There’s No Place Like Home … Cocktails With a Sense of Place Part 2

CAMUS Cognac and a handful of Chilled 100 Ambassadors celebrate their sense of place by discovering what it is about their hometown, city, or state that speaks to them.

CAMUS is the world’s largest independent producer of cognac. Family owned for five generations and more than 150 years, CAMUS is renowned for their expertise in extracting a sense of place and converting it into a product. They have done that with their award winning Borderies VSOP, made from grapes grown in the smallest and most sought-after region of Cognac, also home to the CAMUS estate, and recently accomplished the same thing with the release this year of Lambay Irish Whiskey Small Batch Blend. Named after a private wildlife sanctuary off the coast of Dublin, Lambay Irish Whiskeys are made from the finest Irish whiskey distillates, finished in cognac casks with a touch of Trinity Well water from the Island that bears its name.

These four mixologists below received bottles of their Borderies VSOP cognac and their new release, Lambay Irish Whiskey Small Batch Blend. In part one of this series, we explored cocktail recipes created using Borderies VSOP cognac from top mixologists across the U.S. In part two of this series, we will check out the unique cocktail recipes created using Lambay Irish Whiskey Small Batch Blend.

The Irish Summer

By Allison Buchanan – Nobu Matushisa, Denver

“The inspiration behind this cocktail is simply the fact that I love fresh pineapple juice and fernet together. It is also a beautiful and fun drink.”

Ingredients: 

• 2 oz. Lambay Irish Whiskey Small Batch Blend
• 1/2 oz. Lemon Juice
• 1/2 oz. fresh Pineapple Juice
• 1/4 oz. Fernet Branca
• 1/2 oz. Agave Syrup (1:1 Agave:Water)
• Handful OG Fresh Mint
• Peychaud’s Rinse

Preparation: Muddle mint with agave, Combine all other ingredients except peychaud’s, shake, and fine strain over fresh ice into a collin’s glass. Top with peychaud’s float, garnish with mint and expressed orange peel. 

Meet Allison Buchanan

Chilled 100 Member, Denver

Allison Widdecombe Buchanan is a bartender from the Big Island of Hawaii, who, after many years traveling and moving through the big cities of the world, now calls Denver, Colorado home. After several years working at Williams and Graham as part of their dynamic bar family, she now works at Nobu Matsuhisa in Denver. Allison loves making various concoctions and especially likes getting creative with what she can grow at home.

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The J Street

By Jessica Weinstein – Hanks D.C., Washington D.C.

“When most people think of D.C., dark hotel bars and steakhouses come to mind, but underneath that white table cloth is a diverse and transient city that I call home. The “J Street” cocktail represents what our unique city has grown into—it melds the sights and smells of old school D.C. like Cognac and Scotch with the bright and adventurous flavors of new school creativity. It represents the amazing food, beverage, and arts scene that exists in our nation’s capital today. “J Street” is named after the only lettered street that you won’t find listed on a sign above the road … It’s named after what you’ll find underground.”

Ingredients:

• 1 oz. Camus Borderies VSOP
• 1/2 oz. Lambay Irish Whiskey Small Batch Blend
• 1/2 Lime Juice
• 1/2 oz. Cereasum
• 1/2 oz. Orgeat
• 2 dashes Bitters

Preparation: Shake, drop into flask and fill with crushed ice. Top with 2 dashes angostura and garnish lavishly with mint.

Meet Jessica Weinstein

Chilled 100 Member, Washington D.C

Jessica Weinstein started her career as a Server at Addie’s of Black Restaurant Group in Washington DC in 2011. As she learned about food and beverage, she worked her way up and in 2013 became the Training and Development Manager for the group’s newest venture, Republic. In the Fall of 2015 she joined JL Restaurant Group as part of the opening team for the Italian concept, Hank’s Pasta Bar. After great success, Jessica remained within the company and took over the bar program for their flagship restaurant, Hank’s Oyster Bar in Dupont Circle and one of their newest ventures, Hank’s Cocktail Bar. Jessica currently resides as the Beverage Director for JL Restaurant Group, leading the bar programs at all six properties and bringing her positive energy and passionate touch to each cocktail she creates.

