Bottoms Up
Savor the stories behind 2 of Houston Tastemakers' top cocktails
If you attended the 2021 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards in July — and if you didn't, why not? — then you likely enjoyed two of the evening's signature cocktails.
The Diamond Margarita, made with Dobel Diamante tequila, lime juice, and agave nectar with a volcanic black salt rim, and the Black Cherry Old Fashioned, a mix of Stranahan's Blue Peak whiskey, black cherry syrup, and Burlesque bitters, were a delicious accompaniment to the event's tasty bites.
Chances are these libations piqued your interest, so here's a bit more about both spirits:
Maestro Dobel Tequila
There are seven unique variants of this single-estate tequila, each with a distinct flavor profile and crafted from 100-percent blue agave.
Dobel is short for Juan Domingo Beckmann Legorreta, the 11th generation of tequila producers. Maestro Dobel tequila is his legacy, and he personally oversees every step of its production. The signature of Juan "Dobel" is found on every bottle — a symbol of his deep respect for craft and connoisseurship.
The tequila is double-distilled, matured in Eastern European new white oak barrels and filtered for exceptional smoothness and clarity.
The world’s first Cristalino, Maestro Dobel Diamante is unique in its category; it has been formulated using a blend of extra anejo, anejo, and reposodo tequilas. Despite classification as reposado, Diamante's expression is crystal-clear due to a proprietary filtration process.
Maestro Dobel is also the official tequila of the PGA tour, including the Houston Open that's coming up November 11-14 at Memorial Park Golf Course.
Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey
Colorado's first legal whiskey since Prohibition and the pioneer and leader of the American single malt category, this Rocky Mountain single malt is handcrafted from grain to bottle in Denver, Colorado.
There are six ways to enjoy premium Stranahan’s Whiskey: Original, Sherry Cask, Blue Peak, Mountain Angel, Single Barrel, and Snowflake.
When volunteer firefighter Jess Graber responded to a neighbor’s barn fire, he never imagined that any good would come of it. But the barn he made an effort to save belonged to George Stranahan. When the fire settled, the two discovered a shared passion for the Colorado outdoors and a good pour of fine whiskey. The pair developed a recipe for a distinctively smooth and flavorful American single malt whiskey using their mountain surroundings to their advantage.
Stranahan’s Original Whiskey is double-distilled using a proprietary blend of four barleys, then aged for a minimum of four years in virgin charred American white oak barrels.
Stranahan’s Sherry Cask Whiskey is the latest innovation and expression in single malt. Stranahan’s four-year-old Rocky Mountain Single Malt is transferred to 500-liter Oloroso sherry barrels from the Andalusia region of Spain to cask-finish. Andalusia is known to wine connoisseurs as "The Sherry Triangle" and one of the world’s most coveted wine regions.