Shaken & Stirred
The Dry Line Gin Cocktail Competition
When the Roberts family bought Truro Vineyards in 2007, there was excitement in the air, and for good reason. Over the years, this family-owned and operated labor of love has experienced smart, consistent growth by taking measures to become a “green” winery with their commitment to environmentally responsible practices and green building principles during renovation and expansion projects. Their wine selection and popularity have also increased, and this all makes Truro Vineyards a respected household name throughout Cape Cod, New England, and beyond.
The Roberts family has also created new ways to fill a glass with liquid goodness with Truro’s South Hollow Spirits, Cape Cod’s first craft distillery since Prohibition, which recently launched its latest addition, Dry Line Gin. It joins an award-winning collection of small batch, twice-distilled spirits, including Twenty Boat Hand-Crafted Cape Cod Amber Rum and Twenty Boat Hand-Crafted Cape Cod Spiced Rum.
And the timing of the Dry Line Gin release couldn’t be better. As gin has seen a resurgence over the past few years, creative gin cocktails are offered on drink menus from casual to fine dining establishments everywhere.
With that in mind, Edible Cape Cod and South Hollow Spirits decided to test out some of that inventiveness right here with the Dry Line Gin Cocktail Competition. This opportunity was brought to the talented mixologists from restaurants who support Edible Cape Cod’s mission and offer the products of Truro Vineyards + South Hollow Spirits to their patrons.
With 11 restaurants participating from Sandwich to Provincetown, the mixologists received their Dry Line Gin sample bottles along with their mission to create a winning cocktail. Each came up with a well-crafted recipe, running the gamut from Prohibition-era and classic cocktails to more contemporary flavors and everything in between. Many used locally-sourced ingredients and flavors to match and accentuate this special locally-distilled gin. Although each mixologist brought an original and delicious spin to the task at hand, most were served shaken, straight up in martini glasses, so the depth of Dry Line Gin was revealed.
The cocktails were judged on taste, best “showcase” of Dry Line Gin, creativity, and presentation. It was so close and quite difficult to narrow down the field of 11 to just first, second and third place finishers. Nevertheless, we are proud to present our top three finalists:
1. Tucker Harpin of Captain Linnell House, Orleans, for his “Stargazer Martini”
2. Jason Vess of Cape Sea Grille, Harwich Port, for his “Sea Dog”
3. Oriana Conklin of Blackfish, Truro, for her “Poor Little Rich Girl”
This competition was all about the cocktails. However, please consider visiting each of these Cape Cod restaurants for an enjoyable dining (and drinking) experience…and tell them Edible Cape Cod sent you!
