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Winner & Finalists
 
Winner: Ginspiration Point by Alcazar
 
Status Winner & Finalists
1st Place
   
 
   
 
   
Business Name:  Alcazar Tapas Bar
Cocktail Name:  Ginspiration Point
   
1.5 oz Cutler'a Gin (Santa Barbara Distiller)
.25 oz Benedictine
.75 oz Lime juice (SB farmer's market limes)
.5 oz Chartreuse
.5 oz Nostrom pineapple turmeric ginger shrub (Santa Barbara based company)
1 egg white (SB farmer's market)


Garnish:
B.D. Farms rosemary flowers
B.D. Farms mint
Lime zest
 
Recipe Instructions:  1 - Combine Cutler'a Gin, Benedictine, lime juice, Chartreuse, Nostrom pineapple turmeric ginger shrub in shaker tin with ice.

2 - Dry shake 1 egg white in separate shaker tin.

3 - Add ingredients from step "1" to egg white tin and shake until frothy.

4 - Strain into a coupe or Nick & Nora glass.

5 - Garnish with rosemary flowers, lime zest, and mint leaves.
Drink Description:  "Ginsperation Point" is an homage to one of the most famous — and famously beautiful -- hiking trails in Santa Barbara. This incredibly well-balanced cocktail reflects botanical notes you're likely to find after a post-rain hike, especially fitting as we have been fortunate enough to enjoy rain as of late. Cutler's citrus-forward gin and local lime helps round out the botanical notes of the Chartreuse, which uses about 130 botanicals in its distillation process. The hint of Benedictine is a delightful addition as it is also weighted with several delicate botanical notes. Nostrom's shrub gives the cocktail a lovely pop with its acidity and spice from the ginger while the egg white offers a soft finale and mouthfeel to this cocktail we are proud to present.
Tasting Notes:  This exceptionally refreshing drink, due to its citrus-forward nature, also offers a complex variety of botanical notes. The hints of spice from the ginger and acid in the locally-produced Nostrum shrub are in elegant concert with the over 130 plants and botanicals used to produce Chartreuse, Benedictine, and locally-distilled Cutler's Gin. This robust mix is softened both in mouthfeel and flavor with the introduction of a creamy egg white.
The Backstory:  This cocktail was first inspired by a conversation about Santa Barbara whilst traveling abroad.
I met an incredibly experienced and impressively knowledgeable barkeep in a small bar in Norway during my travels last summer. We got on to talking about our favorite spirits and styles of cocktails and both agreed that “Amari,” a group of spirits made from herbs and botanicals, make remarkable cocktails. As we got deeper into our discussion about Santa Barbara's climate, local foods, and abundance of available agriculture, he crafted a few cocktails that he felt represented the theme of our culinary-inspired banter. My favorite drink that he made was similar to what you'll find in Alcazar's submission. The contender was engineered with as many local ingredients and producers as we could conjure to fit the true spirit, so to speak, of our local flavor and what we feel beautifully reflects our breathtaking town and litany of artisanal goods available in our community.
How does your drink embody the spirit of SB?:  Santa Barbara is a cornucopia of flavors, activities, backdrops, climates, and cultures. Nestled in between the sea and the mountains, our gorgeous community is one of the most desirable places to live in the world. There are only a few places globally that can boast the accolades of what we call "home."

Like Santa Barbara's rich paradigm, the Ginspiration Point echoes a lush variety of flavors, textures, and tones. This beautiful cocktail is complex, unique, and robust but also easy going and effortlessly elegant. Thus, the feeling and flavors you get with our cocktail are analogous the community's zest for life and affection for the beauty and variety we experience with our climate, culture, and outdoor life.

We hope you enjoy our entry as much as we enjoy our community!

2nd Place
   
 
   
 
   
Business Name:  Rodney's Grill, The Fess Parker
Cocktail Name:  The Passion of the Pacific
   
1 1/2 oz Cutler's 33 Bourbon
3/4 oz triple sec
3/4 oz fresh passion fruit (with seeds)
1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
1/2 oz honey
2 dashes house-made orange bitters

For garnish:
pinch of brown sugar
1/4 oz 100 proof spirit
long lemon twist (optional)

(passion fruit, lemons, and honey all locally sourced and found at Santa Barbara's farmers' market)
 
