The inaugural season of Cocktail Kitchen has come to a triumphant close. The past seven months have seen The Refinery host the longest-running Cocktail and bartending competition this city has ever seen, with twenty two local barkeeps, pitted up against six different spirit & cuisine pairings.
From the perspective of this older Bartender, the most inspiring aspect of this series was the great diversity of bartenders that it attracted. Established cocktail veterans like David Wolowidnyk (West), Danielle Tatarin (The Keefer Bar) and Shawn Soole (Clive’s Classic Lounge) took the stage and showed how it was done, while newcomers like Marlo Panucci (Market by Jean-Georges, The Refinery, L’Abattoir), Rob Scope (Refuel) and Derek Vanderheide (Calabash Bistro) got a chance to show they have the stuff too.
Cocktail competitions are known for being sponsor-heavy and employing purely “celebrity” bartending and judging personalities to maximize media exposure and supposedly offer the best creations. They often miss out on younger generation of inspired bartenders that haven’t been given chance to show what they can do. The beauty of Cocktail Kitchen is that it had it all: great sponsorship from strong brands that took a back-seat to the skill, fun and intention of the competition itself, along with a balanced mix of big-name experienced competitors as well as enthusiastic rookies. To top it all off, judging was performed by Refinery guests – embracing valued bar patrons as the most qualified of panels. This is how a bartending competition should be.
The first six months of Cocktail Kitchen tallied scores from weekly events. The highest scoring bartender of each month advancing to the next, for an opportunity to try to score even higher. After December’s final week, the season of ballots were compared and the four highest-scoring competitors were announced:
Graham Racich | The Refinery (recently of Fraiche)
David Bain | West
Jay Jones | Shangri-La hotel
Justin Tisdall | Chambar
The four finalists advanced to January’s Finals to face each other and one last adversary: Russian Standard vodka and Russian cuisine. This spirit and cuisine pairing was arguably the most difficult challenging, considering that Russian cuisine is generally more well know for it’s abundance of starch than flavour. Vodka is defined by it’s lack of aroma, colour or flavour – the duo providing an incredibly discreet platform of personality.
Fortunately, the talents of Chef Ben de Champlain and his team of food-lovers were up to task once more and their Ukraine-influenced menu was a trio of savoury comfort:
The Food
First Course
Pierogi with farmers cheese, fried onion and bacon. Handmade by the entire Refinery staff, this dish delivered on expected simple satisfaction with rich and buttery texture – made complete by the dynamic duo of onion and bacon. The soothing yet unassertive flavours of the pierogi themselves created a pairing challenge, though the salt, fat and crunch of bacon offered plenty of easy opportunity.
Second Course
Golden & Red Beet Borscht with pork, sour cream and dill creme fraiche. Complexity of flavours in this course provided sweet, sour, meaty and herbal personalities to toy with Cocktail creativity – a playfully textural dish that inspired a range of pairing philosophies. The two-tone soup even offered a aesthetic challenge, if the bartender was interested.
Third Course
Cabbage Rolls stuffed with ground pork & beef, apple cider, tomato sauce and onions – oversized bundles of rich meat, bundled in soft yet substantial leaf then finished with savoury, fresh and tangy sauce. This dish demanded a hearty companion, while cider provoked with a sharp-edged finish.
Top Cocktail Pairings
Justin Tisdall | Chambar
Justin Tisdall’s “The Empire’s Medicine”
To pair with Pierogi, JT infused Russian Standard vodka with a complex blend of herbs (basil, mint, sage, tarragon & thyme), then added home made Limoncello bitters (lemon, lemon tincture, dandelion & Lillet Blanc) as well as Chartreuse Vegetal Elixir, then a topping of sparkling wine, a garnish of toasted sage leaves and fine Russian caviar. Justin has become a competition specialist over the last few years – his creation standing to represent true expertise. This cocktail simply elevated the dish to a higher level, with vivid lemon & herbs lifting the personality and cutting through the rich sour cream and heavy pierogi.
Jay Jones’ “The Kurgan”
Surprised to find myself in the finals (having “retired” from competitions), I stuck to my guns and attacked the challenging Borscht with classic cocktail philosophy and design. My all-booze creation made an unashamed nod at the Sazerac, pinpointing like-ingredients of the dish while allowing the Vodka’s fire to stand through. Russian Standard vodka weaved well with the spice of Refinery House Bitters while soothed with vivid, magenta-tinged beet sugar syrup, brushed with a breath of Absente 55 and kissed by fresh lemon oil.
David Bain’s “Trans-Siberian Express”
David’s endearing character transcends directly into his cocktails. A local industry veteran, he now has his focus keenly set on crafting sublime drinking experiences. To take on the cabbage rolls, David infused Russian Standard with creepy-looking yet delicious Buddha’s Hand lemons. Exotic personality was furthered with Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur, hand-made “Paris to Singapore” syrup, a splash of lemon and a dash of Refinery House bitters then finished with caramelized kumquat. An intensely aromatic experience of elegant herb and citrus.
Graham Racich’s 1st course Cocktail
Graham is a new face to the Vancouver Bar scene, though he has quietly been weaving cocktail magic at Fraiche in West Vancouver. His skills and hard work caught the attention of The Refinery, where he now begins tenure behind the wood. Graham also found best success in Pierogi pairing, albeit with an entirely different approach. His cocktail embraced a “beer and pierogi” philosophy with a vodka-fortified Guinness stout reduction, charged with dashes of The Refinery’s own chocolate vermouth bitters and a tiny bit of cream to build texture and round out flavours. The result was a dark, frothy drink with expected bitter notes that truly shined, especially in combination with a little bacon. Beer and bacon – write that down.
The Result
Although competition wrapped up by the end of January, The Refinery held on to final scores and kept us in painfully nervous anticipation. February 7th, 2011 saw The Refinery turn into Russian Standard House – taking over Sip Lounge as well to hold a two-story party in celebration of a remarkable year-one of Cocktail Kitchen. 
A few hours and several vodka drinks in, Cocktail Kitchen creator Lauren Mote and The Refinery owners proudly announced Justin Tisdall as the 2010-11 Cocktail Kitchen Champion.The incredible support and jubilant cheering of the Bartender and cocktail faithful horde was happy evidence of the popularity and success of the what this event embodied and achieved.
Cocktail culture should above all be fun; it should inspire creativity to fascinate and tantalize our senses. We bartenders do love our drink, though it is not ourselves for whom we create; it is for you the drinker. Cocktail Kitchen succeeds only because of the overwhelming support of Vancouver’s enthusiasm for well-made drinks and honest hospitality.
Cheers to Lauren Mote and The Refinery for creating this remarkable series of events. Cheers to you the cocktail drinker for making it such a fantastic success. The 2011-12 season promises to be even bigger and better – launching this March.
The Bar is open.
(Images by Rick Green & Paul Kamon)
