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Thursday, August 28, 2008
And Austin’s Official Drink is…
The task was simple enough: Create a drink that represents Austin and includes Tito’s vodka.
Five drink finalists prepared their custom beverages for five judges, including yours truly, who scored them based on taste, presentation, creativity and viability.
To get things started, bartenders from the Alamo Drafthouse at the Ritz, who admitted being underdogs, wowed the judges with their superhero costumes and watermelon ginger “Summer Blockbuster Cocktail,” even though it was short on the ginger and strong on the Tito’s.
The Driskill Bar tapped into the legend of the Driskill ghost to create “Tito’s TomaTini,” which was made from tomatillo juice, lime and green Tabasco sauce. I was the unfortunate judge who had to tell them that although the idea was great, it just didn’t cut the mustard to be Austin’s Official Drink.
Eighteenth Over Austin, the bar at the Hilton Garden Inn, created the “Austinpolitan,” a delicious if slightly overpowering cocktail that combined basil-infused vodka and kumquat juice. I really wanted this one to work, but it just didn’t have the right ingredient proportions.
Using softened Amy’s ice cream, orange juice and (gasp!) orange food coloring, bartenders from Marker 10 at the Hyatt created the “Orange 10-tini” that tasted like a sweet, boozy orange push pop.
It was up to Ranch 616 to close the competition with a bang, and that they did. One bartender, dressed to evoke a young Johnny Cash, mixed drinks and bantered with a woman in a jalapeño costume before they presented “Fire in the Hole,” a shot made with Paula’s Orange Liquor, lime juice, cayenne and chili powder that was served in a jalapeño and with a Lone Star chaser.
I had my doubts about the jalapeño shot, but the quality of the drink pushed it to the top of my list. The other judges — The County Line’s Skeeter Miller, L Style G Style editor Chantal Outon, Tipsy Texan David Alan and Brilliant editor Lance Avery Morgan — must have agreed.
After a few minutes of vote-tallying and jokes from emcee Bryan Beck of KGSR, Tito Beveridge himself announced that the jalapeño shot was the winner and the Austinpolitan came in second. Much cheering and belly bumping commenced, and the Ranch 616 folks, including chef Kevin Williamson, let attendees have the first taste of this year’s official drink.
You can sample “Fire in the Hole” yourself at Ranch 616, but you might wait until September 12, when the new patio is complete.
Update: Check out the Austin360.com photo gallery!
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