Canton Bartender of the Year Competition

Ordinarily I would leave this type of post to the news aggregators, but I'm making an exception due to the sizable purse ($10,000) and the gentle encouragement from our local Canton ambassador Bill Norris. The Canton Bartender of the Year contest is afoot. Submit online between August 15-September 30. Cheers and good luck!

Cocktail Karaoke Coming Soon

Ladies and gentlemen, time to start tuning up your pipes. Our August chapter event will be Cocktail Karaoke, sponsored by Tuaca. Event runs 8-10pm, Monday August 30 at Chinatown downtown.
Tuaca will be previewing their new bottle and marketing strategy. Cocktails and vittles provided for USBG Austin members and invited guests.

Cabana Cachaca Olympics at TOTC 2010

USBG Austin's Bill Norris and Jeff Boley represented ATX on the "home" team

The West Coast (Blue) Team won the contest, but we were there to support the Red Team: The Home Team representing New Orleans and Texas, co-captained by Ricky Gomez and Bill Norris; New Orleans’ Adam “Rex” Scott of Napoleon’s Itch, and Cole Newton from Coquette Bistro & Wine Bar, joined the Texas duo of Jeff Boley from Austin’s Paggi House and Joseph Mykal Le from Aka Sushi House in Houston


USBG Chicago's Bridget Albert joined Francesco Lafranconi and Jared Brown on the judging panel

Bill Norris to Participate in Cocktail Hour at TOTC 2010

Austin's own Bill Norris will be joining the ranks of the most celebrated bartenders at this year's Cocktail Hour at Tales of the Cocktail. Chad Solomon, David Wondrich, Jeffrey Morgenthaler and Jonathan Pogash (USBG NYC President) are just a handful of the names who will be behind the bars at this year's event, which takes place at the Cabildo on the Thursday night of Tales. Cocktail Hour has grown into one of the most elaborate & star-studded events of the cocktail world, at which you can taste cocktails fashioned by not just some, but it seems like practically all, of the best in the business. Congrats to USBG Austin's Bill Norris for being invited to participate.

USBG Austin Well-Represented in Rare's Best-of Issue

The latest issue of Rare Magazine features their "Rarest of Them All" picks, and USBG Austin members are well-represented in the categories of Best Cocktail and Best Mixologist:

USBG Member Wins Oficial Drink of Austin Contest!

Abdul Ford of the Driskill Hotel has won the 2010 Official Drink of Austin Contest at the city's inaugural Night of the Bat event. Ford is a bartender at the Driskill and a member of USBG Austin. Here is the winning recipe (don't be alarmed by the "sweet & sour mix"--Abdul makes his own from fresh citrus and agave nectar):

"The Brazos Brasiliensis Batini"

• Tito's Vodka
• Hibiscus/Ginger Syrup
• Sweet & Sour Mix
Hibiscus/Ginger Syrup

• Sugar
• Water
• "Dry" Hibiscus
• Fresh Ginger
Boil all ingredients for 15 minutes; remove from heat and cool down for two hours in refrigerator. Strain and serve. Pick hibiscus flower over blackberry for bat garnish.

"The idea behind the drink was that, first and foremost, it had to be refreshing," says Abdul Ford, mixologist at The Driskill Hotel and creator of the winning drink. "It also had to be simple to make, but have complex flavors. And really, it had to look, smell and taste great."

Junior Merino y Siembra Azul @ Swoop House

"Liquid Chef" Junior Merino's tool bag

Tonight's meeting at the Swoop House was great. Thanks to David Suro of Siembra Azul tequila for sponsoring our event.

We started the evening off with a quick demonstration of Domaine de Canton cocktails by Bill Norris, USBG Austin member who is now doing some local work for them. Bill announced his intention to make John J & Ginger (Jameson & Canton, equal parts) the "official" drink of Austin's service industry.

David Suro led a discussion on tequila from his perspective as both a brand founder of Siembra Azul and owner of Tequilas restaurant in Philadelphia.


Junior Merino and his liquid colleague Heidi made four cocktails showcasing the Siembra Azul lineup and Junior's new line of signature syrups and salts.


Special thanks to Stephen Shallcross of the Swoop House and 2Dine4 catering for hosting and making the fabulous food.

After the official presentation, Junior showed us some footage from his Liquid Lab in NY, where invited guests get intensive hands-on training in flavor architecture.