Anthony Alba, representing Las Vegas and also sporting a red coat, takes the stage next. He’s the favorite, and he knows it. He’s named his cocktail the Big Easy, and this sums up his whole demeanor. He smiles naturally as he shakes his drink. The only time he betrays any nervousness is when he’s preparing his garnish—a kumquat with a face carved into it and a rosemary leaf “cigar” dangling from its mouth. He pauses to wipe the sweat off his face as he bends down to light the rosemary (causing it to “smoke”).
Now it’s Vestinos’s turn. He moves swiftly, filling his shakers at a frantic speed. The audience has heard that he will be incorporating lemon curd into his drink, and they have stopped their drunken cheering and started to watch in earnest. By the time he’s in the final stage—making the pomegranate foam that tops the drink—the crowd is cooing and Vestinos is looking confident. He’s still spooning the foam onto the top of the drink—he hasn’t touched his garnishes yet—when the judge announces that he only has one minute left.
“If I were you, I’d pick it up a notch,” the host says.
“You do your job,” says Vestinos tensely. “I’ll do mine.”
Twenty seconds left. He is furiously adding his garnishes, and the crowd is really egging him on. When he finally lifts the cocktail to present it to the judge, there’s a burst of applause. “He finished just in time!” the host announces.
But the judge is shaking his head. “Just in time to be over,” he declares.
Vestinos has missed it by seven seconds.
In the end, it’s the red jackets who win. Alba takes first place, Alvarez second. Yturria had beamed while making his cocktail, and he’d impressed the crowd by using a small spring tucked into his shaker to break up an egg white, but ultimately, none of that mattered. After finding out he’s come in third, he simply says, “I’m just glad it’s over.” Vestinos, in last place, doesn’t say much of anything.
A few hours later at the anniversary celebration across the street, Vestinos finds himself staring down at an open box of Royal Chieftain cigars. He’s never smoked a cigar in his life, but he picks one up anyway and climbs several flights of stairs to the rooftop, where some past competition winners and Vestinos’s former opponents are drinking Scotch in a cloud of smoke. Vestinos nurses his bourbon and holds the cigar at his side. But soon one of the old-timers approaches and begins demonstrating how to light it, how to hold it, how to take small puffs without inhaling. Vestinos leans against the rooftop’s railing, the lights of Long Beach stretching out beneath him, and looks almost serene. After all, he’s pretty sure the regulars back in Chicago are going to love the pomegranate foam. Then, to his surprise, he begins to smile.
Recipe
Peter Vestinos’ Grapefruit-Basil Cocktail with Pomegranate Foam
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