Outstanding cocktails require distinctive elements. That is very true for conventional, spirit-forward ones just like the Outdated Customary, which blends whiskey, bitters, and sugar to create a full-bodied taste that’s meant to be sipped and savored.
Thought of some of the vital cocktails of all time by bartenders and historians alike, the Outdated Customary traces its roots to the unique Nineteenth-century definition of the phrase “cocktail.” This combination of base spirit, bitters, and sugar grew to become wildly well-liked, prompting bartenders to create new variations with different elements. Finally, prospects who most popular the unique recipe made with whiskey had been requesting that the cocktail be made “the old style approach.” Over time, the identify grew to become official and whereas the fundamental recipe has remained, the elements and spirits used for it have advanced.
As whiskeys grew to become extra cultivated, bourbon grew to become the popular base spirit for Outdated Customary recipes, and discerning prospects usually order theirs by identify model. Elijah Craig is without doubt one of the most requested bourbons — for Outdated Fashioneds and for sipping neat. It’s named after Reverend Elijah Craig, who was famend for his talent as a distiller and for his dedication to innovation. In 1789, he grew to become the primary distiller to age his whiskey in new charred oak barrels — etching his identify into historical past because the “Father of Bourbon”.
Elijah Craig has embraced one of many world’s oldest cocktails as its signature sipper, and now hosts Elijah Craig Outdated Customary Week® each October as the final word celebration of a drink so beloved that it was chosen because the official cocktail of Louisville, Ky. Elijah Craig’s fifth celebration will happen from Oct. 11 via Oct. 20, 2024. Along with encouraging individuals of authorized age to experiment with creating and sharing their very own Outdated Customary recipes, the model will enable them to create their very own Outdated Customary Week itinerary by way of the “Discover A Bar” web page on OldFashionedWeek.com. Elijah Craig may even donate $1 (as much as $100,000) for each Outdated Customary offered at collaborating bars to the Southern Smoke Basis, which helps meals and beverage business employees in occasions of want.
As well as, Elijah Craig is partnering with VinePair to carry its A New Period of the Outdated Customary Cocktail Contest, which invitations bartenders so as to add a brand new twist to the basic Outdated Customary recipe for an opportunity to win as much as $15,000, to be featured on VinePair.com, and to have their cocktail listed in Elijah Craig’s “Outdated Customary Week Cocktail Companion: Quantity 2” recipe ebook. Entries can be accepted from Aug. 15, 2024 to Nov. 1, 2024, and in November, 10 semifinalists can be chosen to submit a video of their cocktail presentation. 5 finalists will then be chosen to compete in a reside competitors in Kentucky.
To enter, contestants should submit a picture of their new tackle the Outdated Customary that includes Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon or Elijah Craig Straight Rye Whiskey, in addition to an evidence of the thought course of and inspiration for the cocktail. Entries can be judged on taste, aroma, steadiness, look, and creativity, in addition to innovation, a core worth at Elijah Craig and a key issue on this competitors. The competitors is open to bartenders based mostly in america. Nonetheless, particular person state liquor legal guidelines apply. Verify the web site to see in case your state is legally eligible to take part.
Judges for this competitors embody editors and business consultants, corresponding to VinePair’s co-founder and CEO Adam Teeter, who’s acknowledged as an authority on wine and cocktails and is a winner of the Left Financial institution Bordeaux Cup American Wine-Tasting Championship. VinePair’s editor in chief and VinePair Podcast co-host, Joanna Sciarrino may even be among the many judges, and so will Lynn Home, the nationwide spirits specialist and portfolio mixologist for Heaven Hill Manufacturers. Along with representing your entire Heaven Hill portfolio, together with Elijah Craig, Home additionally oversees model and spirit schooling, cocktail improvement, and cocktail development identification. She was lately acknowledged because the 2023 American Whiskey Model Ambassador of the 12 months by the Whisky Journal Icons of Whisky Awards.
Simply because the Outdated Customary is an ideal automobile for highlighting and showcasing the nuanced taste profiles of Elijah Craig’s whiskeys, the Outdated Customary Cocktail Competitors will spotlight the ingenuity and experience of gifted bartenders.
This text is sponsored by Elijah Craig.
