Less aggressively marketed than liquor brands like Absolut Vodka or Hennessy, the 500-year-old Bénédictine is nonetheless one of the oldest spirits in the world. To commemorate its anniversary, the liqueur brand and Esquire hosted a contest to create a signature Bénédictine cocktail and name the country's top mixologist, gathering five finalists and 200 local bartenders and journalists at the Hearst Tower on Wednesday night.
Culled from a search conducted in the fall by Bénédictine's global brand ambassador, Ludovic Miazga, the finalists—Jackson Cannon, bar manager of Boston's Eastern Standard; Brandon Clements from San Francisco's Spruce; Damon Dyer of Louis 649 in New York; Lynn House from Chicago's Graham Elliot; and Daniel Victory of the Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans—were judged at the event by cocktail historian and Esquire drinks correspondent David Wondrich. Guests were also invited to vote, marking their top pick on an informal ballot.
To give the night a little more flourish, servers dressed in monkish robes—a nod to how the liqueur is produced by a Benedictine Abbey in France—and paired each drink with a menu item created by Hearst's in-house team of chefs. For instance, an appetizer of Maine lobster salad with citrus aioli, fennel pollen, and water pepper was designed to complement House's concoction, which included orange liqueur, orange bitters, and lemon juice.
At the end of the night, Wondrich crowned Dyer "Alchemist of Our Age" for his mix of Bénédictine, yellow Chartreuse, lemon juice, and Rittenhouse rye, while Clements was named fan favorite.
