Atticus Bashore
WE’LL TAKE MANHATTAN
The Woodford Reserve Manhattan Experience brings out some of the movers, shakers (and stirrers) behind Nashville’s bars Written by Dave Mahanes / Photos by Sam Calderon Congratulations to Atticus Bashore from Earnest Bar & Hideaway, winner of Nashville’s qualifying round of the Woodford Reserve Manhattan Experience held at the bar of the Hutton Hotel on April 4th. Also, kudos to Matt Lawson from O’ Be Joyful in Franklin for being the competition’s runner-up. Sponsored by Liquor.com and the Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation, the Woodford Reserve Manhattan Experience is a nationwide competition to find the mixologist who can create the best recipe for the classic Manhattan cocktail and an original craft cocktail displaying the best of their bartending talents. One cocktail must feature Woodford Reserve Bourbon as the base spirit, while the second must feature Woodford Reserve Bourbon, Woodford Reserve Rye, or Woodford Reserve Double Oaked as the base spirit. Qualifying rounds have taken place in 39 cities across the country in the past few weeks. The 39 regional finalists will travel to Louisville in June for the final competition to select the national winner and attend a special distilled spirits educational event at the Woodford Reserve Distillery. The Nashville competition included friends and colleagues of the 11 regional finalists and Woodford Reserve professionals.
Guests were able to sample one of the two cocktails prepared by each of the contestants and enjoyed tasty canapes prepared by the Hutton while listening to the grooves of DJ Guy Fell. The discerning judges for the competition were Jonathan Howard, national winner of the 2016 Woodford Reserve Manhattan Experience, Amy Van Buren, Nashville regional winner in 2021, and Tom Miller, Brown-Forman General Manager Southeast Cluster with over 30 years in the spirits industry. The criteria for judging the original Woodford Reserve Manhattan were taste and balance, creativity and originality, presentation and appearance, and thoughtful use of ingredients. The basis for evaluating the original Woodford Reserve cocktail was taste and balance, creativity and originality, intelligent use of Woodford Reserve, presentation and appearance, and creativity, relevance, and appeal of the recipe name. The national winner will receive a $5,000 cash prize, a four-night trip to New York for themselves and a guest, and a featured article on Liquor.com announcing the national winner. We wish Atticus the best of luck as he moves forward in the Manhattan Experience. slmag.net
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