocktail creation.”

 

The competition brought together some of the most talented bartender in the industry in an interpretation of Garden to Glass. “They have created some of the most exciting and unusual cocktails. The bartenders have taken our “Garden to Glass” theme and interpreted it in many ways and incorporated such interesting ingredients and flavor profiles.”

 

Jes Gutierrez-Switaj 

Brooklyn, NY

When I was young, the garden and the forest were magical places. There was nothing more exciting than eating something you grew yourself, or something that you foraged in the wild. When I was older, I moved to Arizona, a new place magical in its own way. The intoxicating scent of citrus blossoms filling the air everywhere you go. It must be what perfumes heaven. Citrus in such abundance you couldn’t give it away.

The desert was also the only place I’ve ever been successful in growing lavender, it’s fragrant blossoms just as potent as those of the lemon trees. I used to sit outside late at night and watch the stars while basking in its heady bouquet.

Taste and scent have such a strong memory connection, and with this cocktail I wanted to capture the essence of flavors and aromas that were particularly meaningful to me personally, just all in one glass!

 

 

Lavender Bramble

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Silks Gin
• 1 oz Lavender Syrup*
• 
1 oz Lemon Juice 
Blackberries 
Mint

Preparation: Muddle 4-5 blackberries and a sprig or two of mint in the bottom of glass. Fill glass with crushed or pebble ice. Separately, combine Silks Gin, lavender syrup, and lemon juice. Stir to incorporate syrup well. Pour into glass. Garnish. Stir before enjoying. Garnish with fresh mint, lemon wheel, blackberries.


*Lavender Syrup:

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 Tablespoons food grade dried lavender flowers
• 
Squeeze of lemon

Preparation: Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan on medium heat. Stir until sugar dissolves, simmer until mixture reduces by about half. Fine strain, bottle and refrigerate.

 

Rachel Wright 

Buffalo, NY

Like the Silks family, Buffalo and the surrounding area of New York State are covered in orchards. It is a fall and winter tradition to serve mulled cider from local orchards to warm the body and soul. Likewise, as we transition into spring, dandelion weeds can be found everywhere throughout the city and more rural areas alike. “After Apple-Picking” a tongue in cheek Frost reference incorporates a traditional mulled apple cider with a twist. Highlighting the sour and slightly sweet flavor of apple blossoms in Silk Gin, I juiced fresh green apples as opposed to using the typical golden delicious or red delicious varieties in mulling cider.

Although dandelion greens are plentiful within my area, it is not recommended they be foraged in an urban setting for risk of pesticide. However, dandelion green tea can easily be obtained from any grocery store for around $5 USD. Dandelions have a slightly bitter and earthy flavor which will balance well against the bright citrus notes of Silk gin. Lastly, I utilized, Cocchi Americano as a modifier to sustain the uphold the honey and bright citrus notes of the Silk Gin and Regan’s Bitters to highlight the orange and dry coriander notes and finally garnished with sage to highlight some of the herbaceousness of the gin.

 

 

After Apple Picking

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 oz. Silks Dry Irish Gin
• 3/4 oz. Cocchi Americano
• 2 dashes Regan’s bitters
• 1 1/2 oz. Green Apple Juice*
• 
0.6 oz. Dandelion Syrup**

Preparation: In a shaking tin, add ingredients. Shake for 15-20 seconds with ice, until seal is created, and tin feels cold. Double strain with a traditional hawthorn strainer and through a fine mesh strainer to ensure that all ice chips are removed. Serve in small punch glass or teacup. Take a quarter slice of apple and sprig of fresh sage and skewer on to your cocktail with a pick…no pick? Just place on top.

*Green Apple Juice: If you have a juice extractor you can easily juice the entire apple minus the core to create this. If you do not, you can take one whole sliced apple and muddle into the cocktail shaker to release the flavors of the apple.

 **Dandelion Syrup: Take 1 cup water and 1 cup granulated sugar and place on to a medium saucepan on medium heat. Carefully remove strings of 4 dandelion tea bags being careful not to break them and place with water and sugar in pan. Let simmer on medium heat for 10 minutes, then remove the tea bags, take off heat and let cool.

 

Nadine Medina

Las Vegas, NV

I grew up with a mom that had a green thumb. I remember all the beautiful aromas of the vegetable garden, herb, fruits, flowers, and the nearby meadow. When I tasted Silks Gin, that’s what it reminded me of. That once in a blue moon there’s a perfect night where you can smell, taste, and see all those beautiful things, because it’s just bright enough to see but still dark out!

