We have a winner, Louisville.
After spirited competition Friday afternoon on the second day of Bourbon & Beyond, a “seemingly complex” yet “approachable” bourbon cocktail creation earned the honor of being known as “The Louisville.”
SC Baker, a bartender at Expo, took top honors at The Louisville Cocktail Competition, using Knob Creek bourbon in a five-ingredient cocktail that also features cinnamon syrup and an Italian bitter aperitif.
“I has such a fun time thinking about the cocktail itself and what Louisville really means to me,” said Baker, who’s lived in Louisville for about 15 years.
She said she was inspired by Louisville native and 19th century baseball star Pete Browning, said to be the inspiration behind the Louisville Slugger name.
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The winning heavy hitter evoked the bold profile of Knob Creek bourbon, and the combination of a classic bourbon pairing (orange) with more modern modifiers.
“It’s a really approachable cocktail, despite being seemingly complex,” she said. “I want people to have fun. I want people to experience bourbon in a new way that doesn’t have to be as austere as some people present it. It can be really fun and accessible.”
Finalists also included: Heaven Blakely of The Whirling Tiger using Monk’s Road; Isaac Fox of La Chasse using Pinhook; Brianna Hlava (former beverage director at Butchertown Social) using Wild Turkey and Gary Bajdek Jr. of Bourbon Street Café using Woodford Reserve.
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, who during his three terms in office pushed to develop Louisville as a bourbon tourism hub and all things “bourbonism,” announced the competition in July as a quest to find the perfect cocktail to embody Louisville.
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He spoke Friday of how he wanted the city to have a signature drink that becomes globally known, in the vein of a Manhattan or Moscow Mule.
The five finalists had 10 minutes to prepare their cocktails Friday from the Team Kentucky Bourbon Stage at Bourbon & Beyond as the panel of judges looked on.
Those judges included: Fischer; best-selling author and renowned bourbon expert Fred Minnick; founder of Black Bourbon Society Samara B. Davis, chef and Food Network “Chopped” judge Chris Santos; Master Taster and founder of Bourbon Women, Peggy Noe Stevens.
The field was narrowed from 16 to five in late August. Fan voting played a role in the scoring (25%), though evaluation by a professional judging panel on originality, presentation and story accounted for 75% of the competitors’ scores.
Here’s a breakdown of the ingredients in each of the five finalists recipes:
- Hlava’s Wild Turkey cocktail is a riff on a whiskey smash inspired by the Julep and Benedictine dip. It incorporates Persian cucumber slices, mint leaves, lemon, simple syrup and yellow chartreuse
- Bajdek’s cocktail combined Woodford Reserve with fresh orange juice, orange and Angostura bitters and the raspberry liqueur Chambord – a nod to the city’s French heritage
- Fox’s Pinhook cocktail incorporates lemon, mint, Citra Ass Down IPA from Against the Grain, peach and elderflower liqueurs and Bittermens “Hellfire Habanero Shrub” bitters
- Blakely’s cocktail fuses Monk’s Road bourbon with gin, honey syrup, sweet vermouth, Angostura bitters and blackberry puree
- Baker’s entry combines Knob Creek bourbon with dry curacao, lime juice, cinnamon syrup, the Italian bitter aperitif Cynar
Minnick said Baker’s cocktail was a clear first or second favorite among the judges, noting the recipe included Cynar, an artichoke liqueur (Baker assured future imbibers The Louisville cocktail doesn’t taste like the vegetable.)
“Originality is so important,” Minnick told The Courier Journal. “I felt personally this one had a lot of originality, a lot of flavors we really haven’t seen in bourbon-based cocktails in a while.”
See moreCheck out photos from Day 2 of Bourbon & Beyond in Louisville
Along with securing a small piece of Louisville history, Baker won a $15,000 cash prize. Runner-ups received a swag bag valued at $1,000.
Before her win, Baker explained from the stage how the bartending and service industry has become “a family” to her since moving here about 15 years ago.
“To be able to represent the city that I love so much and our community would be so rewarding, so fulfilling,” she said. “It means something to have an iconic moment where you’re giving back something because the city has given so much to you.”
Reach business reporter Matthew Glowicki at mglowicki@courier-journal.com.
The Louisville
- 1.5 parts Knob Creek bourbon
- .5 part Cynar
- .75 pars Dry Curcao
- .75 parts lime juice
- .25 part cinnamon syrup
Shake with ice, strain over fresh ice in a double rock glass. Express and garnish with an orange peel.
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