Here are some news: I am going to be tomorrow a judge in a cocktail competition!

Honestly, I rather preferred to participate challenges - though actually my recipes are too edgy, often to straight forward and I am too pragmatic, to actually come at the end to the top.

Not seldom I blamed it to the judges - especially if you are looking at the winner recipes, this is quite suggesting [winning recipes are most often no  potential classics, but crowd pleaser].

Yesterday though, I was asked, if I would judge the Marie Brizard classic cocktail ccompetition, here in Dubai.

My first [loud] thought was: Why [TF]*  a classic cocktail competition is sponsored by a volume liqueur producer? And honestly: I thought to participate, when I got to here about this competition a couple weeks ago - though I abandoned this idea, because for me it is hard to combine a classic cocktail with liqueur and it is for me just not right.

Ok - but judging? Well fine...

Sarah, my [much] better part, also argued that it sounds quite of schizophrenic, to judge what you declined yourself. Hand she is kinda right... On the other hand: I can’’t always complain that judges are simply not knowledgeable, if I decline the chance, to make a better call.

So it is my responsibility, to try to influence the whole event, with my opinionated view on the cocktail world.

And what do I expect?

Well; unfortunately no that much. I had a glimpse on the submitted recipes... If all recipes would be eliminated, which are obviously not classic cocktails, this would be the shortest cocktail challenge ever...

What is a classic cocktail? This could be differently defined. Though I think the lowest common denominator is, that it is a mixed drink, which has one base ingredient, which is rather in the meaning of an venerable drink category - or just a classic cocktail as the definition of the IBA.

This point, most participants were confused with [what confuses me...].

I will update you tomorrow, who actually won and how the whole thing was.

Wish me luck, that I won’t be a wanted spree killer...