Last week we featured the third installment of our Bottom Of The Barrel Series- a collaborative effort between Two For The Bar and Joann Pai of Acorn Mag in which we challenge craft bartenders to use not-so-craft ingredients to create a cocktail.

Last week Grant Scene y bravely took Alize Bleu where no blue liqueur had gone before. Grant forwarded the challenge to The Keefer’s very own Gez McAlpine who was originally tasked with incorporating Peanut Butter and Jam vodka into a new cocktail. When the product was no where to be found (I wonder why), he was thrown an even bigger curve ball as he was forced to work with Cinnamon Roll Vodka.

The Bartender: Gez McAlpine
The Ingredient: Pinnacle Cinnamon Roll Vodka
The Cocktail: The Canadian Cinnabon Sour

Recipe:
1.5 oz Lot 40 Rye
¾ oz Pinnacle Cinnamon Roll Vodka
¾ oz fresh lemon juice
½ oz maple syrup
3 dashes Jamie Boudreau’s Boker’s Bitters
1 egg white

Dry shake all ingredients then wet shake (over ice). Strain into a glass and garnish with grated cinnamon.

Gez did a remarkable job with the cocktail, given the difficulty of the ingredient he was working with. The cloying, almost chemical quality of the vodka was the most difficult part of incorporating it into a cocktail. The Lot 40 and lemon helped to neutralize the over-the-top sweetness of the Cinnamon Roll Vodka. The cocktail begins as a well made whiskey sour and finishes unexpectedly with hints of cinnamon and boxed cake batter. All in all, a big win considering this was our most difficult ingredient to date.