More than $10,000 raised in Wizards of
Elixirs Cocktail Competition hosted by The Perfect Purée of Napa Valley and Charbay Distillery
— Proceeds Benefit Four
Counties Affected by North Bay Wildfires —
The Perfect Purée of Napa Valley and Charbay
Distillery, with location host CIA at Copia, raised more than $10,000 for families affected by the
fires in Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake Counties Monday night, Oct. 30, at
their first annual Wizards of Elixirs Cocktail Competition.
The Grand Prize-winning
team of Kelly Dallas and Mel Valencia from Solbar in Calistoga impressed the 300
attendees with “Garnet Horizon,” a fall elixir featuring Charbay Pomegranate Vodka, The Perfect Purée Pear,
Rittenhouse Rye, hazelnut liqueur and garnet yam juice.
 |
| Kelly Douglas and Mel Valencia |
Second place was awarded to
Adam Welch of the Geyserville Gun Club Bar & Lounge for “The Shogun,” with third
place going to Vincent Lundeen of Andaz Napa with “Monkey’s Breakfast.” (See
full recipes below.)
“Response to the
competition from attendees was overwhelmingly positive,” said Michele Lex, President
& Chief Marketing Officer for The Perfect Purée. “The wildfires were
devastating, but the display of compassion and resiliency of our North Bay
community is inspiring to us all.”
Sixteen of wine country’s top
bartenders vied for the People’s Choice Award at The Wizards of Elixirs, a friendly cocktail competition fashioned in walk-around
style at the Culinary Institute of America’s Copia location in Napa. Attendees
sampled the competing cocktails along with apps and light snacks prepared by
the CIA then attended the Halloween costume dance after-party.
Proceeds from ticket and raffle sales totaling more than $10,000 will be
distributed between four counties severely affected by the October fires, which
killed 42 people and destroyed an estimated 7,000 homes and other buildings.
Grand Prize Winning Cocktail
Kelly Dallas & Mel
Valencia, Solbar
Garnet Horizon
· 1.5 oz. Charbay Pomegranate Vodka
· 0.5 oz. Rittenhouse Rye
· 0.5 oz. The Perfect Purée Pear Puree
· 0.25 oz. hazelnut liqueur
· 1 oz. garnet yam juice
· 0.5 oz. lime juice
· 0.5 oz. maple
· 3 dashes of Peyschaud’s Bitters
Method:
Combine ingredients with ice,
shake and strain up. Garnish with marshmallow cream, candied pecan and
pomegranate seed.
Second Place Winning Cocktail
Adam Welch, Geyserville Gun
Club Bar & Lounge
The Shogun
· 1.5 oz. Charbay Green Tea Vodka
· 0.25 oz. The Perfect Purée Yuzu Luxe Sour blend
· 1 bar spoon of The Perfect Purée
Coconut Puree
· 0.5 oz. saké
· 0.5 oz. pineapple sage syrup
· 0.75 oz. lime juice
· 0.5 oz. egg white
Method:
Combine ingredients with ice,
shake and strain into glass. Garnish with matcha tea and matcha shiso salt.
Third Place Winning Cocktail
Vincent Lundeen, Andaz Napa
Monkey’s Breakfast
· 1 oz. Charbay Meyer Lemon Vodka
· 0.5 oz. Amaro Montenegro
· 0.25 oz. Dancing Pines Walnut Liqueur
· 1 oz. banana/oat syrup, made with The
Perfect Purée Banana Purée
· 0.75 oz. lemon juice
Method:
Shake ingredients, double
strain over ice in a large rocks glass. Garnish with grated nutmeg.
Banana/Oat Syrup
· 1 cup The Perfect Purée Banana Puree
· 1 cup toasted old fashioned rolled
oats
· 5 cups hot water
· 1.5 cups brown sugar
· 1.5 cups white sugar
Method:
1.
Put
oats, banana purée and hot water together and let sit for 30 minutes to 1 hour,
stirring occasionally.
2.
After
sitting, put the mixture in a blender and blend until smooth.
3.
Strain
to get as much of the solids as you can. You should be left with about 3 cups.
4.
Bring
to a simmer and add brown and white sugar, stirring until the sugar completely
dissolves.
5.
Keep
refrigerated. Good for 2-3 weeks.
About The Perfect Purée of Napa Valley
Since 1988, The Perfect Purée of Napa Valley has indulged the culinary
passions of chefs, mixologists and food enthusiasts with products that provide
ultimate fresh fruit flavor without the peeling, dicing and simmering required
for making purées from scratch.
The company’s line-up of fruit purées and
specialties features more than 40 premium flavors, ranging from pantry
staples such as raspberry, strawberry and banana to the exotic lychee, passion
fruit and pink guava. All products contain no artificial additives, preservatives
or sweeteners. The fruits are harvested at the peak of season, puréed and
packed frozen to maintain optimal freshness, flavor and color no matter
the season. As the leading U.S. producer of premium fruit purées,
The Perfect Purée of Napa Valley is revered in restaurants, hotels, bars,
bakeries and catering kitchens for the just-picked taste and unmatched
consistency of its products.
All flavors can be frozen for up to 24 months from date of
manufacture. When thawed, the purées and specialties last 7-10 days in the
refrigerator, and blends for 21 days.
About Charbay
Distillery
The Karakasevic family is one of the early pioneers of the modern
American artisan distillery movement; they began distilling in California in
1983 with Alembic Pot Still Brandy and haven't stopped since. The line-up
includes whiskeys distilled from bottle-ready beer, brandies distilled from
Napa Valley grapes, vodkas flavored with 100% real fruit or tea and rum
distilled from sugar cane syrup. Marko is Generation XIII to carry on the
family's European heritage of fermenting and distilling. His 25-year
apprenticeship covered every category of distilling.
