Made with Love Toronto 2014 Mixology Competition

Made with Love– Cocktail Competition, Liberty Grand Toronto
The Liberty Grand was the perfect venue for the Toronto finals of the national cocktail competition- Made with Love, which took place on Monday March 24, 2014.
A showcase cocktail, “Thai One on Caesar”, was a teaser for the evening made of lemongrass and Ginger infused Vodka, with a seasoned shrimp garnish. After seven finals, the Toronto event featured creative and unusual inventions by seventeen top bartenders across the city accompanied by interesting appetizers. Each attendee received a Made with Love dog tag with which to place their vote for the best cocktail.
The names of the cocktails were just as interesting as their ingredients: The Burning Question, Skies Over The Sea, Spinal Tap, and Devil Went Down on Georgia.
The judges panel, who made their decision based on originality, presentation, and taste placed Jay Meyers of Hudson Kitchen and his drink “What Would Monty Do?” in first place. The cocktail was a blend of Dark Horse Rye, vanilla Cognac, Vermouth, Domaine de Canton, and icecream. In second place was Adrian Stein of Boots and Bourbon with the “Coffee and Donuts” cocktail made with cocoa bean and cinnamon infused Jim Beams Devil’s Cut, toasted coffee syrup, chicory tincture, and coffee infused angostura. Obviously, it was topped by a liquor filled donut. This cocktail was also popular with the public who put it in third place. Second place by the judges was Aaron Beaudoin of Rock Lobster Queen St. His drink “The Lovely Lorraine” was made with Hendricks Gin, strawberry cordial, cucumber and mint, as well as lemon. The public put Michael Mooney of Geraldine Restaurant in first place whereas the judges put him in the third spot. A mixture of Hendricks Gin, shitake mushroom/ fennel/thyme shrub, lemon juice, grand Genmaicha tea syrup, umami Bitters, egg whites cedar dust and cherry blossom garnish. A Sea of Trees was not your typical cocktail!
The top two winners, Michael Mooney and Jay Beaudoin, will be competing next month along with 14 other different bartenders from 7 other cities and the National Finale in Montreal.

(photos by Tanya)

Made with Love Toronto 2014 Mixology Competition