Recipe Instructions:  Muddle passion fruit/seeds with honey and lemon.
Add additional ingredients, shake vigorously.
Pour into chilled rocks glass.
Garnish- Long lemon twist (optional), with a half (empty) passion fruit filled with brown sugar and 100 proof spirit; set aflame.
Serve with large straw so passion fruit seeds may be enjoyed as part of the cocktail.
Drink Description:  The Passion of the Pacific

Cutler's 33 Bourbon, triple sec, muddled Santa Barbara passion fruit and fresh-pressed lemon, locally harvested honey, house-made orange bitters, served on the rocks with a burning passion.
Tasting Notes:  No doubt about it, this cocktail could stand on its on two feet. But passion fruit (and bourbon) notoriously pair well with flavors such as almond, coconut, and even milk chocolate, so you might drink this alongside a tasty dessert. Otherwise, i think fun, fruity, and boozy when i think of this cocktail. Serve it at your backyard summer BBQ with some appetizing grilled pineapples and peaches, or as a dazzling refresher at your next twilight beach bash!
The Backstory:  I wanted to create a cocktail that really embodied that way Santa Barbara makes people feel. Whether it's the art, the architecture, and food and drinks, the ocean, or a unique combination of all of the above, this city really keeps people coming back for more. When i found passion fruit at the farmers' market and paired it with Cutlers's 33 Bourbon, i knew had found my winner. The bourbon really delivers the burn that you are looking for in a craft cocktail, and the passion fruit brings a especially bright and exciting taste to the palate.
What better word to describe our city than "passion?"
How does your drink embody the spirit of SB?:  When Spanish missionaries were bringing Christianity to South America, they used the flower of the passion fruit to explain the Passion, or Crucifixion, to those they had come to convert.

Passion fruit's flavor is said to be indescribable and possibly addictive; once you've tasted it you may crave it forever. I am among many Santa Barbara residents I have spoken to who feel the same way about this beautiful and unique city on the coastline of the Pacific.

2nd Place
   
 
   
 
Business Name:  Boathouse
Cocktail Name:  La Reina
   
Cutler's Gin (Santa Barbara)
Dios Baco Buleria Fino Manzanilla Sherry
Local Citrus & Pink Peppercorn Cordial w/ Local Tangerine (Farmer and Cook Farms Ojai, CA) and Local Limes (Santa Cecilia Farms, Carpinteria, CA)
Fresh Local Lime Juice (Santa Cecilia Farms, Carpinteria)
Garnish: Mint (Robert “BD” Dautch, Earthtrine Farms, Ojai/Carpinteria, CA), Luxardo Cherries, Local Tangerine Wheel
 
Recipe Instructions:  In a tall collins glass add 1/2oz Fresh Lime Juice, 1oz Citrus Cordial, 1/2oz Manzanilla Sherry, and 1&1/2oz Cutler’s Gin. Fill glass with crushed ice and stir for 10-15 seconds until chilled and slightly diluted. Top with more crushed ice and garnish with a mint bouquet, cherry, and citrus wheel.

Citrus & Pink Peppercorn Cordial

Our recipe uses local tangerines and lime as the citrus, further complimenting both the sherry and Cutler’s western style gin. But, feel free to use whatever seasonal citrus you have available, the fresher the better.

6-8 medium tangerines
5-7 limes
turbinado sugar (unrefined/raw)
pink peppercorns

Zest citrus being mindful not to include too much of the white pith of the peel. Reserve peels. Juice citrus and reserve in a small saucepan adding an equivalent amount of sugar depending upon your juice yield*. Heat mixture on low heat and continue to stir just until the sugar has dissolved. Take off heat add peppercorns and let cool to room temperature. Once cooled, express peels into the mixture and roughly chop and stir into the mixture. Place cordial into an airtight container and refrigerate for 24 hours or overnight at minimum. Once the mixture has steeped, strain mixture through a fine chinois and keep refrigerated for up to 10 days.

*For this recipe’s sake we’ve reserved 1&1/2 total cups of citrus juice so we will add 1&1/2 cup turbinado sugar

Drink Description:  La Reina

Cutler's Local Gin, Spanish Sherry, Tangerine Cordial, Lime, Pink Peppercorn
Tasting Notes:  -Tasting notes-
The foundation of this cocktail is Cutler’s Gin. Because his gin was crafted in a more Western, citrus-forward style, we wanted to accentuate those notes with local citrus and compliment them with the warm zest of pink peppercorn. To add another layer to the cocktail and balance the overall profile of the drink we added Spanish Manzanilla Sherry. This particular style of Sherry is made in Sanlucar de Barrameda, Spain (a small coastal town wildly similar to Santa Barbara), where it is argued that the ocean breeze adds a layer of salinity to the wine, making it dry with zesty citrus and coastal aromas of salt and sea spray.

