Michael Schaus, mixologist from the famous Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, was declared the USA winner of the Angostura aromatic bitters Cocktail Challenge held on September 22, at The Theater Bar in SoHo, Manhattan.
The cocktail that got the nod from a prestigious judging panel was aptly called How Sweet It Is–an intriguing mixture of raspberries, honey and lemon juice, with Cr�me de Cassis and six dashes of Angostura aromatic bitters.
Judges included cocktail industry veterans Ann and Paul Tunnerman, founders of the Tales of the Cocktail event held annually in New Orleans; sommelier and founder of PROmixology.com George Delgado; and, Jackie Foley, co-publisher of Bartender Magazine.The first runner up was Erick Smith from the Mezcal Tequila Cantina in Worcester, Massachusetts, with his creation called Summer Night Bite.
Coming in third was Dustin Drankiewicz from the Vanguard Lounge in Las Vegas, with his exciting cocktail 1121st Platoon.Members of the US Media, executives from Angostura Ltd, members of the distribution team from Mizkan Americas, Angostura's US Distributor, and other specially invited guests, were excited about the evening's festivities.
Attendees tasted many of the cocktails from the entries submitted, and voted for their favourite. By the slimmest margin of one vote, the evening's popular choice was Erick Smith with his Summer Night Bite.The USA winner will be joined by finalists from every continent to compete in the Angostura International Cocktail Challenge in Trinidad carded for Carnival Sunday (March 6, 2011).
Finalists will receive costumes to play mas and have the privilege of experiencing the true spirit of Trinidad. The event promises to be a heady mix of culture and competition.