I will post more detailed notes and pictures later today. The winner of last night's Official Drink of Austin contest was the crew at Ranch 616, with their "Ring of Fire." In addition to putting on a helluva performance (including a woman dressed in a Jalapeño costume), and in spite of my distaste for shooters, the drink managed to overcome its potential kitsch overload (it is, after all, served in a carved out jalapeño and followed with a chilled Lone Star beer) and defeat the competition. The "Ring of Fire" is a kamikaze-like shooter, served in a jalapeño "shot" glass that has been rimmed with cayenne salt and branded with their logo, a presentation which required the craftsmen at the Ranch to devise a special galvanized bucket (for the beer) with a wire harness for the jalapeño.

The contestants were judged on Presentation, Creativity, Taste, and Viability. I have a feeling, though, that the presentations unduly influence the contest. By that I mean that presentation should be only a small part of the overall scoring, because while the presentation is viewed one time by one group of judges, the cocktail is enjoyed all year long. What is in the glass is much more important than how it is presented. This is not to say that I didn't enjoy the performances, even down to the Flair-tender who dropped one of the shakers on the ground before picking it back up, juggling it a few more times, and inverting it into another shaker to use it as a strainer. I am not sure which judge got the "dirty" martini, but the panel was apparently not turned off enough to dock significant points (this team placed 2nd). More details to come...