-Nose-
citrus peel, salt, ocean mist, lime, peppercorn, almond

-Palate-
First the citrus and spice of the gin leads into the body of the tangerine cordial and it slight sweetness then the lime brightens and is followed by the woodsy, nutty, and salty aroma and finish of the sherry. A light bodied drink bright with citrus and pepper, but grounded with the sweetness of the tangerine and balanced with the dry and salty yeast of the wine.

-Finish-
The sherry finishes delicately with the lime, leaving a bright zest of citrus with a tease of salt, oak, and yeast.

-Body-
Light, citrusy, slightly effervescent



-Pairing-
This drink was also designed with Santa Barbaras culinary environment in mind. Along with a great bounty of produce, our seafood and shellfish could not be more fresh. Thus, this cocktail works great as an aperitif before seafood especially raw shellfish and white fish. Also wonderfully accompanied with scallops, oysters, spot prawns, crusted fillets (e.i., Fillet Almondine, Macadamia Crusted Halibut).


The Backstory:  -The BackStory-
Before rummaging through the farmers market and even before touching a bottle of booze and tins, I sat down and thought about what really defines Santa Barbara? After days of attempting to define this city with ungrounded and impulsive ideas (well, Santa Barbara does have great sea urchin, let’s put it into a cocktail! Bourbon and Uni, a match made for any Santa Barbarian!!), I ended up finding myself at the Mission later that week, possibly seeking forgiveness for my over indulgence in my sea urchin/whiskey cocktail. Nonetheless, the bright white and gleaming Mission stared at me and the answer was right in front of my face. The Mission! What is more quintessential to the identity of Santa Barbara than this beautiful structure. Not only does its design influence the architecture of the city but its cultural history has impressed an enormous influence on our identity here. So we set out to craft a cocktail that embodied Mission Santa Barbara.

How does your drink embody the spirit of SB?:  Mission Santa Barbara has been the identifying symbol of the city since its founding in 1786. There isn’t a landmark more significant to the city’s history than this structure and since its founding it has been recognized as the “Queen of the Missions”. Along with the building itself, the Spanish culture from which it was derived has saturated the city of Santa Barbara. When looking at our history and the identity of this city we can’t help but see, hear, and feel the Spanish influence, from the architectural design, historic landmarks, and even fiestas celebrating the culture, our Spanish roots run deep. So, to create a drink that embodies Santa Barbara, it is imperative to create one that embodies our culture and history.

So, to create this drink it all came down to combining our cultural identity, locally grown produce, and locally crafted spirits, into something that would resonate with our Spanish roots. One cocktail that jumped into my head while making this drink was the American-made Sherry Cobbler, a drink that was created due to lowered import tariffs on Spanish sherry and the limited production of local wine. Thus, sherry found its transformation into three ounces with a dash of sugar, poured over crushed ice, and garnished with seasonal berries. It became one of the most significant ‘cocktails’ of the 19th century. What developed with our drink was a cocktail with a cobbler application and aesthetic, but spirit driven, and in this case, by Cutler’s gin.

Beginning with Cutler’s Gin, a wonderful western-style gin full of local tangerine, orange, lemon, jasmine, peppercorn, and juniper, as a foundation, I thought a great compliment would be tangerine and lime. Both citruses grow locally and were some of the first staples being grown near the Mission in its early life. So, we made a cordial with these citruses and added the sweet spice of pink peppercorn to add some depth and to compliment the gin. Next, the correct sherry would be a critical addition, and we decided upon Manzanilla Fino for a few reasons: first, Manzanilla sherry is produced in a small coastal Spanish town strangely similar to Santa Barbara. Second, because it has a great saline profile reminiscent of a salty ocean breeze adding to both the drinks flavor and as a nod to our coastal environment. Lastly, the flor or yeast of sherry gives a very nice woody flavor and aroma, which oddly reminds me of the wooden structures and age of the Mission.

All together, a crisp and refreshing perspective of Santa Barbara’s historical identity is presented in a glass. Here, Cutler’s gin is embraced by its local produce while all the while being gracefully supported by sherry, representing our Spanish heritage. Here, the “Reina del Misiones” (Queen of the Missions) is embodied and imbibed, reminding Santa Barbara of its beauty, bounty, and culture. And so, the “La Reina” cocktail was created.

