AUSTIN DONER NAMED 2019 LUCID ABSINTHE COCKTAIL CLASSIQUE CHAMPION

Los Angeles mixologist tops a field of more than 100 to take top honors and earn a trip to the Combier Distillery in France

Culver City bartender Austin Doner has been named 2019 Cocktail Classique Champion for his unique creation “The CooCooNut.” The competition, sponsored by The United States Bartenders’ Guild together and presented by Lucid Absinthe Supérieure, sought to identify the talent behind the most creative cocktails using Lucid Absinthe.

The championship, which featured seven semi-finalists from around the country, was held at the newly renovated Belle Époque Absinthe Lounge, an extension of the landmark Old Absinthe House, in New Orleans’s French Quarter. Earlier this year, more than 100 mixologists from around the country submitted their original cocktails vying for a chance at the ultimate prize, a trip to the Combier Distillery in France where Lucid Absinthe is made according to traditional French methods.

“Austin’s The CooCooNut cocktail edged out what proved to be tough competition in a hotly contested final,” said T. A. Breaux, Lucid Absinthe Creator and Master Distiller, who served as one of the judges. “His cocktail took a creative twist by combining elements of the classic Ramos Gin Fizz and coconut based tiki cocktails with an herbaceous backbone. The result is a smooth, frothy and aromatic, but dry coconut punch that displays the versatility of Lucid’s base flavor profile.”

Doner serves as Bartender at The Corner Door in Los Angeles, and his recipe is below:

The CooCoo Nut, by Austin Doner
Ingredients
½ oz Lucid Absinthe Supérieure
¼ oz Tempus Fugit Crème De Menthe
¼ oz John D. Taylor's Velvet Falernum
1 oz "CooCooNut Gin blend" – recipe below

Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a tin
Dry shake, add ice, hard shake, single strain into large stemware glass.
Dust with CooCoo Nut Garnish, recipe below
CooCooNut Gin Blend
Combine in closeable mason jar
5 oz Royal Dock Navy Strength gin
5 grams fresh grated ginger
3 grams fresh lemon zest
Cook with Sous Vide at 175 degrees for 1 hour
Once cooled add 1¼ oz St George Botanivore gin
2½ oz fresh young coconut water, right from the coconut
1/3 dropper of Ms. Better Bitters Miraculous Foamer
CooCooNut Dust
Toast fresh grated coconut at 325 degrees for approximately 10 minutes until lightly browned. Combine with cinnamon and muddle to dust.

Once a core ingredient in most classic cocktails, absinthe was banned in the United States for 95 years. Following efforts by research scientist turned distiller T.A. Breaux, the ban was repealed in 2007, and Lucid Absinthe Supérieure became the first authentic absinthe to be legally sold in the United States.

“Since the repeal of the ban 12 years ago, much of our efforts in support of Lucid have been debunking myths and trying to educate bartenders about how to use absinthe beyond a rinse,” said Keri Meuret, Brand Manager, Lucid Absinthe. “Over the past four years of the Cocktail Classique, we’ve been thrilled by the increasing complexity of the cocktails. There’s no question that not only are bartenders not afraid of this classic spirit, but they are also eagerly embracing it as the foundation for delicious cocktails.”

Photograph by Marc Pagani Photography