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Holy Trinity 

By Josue Gonzalez – The Broken Shaker, Miami

“The water used to distill Lambay comes from the Trinity well, and with it’s triple distillation I thought, Holy Trinity! This spectacular Irish whiskey is a great sipper, so how was I going make a cocktail reflecting my hometown? The answer is always pineapple, not only a sign of hospitality, but such a well rounded fruit. A dash of vanilla to bring out those cask aging notes and the spice of black walnut are a match made in cocktail heaven.”

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 oz. Lambay Irish Whiskey Small Batch Blend
• 1 oz. Pineapple Juice
• 3/4 oz. Vanilla Syrup
• 1/2 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
• 4 dashes Black Walnut Bitters

Preparation: Combine 1 dash of walnut bitters and all remaining ingredients in a shaker, add Ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a footed pilsner and top with crushed ice finish with the remaining 3 dashes of walnut bitters over the top of the cocktail then top with more crushed ice. Garnish with a bamboo straw, pineapple slice, and a pretty flower. Enjoy.

Meet Josue Gonzales

Chilled 100 Member, Miami
Miami native Josue Gonzalez was still a culinary student at Johnson & Wales University when he realized that if he wanted to land a position in the kitchen, he’d have to gain experience anywhere he could. He soon found himself working as a barback at Miami’s Zuma, which opened his eyes to the world of cocktails. Life behind the bar allowed Josue to pursue his passions for culinary and hospitality at the same time, and before long he was working high end catering gigs and tending bar at a Who’s Who of Miami hot spots.

He found a friend and mentor in renowned Miami bartender Rob Ferrara, and their talents blended like gin and vermouth—helping both achieve great success at Swine Southern Table & Bar, Lure Fishbar and The Rum Line.

Josue’s passion for his craft has actually helped him become a mover & shaker in the industry. He was a Miami Zagat 30 under 30 Honoree. He’s also won a few mixology competitions along the way.

Recently, He was part of the opening team at Miami Beach’s Sweet Liberty Bar & Supply. After its first year, Sweet Liberty was awarded Best New Cocktail Bar in America at the Spirited Awards, held every year during Tales of the cocktail in New Orleans.

After that, he was representing Hendricks Gin as the South Florida Brand Ambassador. Spreading gin knowledge and guest bartending in some of Miami’s top bars.

Currently Josue is working with Bar-Lab. He works events and helps out with their consulting projects. If you want to catch him behind the stick, most nights he’ll be bartending at one of the Bar-Lab venues called 27 Restaurant & Bar located next to the The Broken Shaker.

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Sassy Irishman 

Created by Joel Cockerill – Flock n Fowl, Las Vegas

“For this drink, I wanted the citrus to take a back seat to the beautifully balanced cognac barrel finish of the Lambay Irish Whiskey Small Batch Blend, and to let the bitter and herbaceous notes of the sassafras, wild cherry bark, and complex cherry cola notes of the Peruvian Chuncho Amargo bitters take hold. I added a touch of Luxardo as well to work in tandem with the cherry bark and bitters to really bring the cherry notes to life.”

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 oz. Lambay Irish Whiskey Small Batch Blend
• 1/4 oz. Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
• 1/2 oz. Fresh Lime Juice
• 3/4 oz. Sassafras and Wild Cherry Bark Syrup
• 1 dash of Chuncho Amargo Bitters
• 1 Egg White Marigold and Lime Cheek (for Garnish)

Preparation: Add all ingredients to shaker, wet shake, strain and dry shake. Pour into nick and nora glass and garnish with marigold and lime cheek.

Meet Joel Cockerill

Chilled 100 Member, Las Vegas

Joel Cockerill is a Canadian native who found is love for food and beverage at a young age. When he moved to Las Vegas, he fell in love with craft bartendending as he saw the marriage between the culinary and bartending world. He is currently behind the bar at Flock and Fowl in Downtown Las Vegas with the incredibly talented and supportive Adam Rains at the helm.