In a sea of ocean blues New Yorker’s were all gathered among the finalist of the BOMBAY SAPPHIRE’s 9th Annual Most Imaginative Bartender Competition. The competition was hosted at the posh Lavo Restaurant and Club, located in the ultra-chic high end shopping district of New York City. We were privy to the ultimate in mixology cleverly. Custom syrups, potions, unique ingredients and a little bit of sorcery, went into this one-of-a-kind cocktails. Creativity and innovation is a huge part of this competition.
I took a moment to speak to Colin Appiah, the Senior Portfolio Ambassador with Bacardi, as I wanted to know what is was like to have the most fabulous job in the world.
XO: Tell me what is your role as the Senior Portfolio Ambassador?
CA: I’m the Senior Portfolio Ambassador for Bacardi I focus on all of the brands in the Bacardi portfolio, Bombay Sapphire is one of them. It’s the jewel in our crown. My role is an easier role than you think. All of the brands are game changers. They all came from a person that had a passion. They completely changed the standard in a way that people appreciate those spirits.
XO: What are your duties as the Ambassador for tonight?
CA: I am hosting, introducing all the contestants to the judges, making sure there an energy and flow and maintained throughout the night. If I feel like it is ebbing. I will jump on the mic, just to elevate the energy but at the moment I think it is absolutely perfect, I have never seen so many beautiful people at a Bombay Sapphire “Most Imaginative Bartender” competition. It is the best by far and it’s the 9th year and I think this may be one of the best I have ever seen.
XO: It has been dope!
CA: Yes, the bartenders love it and it is in the DNA of Bombay Sapphire to engage with the bartending community. And we have taken on board a lot of the bartender’s feedback over the years and it’s getting better and better.
XO: I know you mentioned that earlier, what do you mean by their feedback?
CA: How the judging process is done, the rules, how many ingredients can be used, the finer the points.
XO: Since you were a bartender before this life of luxury, what is your favorite drink to make?
CA: My favorite drink to make is a cocktail that is always in front of me. I mean…
XO: Seriously! What are you good at? What is the drink that nobody can master but you? Because, you have to be able to beat these guys, right?
CA: No. I can definitely beat these guys. I can give them a run for their money! I’m competitive like that! But no one can make a Cosmo like me! I’m just saying! Or a Martini! That’s my jam!
XO: Well thank you so much Colin!
CA: Thank you so much, you were a pleasure! Thanks for your time.
After tasting all of the finalist’s cocktails, I really had a tough time picking my favorite. At least three of them were neck in neck. At the end of the day my first choice was Dimitrios Zahariadis of (Shamrock/Vasi’s/Spartan/Highland Brass Co.) from CT. The crowd agreed with me, as he was named the Crowd Favorite winner. DIM, has a beautiful soul, is very passionate about cocktails and very humble. I got a chance to speak to him before the announcements, here is our interview:
XO: How long have you been bartending?
DZ: Twenty years. I was Bar Manager for TAO for 3 years. I moved back to CT and now I am opening two bars up there.
XO: How did you get involved with Bombay Sapphire’s Most Imaginative Bartender Competition?
DZ: This is my 8th year doing Bombay Sapphire!
XO: How many times have you won?
DZ: NEVER!
XO: Are you serious?
DZ: That is why I want this $hit so bad!
XO: What’s the name of the drink you are making tonight?
DZ: The Queen’s Garden.
XO: It is delicious, I can attest! Please tell us the ingredients in your cocktail.
DZ: It’s Bombay Sapphire, Crème de Violette, lemon juice…
XO: Wait… wait… wait for our people who don’t know what it is…
DZ: It’s a Violet liquor from Austria. It has a really beautiful purple color; very floral that brings out the next ingredient. The lavender syrup has a little bit of bay leaf and Greek Mountain tea! I got to have my Greek notes in there and some lemon juice.
XO: What is your inspiration for this drink?
DZ: I entered a variation of this, about 4 years ago and it came in a runner up. I don’t bury a drink until it wins. So this drink deserved another chance. So I brought it back, tweaked it out and adjusted my presentation which gave it more aromas and more visual; you taste with all of your senses. You taste with your sight; you taste with your nose, your mouth, with everything.
XO: You have been bartending for 20 years and have entered with Bombay Sapphire for 8 years, what makes it different from last year and or the previous years?
DZ: I wasn’t selected last year. We used to have our own competition in Hartford, CT. So we would do it there every year. Then and they started to combine markets. Last year, I entered I didn’t really put out a good drink. I was going to Greece to see my mom, because she was sick… so I was like eeeh whatever, but then I should have put my all into it. I was the only one selected from CT against five of some the best bartenders in NYC. So I am very proud and honored to be amongst this group of people. And, people like yourselves that enjoy a great cocktail. If you guys didn’t come out to us we wouldn’t have a job, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do.
XO: What made you decide to become a mixologist or a bartender? What do you like to be called?
DZ: You can call me whatever you like! It doesn’t matter! I like bartender, I am a bartender that loves his craft. I want to elevate it, being hospitable, putting out a good drink. You know sticking to some recipes, with classics and putting on a good cocktail. I got into here, actually here in New York City. Then when I moved back home, I got more into and started the United States Bartender’s Guild, the CT Chapter. I am the firm President. So it’s my baby up there. I am trying to put CT on the map!
