Marriott Bourbon Battles in Portland

This Tuesday (tomorrow) June 14 is National Bourbon Day. And to celebrate, I wanted to share the winning recipe from the recent Portland leg of the Marriott Bourbon Battles!

The Marriott Bourbon Battles competition is a tour through five cities (it started Lexington, KY followed by stops in Portland, Calgary, and Boston, with the finals in New York City on National Bourbon Day tomorrow). The Bourbon Battles is being launched to help advertise the Marriott Hotels Bourbon Program, which offers world-renowned spirits brands, curated bourbon flights and hand-crafted signature cocktails (each property’s bartender is given the creative freedom to shake things up with their own take on a drink) at 250 properties.

The Bourbon Battle features four contestants per event, two Marriott bartenders and two local mixologists. The winner from each of the four cities then will compete in the final round in New York City. At the Portland round I attended, the contestants included

• Alejandro Monjeau representing Marriott’s FLOE Lounge in Irvine, CA
• Jason Marshall of Marriott Waterfront Portland’s Bistro by Truss
  
• Local Portland bartender Jessica Braasch of Bible Club
  
  Photo courtesy of Marriott
• Local Portland bartender Chino Lee of Bit House Saloon, Quality Bar and Paddy’s.
  
  Photo courtesy of Marriott

All four did an incredible job with making the cocktails in the time limits while also putting on a pretty good show as they crafted – it was a very spirited atmosphere (ho ho ho) as friends and coworkers as well as guests cheered them on.

Photo courtesy of Marriott

There were three rounds of competition, with the four mixologists creating their own interpretations within certain categories and then being judged by Billy Ray, Senior Whisky Brand Ambassador for Woodford Reserve, James Addison of Marriott Hotels, and Hoke Harden, Local Spirits Consultant.

1. Round 1, a Manhattan
2. Round 2, an Old Fashioned
3. Round 3, Contestant’s Challenge with an unknown mystery ingredient revealed which they must then create a custom drink. In Portland, this ended up being local Clear Creek Distillery Marionberry Liquor

Here is the winning recipe by Chino Lee for his winning Contestant’s Challenge beverage – and he won overall and will be competing tomorrow in New York City! The other three contestants all tied for second place because pretty much they are all kickass mixologists.

Photo courtesy of Marriott

You can see a Chino’s entry of the Jasper Sour on the far left.

Jasper Sour

• 2 Jack Single Single
• 1 Apricot Spiced Shrub
• .75 Lemon
• .75 Egg White
• .5 Marionberry Liqueur

Photo courtesy of Marriott

Meanwhile, I was impressed by what the Marriott threw down as food for the Bourbon Battles event. As guests returned to their Portland Marriott Downtown Waterfront hotel during the two hours of this event, they were thrilled to see this showcase of bourbon including bourbon cocktails like this Barrel Aged Boulevardier

There was also bourbon inspired food that included Burnside Bourbon Cake, Whiskey Brittle Hazelnut Fudge, Bacon Wrapped Dates with bourbon maple syrup, Whiskey Pulled Chicken Bao Bahn Mi with NW raised chickens and pickled vegetables on a steamed bun, NW Bourbon Steak with bourbon brushed steak and Oregon shiitake and spring spinach, and more food.
 

Did I mention the adorable and delicious Boozy Milkshakes featuring Old Forester Bourbon, Tillamook Caramel Pecan ice cream, and Oregon sea salt already?

Local cheeses and meats were also highlighted, including Chop Sopressata and Cascadia Creamery Sleeping Beauty cheese. I maybe returned 3 times to the tray of Fried Mac n’ Cheese Bites with fried macaroni and smoked Beecher’s white cheddar. The several callouts to using local ingredients made me happy that even they are a corporate chain they also care enough to support and promote local purveyors.

You can see a few more photos here at Bourbon Banter’s recap of the Portland event.

Do you like bourbon cocktails?

Disclosure: I was invited to this free event (which was open to the public) but I will always provide my honest opinion and assessment of all products and experiences I may be given. I was not asked or compensated to write this blog post, but I wanted to share the bourbon awesomeness. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are entirely my own.