2nd Place
   
 
Business Name:  Loquita
Cocktail Name:  Montecito
   
1.5 oz Cutler's Gin
1.5 oz Priorat Natur Vermouth
.25 oz St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur
Absinthe mist
Lemon Twist
 
Recipe Instructions:  Combine gin, Vermouth and St. Germain. Stir with ice for 30 seconds. Strain into a chilled martini glass. Spray two spritz's of Absinthe mist on top. Finish with a lemon twist.
Drink Description:  A hand-crafted gin martini using local sourced ingredients specific to Santa Barbara.
Tasting Notes:  Montecito - Cutler's Gin | Priorat | Vermouth | Absinthe | Elderflower
The Backstory:  Best as an aperitief to open the palate before a meal. A cocktail to begin your night on the town or to finish the evening on a high note.
How does your drink embody the spirit of SB?:  The Montecito is a hand-crafted cocktail that fully embodies our coastal town. Locally distilled Cutler's artisan gin is light and juniper forward while still holding onto background notes of local citrus and botanicals. We celebrate Santa Barbara's heritage by stirring in Spanish rosé vermouth from Priorat, which adds an herbacious depth to the drink. A dash of St. Germain is added for sweetness. We used St. Germain as the creator lived and died in Santa Barbara. A mist of Absinthe is washed over the glass after the cocktail is strained in, to mimic the fresh green smell of fennel that you sense while hiking in the Montecito foothills. Finally, a lemon twist is expressed over the top to draw out the local citrus flavors of Cutler's gin.

2nd Place
   
 
   
 
Business Name:  Olio e Limone Santa Barbara
Cocktail Name:  TRUE NORTH, The Quintessential Santa Barbara Cocktail
   
Ingredients List:
Cutler’s gin
“Bragg” Organic apple cider vinegar (Santa Barbara product since 1912)
Organic probiotic lime preserve from Fermentata (Santa Barbara product since 2012)
Olio e Limone organic extra-virgin olive oil
Fresh mint & blackberries from Lane farms (Goleta farm since 1868)
St. Germain elderflower liqueur (founder attended UCSB)
Local lime juice
 
Recipe Instructions:  Instructions/Method:
Shrub: Add Bragg apple cider vinegar, organic lime preserve & Olio extra-virgin olive oil into a chamber vacuum bag. Chamber vacuum and sous-vide at 140 degrees for three hours.

Mint & blackberry simple syrup: Add equal parts of sugar and water in a sauté pan and heat over medium heat. Add blackberries when mixture becomes hot. When the mixture begins to simmer, remove from heat and let rest for 10 minutes. Then, use a fork to break up blackberries. Strain through a fine mesh strainer to complete the process.

3oz. gin
1/2oz. lime shrub
1/2oz. St. Germain
1/4oz. mint/blackberry simple syrup
1/4oz. fresh lime juice

Method: Add all ingredients into a shaker full of ice. Shake and double strain into a coupe glass.
Drink Description:  Description:
The “True North” cocktail is a cocktail with a very clean, fresh and tangy taste. It will pair nicely with raw fish like we serve at Olio Crudo Bar, or even cooked food. The True North also works well as a starting drink as the fresh tanginess of the drink will stimulate the palate and appetite.
Tasting Notes:  Tasting Notes:
The nose on the cocktail is fresh mint with apple cider. The botanicals, lime preserve, fresh mint and blackberries are very present. Wonderful balanced finish with elderflower with a tangy after taste making you crave for more.
The Backstory:  Backstory:
TRUE NORTH - Named after Captain Salisbury Haley, who surveyed the streets of Santa Barbara and is responsible for some of our city’s streets’ quirkiness and lack of a true north-south-east-west grid. Also, Olio’s owner and my wife both attended UCSB so I also wanted to incorporate St. Germain elderflower liqueur as the late owner of St. Germain attended UCSB. I have been going to Lane farms my entire life being a born and raised SB local, so it was easy to reach out to them for some items from Lane Farms. I have been studying cocktails and how to make a “great” drink for over 12 years. Not only have I been able to create an amazing cocktail, the drink is Santa Barbara born and raised just like myself. This cocktail embodies many great ingredients from our amazing town and it has been created by a local.
How does your drink embody the spirit of SB?:  .

 
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