 

 

Blue Moons & Meadows

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 oz Silks Gin
•  
3/4 oz Violet Syrup
• 3/4 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 
1/4 oz  yuzu juice
• 
1/4 oz Rosewater
• 
5 dashes Angostura chocolate bitters
• 1 oz egg white

Preparation: Put all ingredients in shaker tin with ice and dilute well by shaking until outer tin is frosted. Strain ingredients through a double strainer and tap the side of the second strainer to get a beautiful egg white top. Garnish with Blue Pansy and dehydrated corn flower petals

 

Megan Marshall 

New York, New York

This cocktail takes inspiration from the mother-daughter duo tending the hives of honeybees pollinating the orchards from which the gin’s botanicals are born, the stampeding horses traveling through the nearby racetrack at lightning speed, and the sage-like wisdom required to curate a family-owned legacy celebrating the history of the land surrounding their distillery.  
 
The refreshing, bright flavor notes of Silks Irish Dry Gin had this phrase ringing through my ears as the flavors danced across my palate: “This is a journey, where like-minded companions travel along.” With ingredients acting as a nod to the honeybees, fruit orchards and on-site florals, I strived to create a cocktail that embodied the companionship of complimentary flavors traveling together and uplifting the Silks spirit. This signature garden-to-glass cocktail pays homage to the lands surrounding the Boann Distillery.

 

 

Silks Traveling Sage

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Silks Irish Dry Gin
• 1 oz Lemon Juice
• 
3/4 oz Honey-Peppercorn Syrup
• 
13 Blueberries
• 
4 Sage Leaves 
2 drops
• Lavender Bitters 
Club soda

Preparation: Add ten blueberries and the honey-peppercorn syrup* to a mixing glass and muddle together. Then, add gin, lemon juice, and two sage leaves. Add ice and shake well. Double strain over ice into a Collins glass. Top off with club soda. Garnish with three blueberries and two additional sage leaves. *Honey-Peppercorn Syrup: Combine one cup of honey, one cup of water, and 3 tablespoons of black peppercorns over medium-high heat. Stir until the honey fully combines with the water. Once the mixture comes to a boil, lower the heat, and let it simmer for five minutes. Then, take it off the heat and let it cool completely. Strain into another container and discard the peppercorns.

 

Donna Meister 

Jacksonville, FL 

I’ve never personally had a green thumb, but if there’s one plant anyone can cultivate and keep alive in the south, it’s aloe. When I tasted the clean, floral flavors of Silks Irish Dry Gin, I knew I wanted to craft a refreshing drink that wouldn’t overpower the delicate botanicals already present in the spirit and aloe was the perfect carrier to allow those flavors to bloom. You don’t have to do the harvesting; aloe water can be purchased at most major grocery stores in the juice aisle. I then chose to highlight some of the less prevalent botanicals used to make the gin, chamomile, and sage, for their calming effects and intense aromatics.

Honey is used as a sweetener as a nod to the honey used in the gin’s production as well. Elderflower liqueur is readily available in most liquor stores and is used to amplify the intensity of one of the core botanicals harvested at the distillery for the gin. To honor the distillery’s commitment to sustainability, the garnishes came from ingredients already being used in the drink to use every part of the fruit and herb. The butterfly pea flower tea float on top of the drink mimics the ombre design of the Silks gin bottle. The tea itself will react with the citrus in the drink, turning from blue to purple to magenta, as the clear bottle turns to the white and purple label and blue bottom. The drink is meant to reflect the values of the distillery, be a visual reference to the brand, and include my own regional Florida twist using aloe as a blank canvas for flavor.

 

Avant Gardener

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 oz Silks Irish Dry Gin
• 1 oz aloe water
• 1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 oz chamomile honey syrup
• 1/2 oz elderflower liqueur
• 5-6 fresh sage leaves
• 1/2 oz butterfly pea flower tea float

Preparation: Heat water to a boil. In one mug, brew 1/2 cup hot water with one bag of chamomile tea. In another mug, brew 1/2 cup hot water with 1 tablespoon dried butterfly pea flowers. Strain each after 5 minutes. Reserve and chill butterfly pea flower tea. Mix chamomile tea with 1/2 cup honey while hot, chill to serve. Using a knife and cutting board, cut a few thin slices from the midsection of a lemon and reserve for garnish. Squeeze the remaining lemon and add 0.5 oz lemon juice into a mixing tin with 5-6 of the lower leaves from a sprig of fresh sage. Then add 0.5 oz chamomile honey syrup, 1 oz aloe water (store bought is perfect), 0.5 oz elderflower liqueur, 1.5 oz Silks Irish Dry Gin, and ice to shake. Strain into a chilled Collins glass filled with ice and place lemon wheels down the side of the glass. Float butterfly pea flower tea on top of the cocktail and insert the reserved sprig of fresh sage directly next to the straw for garnish.