On October 16th, Eight of the country’s best bartenders converged on the rooftop of The Perry Hotel South Beach in Miami, FL to compete in Punch Wars presented by Grey Goose and Saveur Magazine. Each bartender was challenged to create a new punch to pair with a tasty dish from one of Miami’s hottest chefs.  I, along with many others who attended this great event, had the pleasure of sipping, tasting, and casting our votes!   

The first punch I tried was an amazing concoction made by Josh Gates from West Palm Beach, FL. Considered the local boy, Josh’s punch was a blend of Grey Goose vodka, ginger beer, champagne, and prosecco along with chives, key lime, pineapple, blackberry juice, and a bit of caramel.  It was refreshing and tasty and a strong start to what I figured was going to be a stiff competition.

Another great punch was by Andrew Lostetter from Houston, TX. His “Not in Your Face” punch was made with Grey Goose Citron and a bit of pineapple, bell pepper, habanero, Meyer lemon, and cucumber extract and was topped with a tarragon and paprika rim on glass. Andrew’s punch was delicious with a little kick at end!!

My favorite overall punch was the “Family of Things” cocktail made by Tom McGuire from Prohibition in Atlanta. Made with Grey Goose L’Orange, it had a bit of thyme, coriander, Aperol, lime, and hint of cherry chiles topped with bubbles and was paired with a duck meatball from Haven South Beach by @cheftoddce.    Grey Goose tweeted that it was a “poetic pairing” and I totally agree.

The other punch I really loved, and which was also part of my favorite pairing, was the “African Red Bush Tea” made by Tyler Lewis of Denver, CO.

It was a mix of Grey Goose, Cointreau, Domaine de Canton along with cantaloupe, pineapple, orange juice, gypsy tears bitters and a few other amazing flavors.  Admittedly this was the last pairing and I was a little tipsy by this time  so some of the details got lost on me.  It was paired with an absolutely succulent lamb meatloaf made by Micah Edelstein of Nemesis Urban Bistro in Miami, FL. The flavors of the punch and the flavors of the lamb meatloaf were absolutely on point!!

My second favorite pair was definitely the pairing of Zach Patterson of Los Angeles, CA and Christie Galnares, the pastry chef from STK Miami and the Perry South Beach.  Zach’s punch was made with Grey Goose La Poire (Pear), coconut water, mango, pomelo, vanilla and a few other spices and was paired with white chocolate key lime tartlets made by Christie. The difficulty of making a perfect pairing based on a dessert offering and the fact that the flavors melded perfectly put this pair as one of the best.

There were two female bartenders repping for the women and they both did an excellent job. Kris Sowell of Dallas, TX made a light, crisp punch with Grey Goose L’Orange with hibiscus, tamarind, and guava served with a sugared rose petal. It was delicate with a bit of sweetness and was paired perfectly with short ribs braised in guava to match.

While Lynn House of Blackbird Restaurant in Chicago, IL made a flavorful and smooth punch with Grey Goose La Poire (Pear) mixed with some fennel, coriander, white peppercorn topped with St. Germain and Soda. To give her punch an added flavor element she marinated pomelo and pear with St. Germain and threw that in as well. It complimented the cured Tasmanian ocean shrimp with Meyer lemon that it was paired with beautifully.

Glendon Hartley of DC made an amazing punch.  His punch was made with Grey Goose La Poire (Pear), honeydew melon, mango, pineapple with a syrup of basil, rosemary, and habanero. It had a little heat and a bit of sweet, but was smooth and yummy!! Apparently lots of other folks agreed as Glendon was crowned the winner of Punch Wars!!!