I can't believe it's that time of the year already--no, I'm not talking about the time of year when the stores start playing Jingle Bells the week after Halloween. I'm talking about the third annual Drink Local Cocktail Contest, our celebration of Texas spirits and seasonal flavors. Drink Local Night is an event of Edible Austin magazine's Eat Local Week, a week-long celebration of local food and beverage, now in its fourth year. See the complete calendar of events here.

Drink Local Night is being hosted at Peche/Cedar St this year. Drink Local is in my opinion the premier cocktail contest in Texas. Not because of the big bling prize money, or the fancy travel incentives, neither of which we have to offer, but because of the awesome judges and contestants that we have been fortunate to have the last couple of years: Bobby Heugel (Anvil, Houston), Bill Norris (formerly FINO, forthcoming Haddingtons), Sten Lilja (Remy), Moxy Castro (Awesome), Addie Broyles (Austin American-Statesman), Lara Nixon (Tipsy Tech), Billy Hanky (formerly The Good Knight), Nate Wales (La Condesa), Ben Craven (Perla's) and many other fabulous folks have made this one of the top cocktail events in the region.

For images from last year's event, check out the blog of Dustin Meyer, who is the fabulously talented official photographer of Eat Local Week.

The contest is open to both industry professionals and home enthusiasts alike. Complete contest rules follow the jump

Last night I attended a lavish industry event hosted by Diageo/Don Julio. Buses picked us up downtown and escorted us out to Villa Antonia, a special events facility on the outskirts of Austin near Lago Vista/Jonestown. The Villa was pretty posh in that Narco-baron fantasy sort of way. I was glad to be on a chauffeured bus instead of driving myself (especially after the mountain of tequila that was consumed at the event). Upon arriving at the venue we were greeted by a variety of drinking stations, which of course did not disappoint. The first one we stopped off at was staffed by our friend and colleague Michael Martensen, a bar man based in Dallas who does a lot of special functions for the Diageo "reserve" brands. Martensen wetted our whistles with a few shots of Don Julio, and gave us a preview of the Luxury Drop concept. Basically Don Julio has reached out to bartenders around the globe to find the best modern interpretations of the classic ritual of taking salt and lime with tequila. I personally don't like that ritual, classic as it may be, and prefer to drink my tequila straight. (I also don't dance at weddings, and am a confirmed asshole on this subject, so perhaps this event was better suited for someone less a party pooper than I? One would think, but hold on to see how this story develops...)

On a recent Monday night in Dallas, some of the top bartenders in Texas convened on the Joule hotel for the invite-only Bacardi Legacy event. Legacy is an event designed by Bacardi to educate bartenders on the history of Bacardi's iconic Superior rum, led by Brand Master Apprentice Aaron Rodonis. Part of the event includes a deconstructed tasting of the distillates that go in to the blend, at various stages in the production cycle.

Of course the cocktails make up the other part of the event, and bartenders are invited to craft a new cocktail in the style of Bacardi's "legacy" drinks--such classics as the Daiquiri, Cuba Libre, and Mojito. The challenge is to make a new drink that has the potential to become a ubiquitous drink, one that can be made in any kind of venue, across time. Because we are in Texas and brands cannot award prizes to bartenders in contests, this was a "showcase", in which no official winners were declared. Although it sounds trite, everyone at an event such as this truly is a winner, in that we get an incredible opportunity to enjoy great drinks, food, and camaraderie in a beautiful setting (and of course it doesn't hurt that we didn't have to pay for any of it--thanks, Bacardi!)


Myself (no mustache), Mindy Kucan (fake mustache), Michael Martensen (real mustache)

There were a number of great bartenders from across Texas, and many great drinks came with them to this event. In the end, only three cocktails were chosen to be considered for the Legacy Showcase that will take place on the national level next year. I'm happy to say that one of those was mine. I am joined by Michael Martensen of Dallas, and Mindy Kucan of Houston--and I can't help but point out that each of the three of us either is or was a USBG chapter president!

A few weeks ago I had the honor of taking part in Nerd Nite, a monthly gathering of nerds whose motto is "Be There and Be Square". The topics change every month, and guest speakers discuss topics about which they are nerdy. For me, at least on this nite, it was the Martini. I would have posted this a few weeks ago but I realized that on this past Monday I was teaching a Tipsy Tech class on the same topic, so didn't want to spoil the surprise all Wiki-Leaks style by broadcasting this too early. I looked back over the footage, I could only find a few things that are sketchy/possibly untrue but nothing seemed egregiously so. If you find any boldfaced lies or historical untruths please bring it to my attention and I will post a correction. You will have to email me since this blog still has a broken Comments feature :(

David Alan - History of the Martini from Nerd Nite- Austin on Vimeo.

Click play to see me blab on for almost half an hour about the Martini