XO: What bar are you repping tonight?
DZ: My new bar Highland Brass Company!
XO: Where is that located?
DZ: In Waterbury, CT. It is the former brass capital of the world. So the name of our bar is a little nod to Waterbury. A lot of our history in our bar, like bringing in artifacts from the industry there. And then in three months, I am actually opening another bar in New Haven, CT with a New York native Karl Franz Williams, who owns 67 Orange Street in Harlem. Who is actually here somewhere… we are opening up a dope spot, called the Anchor Bar which dates back to pre-prohibition in New Haven.
XO: When does that open?
DZ: Hopefully in November and my bar, next week.
XO: Cool, any last thoughts? Are you nervous?
DZ: Yes I was… but when you have a couple of drinks, it soothes the nerves and the experience takes over.
XO: I voted for you because I loved your drink. Thank you so much!
DZ: Thank you, thank you so much.
After much socializing, partaking in the amazing cocktails and the delicious food by Lavo Restaurant, it was finally the Judge’s turn to vote on the finalist’s imaginative creations. After much deliberation, Greg Buda emerged victorious and won the spot to carry on in September in Las Vegas to represent NYC! I got a chance to speak to Greg Buda after his win:
XO: Congratulations on your win! You seem very calm. What was going on in your head when they announced you as the winning finalist going to Vegas?
GB: I am generally a calm person. I wasn’t expecting to win to be honest with you, I tasted all of the competitor’s drinks and I liked them very much. It was very much up in the air who was going to win. I am very pleased that I did. I thought I had an awesome drink. This is a city full of amazing bartenders so I’m happy to be just one of them.
XO: Is this your first time competing in Bombay Sapphire’s Most Imaginative Bartender competition?
GB: In this competition? Yes.
XO: What other competitions have you been in?
GB: A lot, I was recently in the national finals for the Viva Sangrita down in New Orleans, I have also done Louis Royer here in the city.
XO: What can we expect from you in Vegas? Will you create a brand new drink or the same drink?
GB: I think that depends on the rules for the competition. I am not sure what the requirements are for Vegas. So I will have to look into that, whether it needs to be the same drink or something that is different.
XO: So you haven’t been secretly writing notes, pre-planning, new concoctions?
GB: Not yet, but I am always planning new concoctions, I try to tailor those concoctions to what I am doing, so now that I know that this is a real thing, of course, I will put some thought into how I will either improve this drink or come up with a new one.
XO: How long have you been bartending?
GB: About 9 years now.
XO: What was your first bartending job?
GB: My first bartending job was back when I just turned 21, in Auburn, AL in a pizza place they wanted to build a liquor bar. The liquor list I put together for that bar was embarrassing (laughs) because I knew absolutely nothing about spirits. My first real foray into bartending was running a bar in Ithaca, NY, called Stella’s where I got build a cocktail program and a whiskey tasting and really learned the ins and outs of the spirits industry.
XO: What brought you from your hometown of Auburn, AL to NY?
GB: When I was done with graduate school at Cornell, I decided I wasn’t ready to give up on bartending yet. So I was going to go big! The only city to go big in was New York!
XO: What was your major at Cornell?
GB: I did my PhD in Molecular Plant Biology.
XO: WOW! So you should be able to come up with something really crazy, Mad Scientist type of concoction?! Some kind of hybrid of a plant or something!
GB: I have always been interested in the chemistry of plants and how we use that chemistry to guide our food and drink creations. So it’s a nice tie in, bartending is a really cool way to take that knowledge and turn it into something.
XO: Tell me about the drink that is advancing you to Vegas.
GB: The background of this drink is a riff off an old classic called Army and Navy cocktail from 1948. An Army and Navy is a Gin Sour with almond as the sweetener and since Bombay Sapphire has both lemon and almond as two of their botanicals it is a very appropriate gin to use for this cocktail. So for this competition I wanted to do a reinvention of that cocktail. I wanted to take that flavor pairing but present it in a different form. So, I wanted to something more along the lines of a stirred champagne cocktail.
XO: Thank you so much for your time and congratulations on the win and good luck in Vegas.
GB: Thank You!
The Winning Cocktail:
The Laughing Admiral
1.5 oz. Bombay Sapphire Gin
2 dashes mace tincture
0.25 oz. almond biz (2 orgeat: 1 noyau du poissy)
0.25 oz. nardini acqua di cedro
0.5 oz. cardamaro
Top with 2.5 oz. of Christian Drouin Hard Cider
Stir and strain.
Glassware: Flute
Garnish: Lemon oils
It was a great way to end a Tuesday night and we look forward to the USBG Most Imaginative Bartender Finals in Las Vegas, to be held on September 2, 2015. Congratulations to the winner Greg Buda and the crowd favorite Dimitrios Zahariadis! For More information about the North American Most Imaginative Bartender competition, please visit www.mostimaginativebartender.com.
Photos: Bombay Sapphire Gin and XOJohn