Emerald Stay's Top Mixologist Contest Winner

The challenge? To create Emerald Stay’s first-ever “signature” cocktail, featuring Oath Gin, a handcrafted spirit created by F1 driver Valtteri Bottas and UCI cyclist Tiffany Cromwell – who happen to be Emerald Stay's Brand Ambassadors.

Thanks to the impressive engagement from Scottish Mixology’s community and the unique quality of his submission, the Scottish Mixology Sour recipe took the crown. The cocktail perfectly reflects Emerald Stay’s ethos of “The Luxury of Space,” and Jack was awarded a voucher for a stay in one of our winter or summer finest homes of his choice in the coming year.

Today, we are thrilled to introduce Jack and share some of the vibrant energy and creativity that shine through his work. For a taste of his artistry, be sure to check out his account (@scottishmixology). Now, let’s plunge into his world – with delight and, in this case, no moderation!

Hey Jack, congratulations! Before getting to the point – and uncovering a few secrets behind your winning recipe – could you tell us a bit more about yourself? Who are you, where do you live, and where do you usually mix your creations?

Thank you! So I’m Jack, a budding mixologist turned content creator based near Glasgow in Scotland. Although I used to work in a hotel bar many moons ago, all my creations now are made right at home in my kitchen, usually championing ingredients from producers in the local area.

What's your personal story with mixology? How did it all begin for you? 

So it all started back when I worked as a waiter, and I was taken along to a cocktail party hosted by Bacardi as one of the invitees could no longer go. Where previously, my cocktail experience working in the bar had been white wine spritzers, this event transformed my view and opened my eyes to the world of cocktails. I bought a cheap shaker set and when I moved in with my now-wife, we started to experiment with cocktails at the weekend after work, usually in the classic sour format (50ml spirit, 20ml syrup, 20ml fresh citrus juice). After a year or so of doing this, I decided to start posting them to Instagram, and my competitive nature, coupled with my passion for food and drink, led to continuously improving my repertoire, inventory and recipe sophistication.

What's your favourite cocktail - or, better yet, what would you consider the most perfect mix ever?

It’s a tough question and the answer ultimately depends on the season! In the summer, I’d say a well-made mojito is hard to beat. With the right amount of rum and sugar, offset by the freshness from the mint, lime and crushed ice, there is no better drink in my opinion.

That being said, my favourite drink I’ve ever had combined peated whisky, rum, vermouth, banana, coffee, raisins and tonka bean. It was then clarified with creme anglaise and served over ice. The end result was absolutely incredible and perfect for the winter season.

What advice would you give to someone just starting out in the art of mixology and looking to create their own signature cocktail?

Based on my own experience, it’s important to learn the basic recipe formats. Any drink can ultimately be boiled down to either being a sour or a martini and so as a starting point, I’d say learn how to make good versions of:

1. a classic sour (50ml spirit, 20ml syrup, 20ml fresh citrus) as this teaches you about balancing the sweet and sour components whilst shaking; and,

2. an old fashioned as this teaches the balance between spirit strength (i.e. booziness), sweetness and bitterness whilst stirring

3. your own flavoured syrups and infused ingredients. This is a game-changer.

Being great at shaking isn’t essential, nor is having a huge array of bar tools. But once you’ve nailed these, any other recipe essentially just builds on these by substituting in other ingredients. From there, it’s as simple as learning what flavours, ingredients and spirits you like, and then how to combine them in a way that doesn’t depart from these principles.

Back to the contest now – what inspired you to create your recipe?

For me, cocktails are a social experience that can be enjoyed together so when I heard Valtteri and Tiffany were running a cocktail competition for their gin with Emerald Stay, it felt like this was the perfect opportunity. Over the past year, I’ve spent more time making batched drinks that are very easy to keep and quick to serve (once you’ve spent the time making them) so I wanted to make something that paid homage to that ethos, whilst also making something fitting to the surroundings of the Emerald Stay alpine properties. Cosy fireplace settings with snow-capped mountains led me to explore flavours common to Swiss and French cuisine (e.g. aniseed and stone fruits) before tapping into ingredients common to both Finland & Australia as a nod to Tiffany and Valtteri.

Could you briefly break down the ingredients for us? What’s in the Scottish Mixology Sour?

It might read as a little complicated but it’s basically a fancy sour (like what I was saying earlier)! At the heart is the Oath Gin which brings a zesty and oaty palate from the apple and oats botanicals used in the vacuum distillation. I’ve then sweetened it with a salmiakki salted caramel syrup to bring through an anise flavour that doesn’t overpower the drink and nods to an ingredient held in high regard back in Finland, and a granny smith (which are native to Australia) and tonka bean liqueur to add a subtle spiced tang. The drink is then balanced with a sustainable citrus substitute made by boiling leftover citrus husks to make a stock and then increasing the pH using acid powder and sweetening with coconut sugar to increase viscosity and make it akin to fresh citrus juice. Sustainability is an important topic to me in mixology and I wanted to make sure this was captured in the entry. 

This mixture is then blended with an aged sherry and roasted marzipan to add a almond note as a nod to the alpine cuisine common to many of the Emerald Stay properties. Finally, clarifying the drink with a masala chai spiced cream (ginger, cardamon, nutmeg, and black pepper) gives it a lovely and rounding spiced warmth and also ensures the drink keeps and serves well.

How did you develop it? What steps did you take to reach the final, optimum version?

To make sure I hit all the flavour notes I wanted to, I brainstormed a few initial concepts that might work for the brief. From there, I created a ‘mind map’ with the various flavour combinations and visualised what the final drink might look like (i.e. how would it be served). I initially drafted around 5 distinct ideas, each focusing on different themes, cuisines, and ranging in experimentation too – one idea combined caviar with pink grapefruit and white chocolate! 

I then made each drink in a small quantity over an afternoon with my wife, tinkering with the recipes, identifying what was and wasn’t working with each before we decided together which was the best. Once I was happy, I made a larger batch for us to enjoy and for me to submit as my entry!

Finally, for those who don’t have a bottle of Oath Gin at home, what kind of gin would you recommend as a substitute? Are there any specific key flavours to look for?

The cocktail is fortunately versatile enough for you to choose a different gin and still achieve a delicious result but it would of course, not be the same! I would recommend sticking to a classic London dry style, both for availability and for retaining the zestiness, but if you could find a gin that has apples as a botanical, that would be a great start. There are plenty of options to choose from and you can’t go too far wrong, but I would avoid choosing any sweetened gins (like old tom, sloe or other fruit-infused styles) as these could then result in a cocktail that is too sweet and difficult to balance.

What would be best if you can’t find Oath Gin is actually infusing a dry gin with green apples (preferably Grannie Smith). To do this quickly, you could chop up two apples and vacuum seal them with the gin and then either sous-vide the mixture for a few hours at a low temperature or leave them for a week in a dark place. If vacuum sealing isn’t an option, simply chop the apples as finely as possible, combine with the gin in a sealed container and leave for at least 2 weeks. The gin will extract the apple flavour and you’ll have made your very own unique creation.