Meet the Winning Cocktails from Edgewater Spirits’ Shaken & Stirred Competition

The 2019 Edgewater Spirits Shaken & Stirred Cocktail Competition—which featured the spirits Wódka Vodka and Harleston Green Scotch—has come to a close, and we are humbled by the incredible roster of recipes that were submitted this year.

Bartenders had a chance to create an original cocktail with either Wódka Vodka or Harleston Green Scotch using about five ingredients. Two bartenders will receive a third-place prize of $500, two will be presented $1,000 for second place, and the creators of the two winning recipes will each get $2,000.

It was a tough decision, but these six cocktails beat out the rest for the gold, silver and bronze prizes in the Wódka Vodka and Harleston Green Scotch categories. Check out the winning recipes and mix them up at home the next time you need some happy hour inspiration.

Wódka Winners

1st Place Gold—Tea-Ki Polski

Created by Lance Bowman from Chicago, Illinois

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. Wódka Vodka
• .5 oz. Taylor’s Velvet Falernum
• .75 oz. Lime Juice
• .5 oz. Chamomile Syrup*
• 2 dashes Bittermens Elemakule Tiki Bitters
• Thinly Sliced Lime Wheel (to Garnish)

Preparation: Add all liquid ingredients to a shaker tin with ice. Shake and double strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with a lime wheel.

*Chamomile Syrup

In 36 ounces of hot water, steep .75 ounces (approximately 12 standard tea bags) of chamomile tea. Remove tea and add 32 ounces by volume of sugar. Stir to dissolve, strain, bottle, label and date.

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2nd Place Silver—Mother of Dragons

Created by Mariah Stuchlik from Vancouver, Washington

Ingredients:

• 1.5 oz. Wódka Vodka
• 1 oz. Lemon Juice
• .75 oz. Dragon Fruit and Pink Peppercorn Syrup*
• .75. oz. Greenbar Grand Poppy Amaro
• 1 Egg White
• 2 dashes Fee Brothers Plum Bitters
• Black Sprinkles (to Garnish)

Preparation: Add all ingredients, save for the garnish, to a shaker tin. Dry shake. Add ice and shake again to chill. Double strain into a coupe glass and garnish with sprinkles.

*Dragon Fruit and Pink Peppercorn Syrup

Ingredients:

• .25 cup Pink Peppercorns
• 1 Whole Dragon Fruit, Blended
• .5 quart Sugar
• .5 quart Water

Preparation: Add all ingredients to a saucepan and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until incorporated. Strain and use.

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3rd Place Bronze—Beet, Don’t Kill My Vibe

Created by Gavin Nguyen from Dallas, Texas

Ingredients:

• .5 oz. Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
• .75 oz. Chaokoh Coconut Milk
• .75 oz. Velvet Falernum
• 2 oz. Beet-Infused Wódka Vodka*
• Beet Cookie (to Garnish)
• Lemon Peel (to Garnish)

Preparation: Add all liquid ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously and double strain into a Nick & Nora glass. Garnish and enjoy!

*Beet-Infused Wódka Vodka

Peel the skin from red beets and slice them into small chunks. For this cocktail, a whole beet was used to infuse a 750 ml bottle of Wódka. Add beet chunks into vodka, seal it and keep refrigerated for at least 48 hours. Because beets have a high sugar content and are very flavorful, strain beets out after 48 to 72 hours to prevent further fermentation and an overpowering beet flavor.

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Harleston Green Winners

1st Place Gold—Tally Me Banana

Created by Greg Williamson from Charleston, South Carolina

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. Harleston Green Scotch
• 1 Whole Egg
• .5 oz. Spiced Banana Syrup*
• .5 oz. Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao
• 2 dashes Angostura Bitters
• 1 dash Bittermens Xocolatl Mole Bitters
• Mint Sprig (to Garnish)
• Orange Peel (to Garnish)
• Cayenne Pepper (to Garnish)

Preparation: Add all liquid ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until chilled. Strain out the ice and shake again. Strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with a mint sprig, orange peel and sprinkling of cayenne pepper.

*Spiced Banana Syrup

Ingredients: 

• 2 cups White Granulated Sugar
• 1 cup Water
• 4 Sliced Bananas
• 4 Cinnamon Sticks
• 1 tbsp. Raw Honey
• .5 tsp. Fennel Seed
• 1 Star Anise Pod

Preparation: Bring ingredients to a slight boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Strain out solid ingredients and let cook for another 30 minutes.

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2nd Place Silver—Newburgh Sour

Created by Danilo Bozovic from Miami, Florida

Ingredients:

• 1.75 oz. Harleston Green Scotch
• .75 oz. Black Tea-Infused Amaro Montenegro
• .75 oz. Demerara Syrup
• .75. Oz. Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
• 1 Egg White
• Old Fashioned Bitters (to Garnish)
• Freshly Grated Nutmeg (to Garnish)

Preparation: Add all ingredients, save for the garnishes, to a cocktail tin. Dry shake. Add ice and shake again to chill. Strain into a coupe glass and garnish.

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3rd Place Bronze—The Gilded Lion

Created by Robin Wolfe from San Luis Obispo, California

Ingredients:

• 1.5 oz. Harleston Scotch
• .5 oz. Benedictine
• .5 oz Lillet
• .5 oz. Marigold Syrup*
• Marigold Flower (to Garnish)

Preparation: Stir all liquid ingredients with ice in a mixing glass for 20 seconds. Strain into a Nick & Nora glass. Garnish with a Marigold flower. 

*Marigold Syrup

Brew a strong tea of dried Marigold flowers. Mix with equal parts cane sugar while hot, and stir until dissolved. Cool before using.