Back last December I wrote about the Averna Cocktail Competition. I had been asked to enter the competion and to announce it and knowing what a great product Averna is I decided to try entering a cocktail into the competition. I was told that samples were being sent my way, since Averna isn't sold in Maine. After a few weeks with no samples to work with I figured they hadn't been sent out or had become lost during shipping what with all the massive blizzards and record snowfall we had in Maine. I contacted the PR folks and they sent out another care package to play with.

When I had received the sample to use in creating a cocktail I immediately started experimenting, but with the planning of my distillery in the works I never had time to come up with a truly great cocktail to submit for the competition. I spent a few days over a few months, but nothing seemed to click. I finally gave up since I wasn't having an inspirational breakthrough in designing they cocktail. When there was a week long thaw in the middle of winter I was dring down my driveway when i saw a cardboard box peeking through the melting snow and ice. i dug it out and found the original box of samples of the Averna products. I assume that the lazy DHL guy had just thrown it out on the side of my driveway on top of a snow bank because he didn't want to go all the way down the hundred yards to the house, hoping I would get it, and instead it was buried for a few months.

During the early summer I found out that one of the mixologists, Don Lee of my favorite cocktail bar in NYC, PDT, made it to the finals. He was just one of five finalists out of 30 semi-finalists, and over 200 original recipes submitted by some of the best mixologists in the world. Well, the day before yesterday I received the following announcement.

Results after the jump.



FIRST-EVER AVERNA COCKTAIL COMPETITION NAMES DON LEE WINNER --After a grueling competition in picturesque Taormina, Sicily, wounded New York based mixologist takes home the grand prize with 'La Cola Nostra'--

Sept. 16, NEW YORK, NY - After months of anticipation, meticulous planning and stiff competition amongst some of the best bartenders in the nation, Don Lee was named the winner of the first-ever Averna HAVE A NEW LOOK Cocktail Competition.

"On the day that I was scheduled to fly to Sicily, I got into a severe bicycle accident and was rushed to a local emergency room. Doctors confirmed that I had fractured my left wrist. Unfazed I boarded the last flight to Sicily on standby and arrived in Taormina just hours before the faceoff," said Don Lee who emerged victorious with only one good hand. Lee took home the winning title and the grand prize of $1,500, courtesy of Averna.

On Friday, September 12th, five mixologists from around the United States battled for the grand prize on the beautiful terrace of Hotel Capo Taormina, overlooking the Sicilian Ionian Sea. The contestants' recipes were all
original, with the only requirement being that the cocktail HAVE Averna Amaro as the base ingredient. Each contestant was given five minutes to create his or her cocktail. Points were awarded based on presentation,
technique, originality, taste and ease of preparation. The judges came from Italy and England and included Charles Venexat, Izzie Knolles, Steve Manketelow, Giles Looker, Umberto Caselli, and Francesco Rosario Averna.

"I am very pleased to see the quality of our product enhanced by the expert hands of the mixologists who took part in the competition. Thanks to Averna's mixability, they've created an art form that has opened new frontiers for our traditional Averna Amaro," said Francesco Rosario Averna, the fourth-generation C.E.O. of Averna and one of the judges in the competition. Averna Amaro, Italy's favorite digestivo and Sicily's oldest licensed spirit, has been discovered as of late by American and international mixologists as a great mixing tool and versatile spirit for cocktails. This is the first cocktail competition that Averna has ever done and the result was an artful blend of the cocktail trend in the United States paired with Sicilian history.

This final round was a culmination of a nine month long competition process and anticipation that involved bar chefs throughout the U.S. Over two hundred original recipes were submitted through Averna's USA website
(www.avernausa.com) from January 1st-March 31st. Out of 30 semi finalists from across the country, a total of five finalists were chosen during three regional competitions that took place in San Francisco, Miami and New York this past April. Finalists included Jeff Hollinger of Absinthe Brasserie and Bar and Thomas Waugh of Alembic Bar in San Francisco; Debbi Peek of the Drawing Room at Le Passage in Chicago and Damon Dyer of Flatiron Lounge and Don Lee of Please Don't Tell (PDT) in New York. The group traveled to Sicily and was given the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit spectacular Taormina and Caltanissetta. While Sicily as a backdrop was breath taking, the opportunity to visit the Averna distillery was also an awe-inspiring experience. The Finalists experienced first hand the flavors and natural ingredients that are basis for the traditional amaro.

"The outcome could not have been written any more poetically. These five talented mixologists enjoyed a decadent weekend, and the Averna family genuinely loved welcoming them into their home and distillery," said DSWE founder and CEO Paolo Domeneghetti. "Don Lee's drink, La Cola Nostra, is a delicious treat that we are proud to include in our Averna cocktail repertoire. Our congratulations go out to Don Lee and all of the Averna HAVE A NEW LOOK competition finalists."

In the end it was a nine month long contest and I hear that the recipes of the semi-finalists and finalists were amazing. When I get a hold of them I will definitely post them for you folks to try.
About Averna: Averna, Italy's favorite Amaro and the first licensed spirit in Sicily, is distilled from an all-natural blend of herbs, dried flowers, spices and licorice. The recipe for Averna is a closely guarded secret of Fratelli Averna S.p.A., a fourth-generation family-run company based in Caltanissetta, Sicily. Traditionally a soothing after-dinner drink, or digestivo, known for its distinctively delicious bitter sweet taste profile, Averna is now being discovered by bartenders and cocktail lovers as a versatile mixer for a variety of drink recipes.