Charleston Mixologist Wins National Cocktail Competition

The USBG “Make It Exotico” Cocktail Competition
Crowns Grand Prize Winner at Tales of the Cocktail
Mixologist Megan Deschaine wins all-expense paid trip
to Exotico Tequila’s distillery in Jalisco, Mexico

NEW ORLEANS, L.A. (July 27, 2017) – The USBG “Make It Exotico” Cocktail Competition has named its inaugural grand prize winner. At the competition’s final round, held July 19 at Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans, a four-person judging panel crowned Charleston, S.C., mixologist Megan Deschaine the overall winner with her cocktail, “The Napoleonic Complex.”

Along with the trophy, Deschaine receives an all-expense paid trip to Exotico Tequila’s distillery – Destiladora González González – in Jalisco, Mexico. While there, Deschaine will visit the agave fields in the highlands of Jalisco and tour the distillery, which is located in the heart of Guadalajara.

“I think the partnership Exotico Tequila has created with the USBG is so enriching to the whole bartending community, giving us bartenders a platform to meet one another,” Deschaine said. “I am so excited to go to Mexico, because I actually paid for college with bartending, to be a Spanish high school teacher.”

Deschaine’s “The Napoleonic Complex” cocktail recipe:

Ingredients:
1.5 oz. Exotico Blanco Tequila
.75 oz. lime juice
.5 oz. agave syrup
4 dashes Bittermen’s Hellfire Bitters
2 dashes Scrappy’s Celery Bitters
1 ripe roma tomato, quartered
8-10 basil leaves

Instructions:
Rim half of a rocks glass with salt and pepper. Muddle tomato quarters and basil in a mixing tin, then add remaining ingredients and shake vigorously with ice. Double strain cocktail into dressed rocks glass over one large ice cube. Garnish with a skewered mozzarella ball and basil leaf.

The USBG “Make It Exotico” cocktail competition invited mixologists from across the country to submit their best cocktail recipe using Exotico Blanco or Exotico Reposado 100% agave tequila as the base spirit. The six finalists competed against 47 other contestants in semifinal events in Nashville, Tenn; Philadelphia, Pa.; Denver, Colo.; Portland, Ore.; Seattle, Wash.; and Charleston, S.C.

As with the semifinal events, at the final round, finalists had a maximum of seven minutes to make their cocktails live for a panel of judges, who judged the cocktails on appearance, aroma, creativity, taste and overall impression. Judges included USBG professionals, tequila and cocktail experts, and local media personalities.

Earning second place was Elizabeth Powell with “Play in the Sunshine,” and in third place was Brandon Paul Weaver with “Piñata Punch.” The other finalists and their cocktails included Ryan Williams with “Bigly,” Katie Loeb with “Javelina,” and Nate Maston with “Beber Esta.”

The USBG “Make It Exotico” Cocktail Competition is organized by the United States Bartenders’ Guild and sponsored by Exotico Tequila. This is the competition’s inaugural year.

About Exotico Tequila
Handcrafted with tradition by the Gonzalez Family, one of Mexico’s most respected makers of tequila, the award-winning Exotico Tequila is made from premium 100% Blue Weber agave grown in the Highlands of Jalisco. Available in Blanco and Reposado, each bottle of Exotico Tequila is crafted with care as a way to honor all spirits unbound. Follow Exotico on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/exoticotequila and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/exoticotequila or visit http://exoticotequila.com.