This story is published in partnership with Diageo Reserve World Class, which supports hundreds of thousands of bartenders through its training and advocacy program. For this World Cocktail Day, on May 13th, World Class surveyed top bartenders around the globe—including World Class Bartender of the Year, Kaitlyn Stewart—on the most popular cocktails being ordered in their bars today; to see the results, click here.
This drink from Kaitlyn Stewart was crafted for the 2017 World Class final competition, in response to an ask for a cocktail “that could withstand the test of time and be recreated at different bars around world.” Using Bulleit rye as the base, Stewart riffed on one of her favorite classics, the Cobbler, with milk liqueur standing in for the sugar and a cherry-amaretto shrub for the fruit. “It works because if cherries aren’t in season in, say, Thailand, they could just swap in a different fruit with the same base.”
Combine all ingredients in a mixing tin and shake.
Fine strain into a mini milk bottle (or small highball) over crushed ice.
Garnish with a twist of lemon and a gingersnap cookie.
Editor's Note
Cherry Shrub: 1 pound of pitted cherries
3 cups white sugar
3 cups apple cider vinegar
1 full lemon peel
In a pot add cherries and sugar. Let cherries stew until they become soft. Once the cherries have broken down, add the apple cider vinegar and lemon peel. Bring to a simmer and then let cool. Once cooled, strain the shrub through a fine mesh strainer. Bottle and refrigerate.
Milk Liqueur: 1 part whole milk
1 part white sugar
1 part vodka
Put into a large glass jar and mix well. Add half a lemon cut up and half an orange cut up. Cover the top with cheese cloth and let sit at room temperature for 10-12 days, stirring once daily. Strain through cheese cloth or coffee filters 2-3 times, until clarified. Bottle and refrigerate.
