The winning cocktail "One Hot Minute", made with TABASCO® brand Green Jalapeño Pepper Sauce
Francesco Lafranconi, Master Mixologist and Beverage Specialist, Southern Wine & Spirits with Paul McIlhenny, President of McIlhenny Company at the Whiskey Blue bar, W Hotel, New Orleans
Francesco Lafranconi mixes up one of the finalist recipes
 CALIFORNIA MIXOLOGIST TAKES $10,000 PRIZE WITH “ONE HOT MINUTE”
Jacques Bezuidenhout of Tres Agaves, San Francisco takes top honors in McIlhenny Company’s inaugural TABASCO® brand Hottest Bartender Contest™.
See winning recipe
NEW ORLEANS, LA — A San Francisco-based mixologist from popular
restaurant Tres Agaves who is also known for his elegant “million dollar
cocktails” at another Bay area lounge has won a cool $10,000 for his spicy
cocktail recipe. The announcement was made by McIlhenny Company, presenter
of the TABASCO® brand Hottest Bartender Contest™ and maker
of world famous TABASCO® brand Products.
Contest judges decided Bezuidenhout’s “One Hot Minute” cocktail
recipe — which pairs tequila, cucumber, and apple juice with TABASCO® brand Green Jalapeño Pepper Sauce — added that extra bit of sizzle to
their swizzles to win top honors. McIlhenny Company teamed with renowned
mixologists Francesco Lafranconi and Tony Abou-Ganim at the W Hotel’s
Whiskey Blue bar in New Orleans, Louisiana to select a winner among hundreds
of contestants from the United States and Canada. Other contest judges
included McIlhenny Company President and CEO Paul C.P. McIlhenny, and Executive
Vice President Tony Simmons.
“One Hot Minute has a great combination of flavors; it is well balanced
and refreshing with a lovely spicy finish,” said Bezuidenhout about his
winning cocktail. When asked what new flavor trends were most popular
today, he remarked, “I think we are seeing a trend in Latin American cocktails
and spirits. Spirits like tequila, rum, pisco and cachaca work deliciously
with fresh ingredients from the garden and the kitchen. One of those ingredients
is definitely spice in drinks.”
The contest challenged professional bartenders and mixologists to incorporate
today’s bold flavor
trends into their original cocktail recipes with the help of TABASCO® brand Pepper Sauces.
“Our new contest is raising the bar for creative cocktails and introducing
a new generation of savory, bold and flavorful drink recipes,” said Billy
Boswell, Director of Foodservice Marketing for McIlhenny Company. “Our
contestants understood how to use spice like TABASCO® – that
consumers would typically only find in drinks like Bloody Marys – to add
an extra layer of excitement to all types of cocktails.”
The following drinks and contestants were among the top ten finalists: “Spicy
Pirate” by Leo Degroff of Bed, NY, NY; “Rajun Cajun” by Diane
Silvey of Fontana Bar, Las Vegas, NV; “Louisiana Firecracker” by
Brian Van Flandern of Per Se, NY, NY; “Louisiana Punch” and “Blazing
Apple Martini” by Ray Srp of Club Prive’, Las Vegas, NV; “El
Peche Diablo” by Sean Bigley of Fontana Bar, Las Vegas, NV; “Heaven
and Hell” by Connie Starr Empson of Webster’s Restaurant, Gobles,
MI; “The McIlhenny Cooler” by James Macknyk of Flatwater, Chicago,
IL; and “Fire & Ice” by Patricia Richards of Parasol Up, Las
Vegas, NV.
Top 10 Finalists
Judges Panel (pictured from left to right)
Chef Jason Gronlund,
Tony Abou-Ganim, Mixologist and Beverage Consultant
Paul C.P. McIlhenny,
President & CEO, McIlhenny Company
Francesco Lafranconi, Master Mixologist and Beverage Specialist
Tony Simmons, Executive Vice President, McIlhenny Company
See winning recipe |
