On Monday night, Edible magazine joined forces with four-time whisky innovator of the year, Compass Box Whisky to host a bartending competition in search of the Best Great King Street Cocktail. The Manhattan vs. Brooklyn bartender structured tete-a-tete was thrown at the chic Ramscale Penthouse in NY’s West Village. Bar stars from each borough first competed against their own teams to eventually round out the final two: 1 mix master from Manhattan and another winner from over the bridge. Expert judges, Michael Neff of Ward III and Rum House, Greg Seider of Summit Bar, Proprietor of Stinky Brooklyn, Patrick Watson and Edible magazines, Editor-in-Chief, Gabrielle Langholtz tasted their way through the slew of sips and eventually narrowed down the whisky cocktail concocting bunch to Compass Box competition champs, Anthony Sferra of Buttermilk Channel and The Tinderbox in Brooklyn and John McCarthy of Mary Queen of Scots and The McQueen. Here are the winning recipes and a couple of CitySip’s favorites too.
The McQueen by John McCarthy
1 oz. Great King St.
1 dash NYC House blended orange bitters
1 dash Mexican hot chocolate bitters
½ oz dark agave syrup
1 oz Fidencio Classico Mezcal
Stir ingredients and strain a coupe rinsed with The Peat Monster. Garnish with a flamed grapefruit twist.
The Tinderbox by Anthony Sferra
1 ¼ oz. Great King Street
¾ oz. Peat Monster
1 cube demerara sugar
2 dashes Peychauds bitters
1 dash A.B. Smeby’s Highland
Heather bitters (Brooklyn-owned & made)
Build into rocks glass. Muddle sugar and bitters in bottom of glass. Tilt glass at a 45 degree angle and gently roll through hands, coating the sides of the glass evenly with sugar/bitters crystals. Add molded ice cube (preferably a sphere of Okamoto ice) stir gently. Garnish with flamed orange twist and serve.
Red Skies At Night by Max Messier of Whisky Fox Trot
1 ½ oz. Great King Street
½ oz. fresh Blood Orange juice
1 oz. Winter Spiced Chai Concentrate
4 Drops Dutch’s Colonial Cocktail Bitters
Shake and double-strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with lemon peel.
The Charlie Hustle by Abigail Gullo of Fort Defiance
1 ½ oz. Great King Street
½ oz. Peat Monster
½ oz. rosemary infused maple syrup
½ oz. lemon juice
½ oz Green Chartreuse
Smoke dry rosemary sprig ad smoke inside of your chilled rocks glass. Shake and strain over fresh rocks into the smoked glass. Garnish with a fresh Rosemary sprig. With smokey peat and rosemary, it only seemed appropriate to name this after Pete Rose.
