Cocktail Club | Cocktail Wars, Featuring Blanco Tequila!

This month, we did things a little differently. Since we are coming up on the end of our first year of HBN Cocktail Club, our hostess this month had the brilliant idea to do COCKTAIL WARS….you know, so that we could really prove to ourselves that we had learned a thing or two during our events. Let me just say – the proof is in the puddin’ (or in the cocktail, I should say). Everyone came up with some amazing, creative, delicious cocktails; I was super impressed!

June Cocktail Club Hostess: Jenn

Jenn and I met in graduate school – and turns out, we had more than that in common. 🙂 Jenn is one of the smartest women I know, and I like to hang out with her because I think it rubs off on me. She is a brilliant writer, with the wit and humor of a true comic. The whole Cocktail Wars idea is just proof that she likes to think outside the box and change things up. Rather than presenting a cocktail she had learned or come up with, she wanted to get the group involved and doing something fun and creative – which is pretty much how Jenn lives her life. Thanks for the amazing suggestion, Jenn – Cocktail Wars turned out to be pretty epic!

June Cocktail Wars Rules and Stuff

So, here was the deal.

First, everyone who attended the Cocktail Wars event had to come prepare with a SECRET INGREDIENT! That could be anything. Just to show you how serious these ladies are about their cocktailing, here is a list of some of the secret ingredients that were in tow:

Local honey
Fresh herbs (sage, thyme, mint, basil, and more!)
Watermelon chunks
Homemade blueberry syrup
jalapeño infused simple syrup
jalapeno and honey simple syrup
Pineapple, Mango
Ginger beers (a differing varieties)
Coconut Water
Hibiscus Syrup
A variety of homemade bitters (mostly from our bitter making event last month)
St. Germaine Liquor
Triple Sec
Roasted and fresh cherry tomatoes
Peach habanero jelly
Grenadine
(and the BEST secret ingredient, LOVE…haha)

Then, our hostess, Jenn, provided some of the basic staples for each cocktailing station. The spirit that everyone had to work with was blanco tequila. She also provided oranges, limes, lemons, salt, regular simple syrup, soda water, tonic, and a variety of all-natural juices.

Some of the secret ingredients were kept secret in the different groups, and some were put into the station pile for anyone to use. This really made the possibilities endless!

What made this fun, is that we judged each other. Each group judged the cocktails of the groups that they weren’t in. So, by the final two cocktails, nearly all of the members were voting. It was a great system!

Here are just a few recipes that were created – and I highly recommend you try some out this summer. Sometimes the BEST things are created on the FLY!

Hibiscus Stinger (round one WINNER!)
1 part tequila
1 part pineapple-coconut water
1 part cranberry huice
muddled mint
fresh lime juice (half a lime)
pinch of salt
1 tsp hibiscus syrup
rim with local honey and salt

The Roasted Rooster
2 parts tequila
1 part roasted tomato puree
1/2 oz lime juice
1/2 simple syrup
salted rim

The Neil Diamond
So good, so good, so good!
2 parts tequila
2 parts jalapeno & honey simple syrup
3 parts lemonade
splash triple sec
1/2 fresh squeezed lime
garnish with lime wedge

ROUND TWO!

St. Germain Sunrise
2 parts tequila
1 part St. Germain
splash grapefruit juice
3 mint leaves

The Mint Jillian
2 parts tquila
2 tsp peach habenero jelly
1 tsp grenedine
3 oz pellegrino
hand muddled kiwi
spash fresh lime juice
garnish with mint

Only Seconds Left
2 parts tequila
1 lime, juiced
mint sprigs, muddled
top with ginger beer
garnish with mint and lime wheel

Winner: Ginger Snap
2 parts tequila
1 part triple sec
1/2 fresh squeezed orange juice
2 pieces candied ginger (muddled)
2 mint leaves (muddled)
top off with ginger beer
garnish with orange wedge and candied ginger

ROUND THREE

Quittin’ Thyme
2 parts tequila
muddled mango and pineapple
simple syrup
triple sec
orange juice
thyme
shake in a cocktail shaker until creamy
garnish with sprig of thyme

Round three WINNER
Melon Meltdown
2 parts tequlia
1 part triple sec
splash hibicus syrup
splash gingerale
1 shot lemonade
fresh lime juice (a “squeeze”)
salted rim

FINAL TWO COCKTAILS

SECOND PLACE – FINAL, by Jenn Mitchell

JalaBerry
2 parts tequila
1 part triple sec
3 tsp blueberry syrup
1 tsp jalapeno simple syrup
top with ginger brew ginger ale

FIRST PLACE: COCKTAIL WARS WINNING COCKTAIL, by Megan Draper

The I Don’t Know
1 part tequila
1 part triple sec
1 tsp simple syrup
1 tsp jalapeno simple syrup (I think ti was more, this cocktail was SPICY!)
1 lemon wedge
handful fresh basil
handful of strawberries and pineapple (muddled)
salted rim

Congrats, Megan! Your cocktail was delicious, spicy, and memorable!

We are excited about our new members and also for our end of year party coming up!

Stay tuned for more cocktail fun and follow us with hashtag #HBNCocktailClub

CHEERS!