MB Cocktail Contest: Michael Oakley vs. Isaac Blesener

February 20, 2010

Michael Oakley

Ingredients:
2 oz tanquery 10 gin
1/2 oz campari
1/2 oz st. Germain
1/4 oz luxardo maraschino liquor
1/8 oz orgeat
2 dashes Fee's barrel aged whiskey bitters

Instructions:
Stir with twice the amount of ice you usually use and garnish with an almond flake

Isaac Blesener

3 shots rye whiskey*
1/4 shot simple syrup
Angostura bitters
1/4 shot Cognac**
twist of lemon

*Sazerac is my preferred rye for cocktails, but Jim Beam rye works well and is highly underrated.
**Choose a brand you can enjoy on its own. I prefer "fine Champagne" Cognacs (e.g. Hine VSOP, Hardy VSOP, Remy Martin VSOP), but Hennessy VS also works; don't use Courvoisier VS.

Instructions:
Stir together simple syrup with 3 drops of Angostura in the bottom of a highball glass. Add the rye whiskey and fill the glass with ice. Stir for about 30 seconds and then strain into a lowball glass that has been rinsed with Cognac and filled about halfway with ice. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Winner: Michael Oakley
Score: 3-2
Game Summary: Oakley's drink was a touch bitter, though there was not enough new in Blesener's cocktail to warrant advancement to the 2nd round.

See the full tournament field