Drinks of the decade

With the “Best of…” and “Top 10…” lists flooding blogs and newspapers, breakdowns of the decade’s best drinks are holding their own against the more commonplace movie and book reviews. One comprehensive list comes from The New York Times and includes everything from specific drinks to bar trends. The list highlights Absinthe’s reemergence in the States and the impact of truly innovative mixology in recent years. Be sure to check our Twitter throughout the day and tomorrow as more articles like this will be posted, and feel free to share any that you might find in the comments section

Domaine De Canton Bartender Contest

Domaine de Canton held the semi-finals of their national cocktail competition last week at the Alchemy Room inside the Wirtz Beverage Nevada offices. The eight semi-finalists represent some of the best mixologists in Las Vegas with entrants from across the city including Bellagio, Wynn, Venetian, Emeril‟s, Noir Bar and Nora‟s Cuisine. The three celebrity judges included Xania Woodman, the nightlife editor for Las Vegas Weekly, Crystal Fa-nale, Director of Sales for Domaine de Canton, and Tobin Elis founder of Bar Magic. The winner of the competition received an all expense paid trip for two to St. Martin in the Virgin Islands to compete in the National Finals and a chance to win $10,000!
Over 60 spectators filled the Alchemy Room to cheer on their favorite mixologists and enjoy great food and specialty cocktails created by Patricia Richards, Master Mixologist for Wynn & Encore. Drew Levinson of Wirtz Beverage Nevada organized the competition and assumed the role of Master of Ceremonies for the event. Drew entertained the crowd and described the specifics of the cocktails and processes utilized by the mixologists as they created their drinks.
When the dust settled, the three judges unanimously picked the “Canton Crusta” created by Noir Bar‟s Andrew Pollard. The cocktail is a variation on the classic Brandy Crusta cocktail, (see his recipe below). Antonio Trillo from Nora‟s Bar, (and the son of WBN‟s Nacho Trillo) took second place with his cocktail the “Ginger Basil Drop”. The overall feedback from those in attendance was extremely positive.

This is the first competition in the Alchemy Room and with its great success we see yet another application for, what many believe is, the best training bar in Las Vegas and the United States.
Congratulations and future good luck to Andrew Pollard!