City of Phoenix Announces First Official Signature Cocktail

PHOENIX — In partnership with Visit Phoenix, the City of Phoenix collaborated with local cocktail industry professionals to create Phoenix’s first signature drink.

Mayor Kate Gallego, inspired by regional drinks like New York’s Manhattan cocktail, is on a mission to bring one to Phoenix. The city hosted the “Spirit of Phoenix” cocktail competition, inviting local bars and mixologists to create drinks in an effort to impress the judges and earn their drink the title “The Phoenix.”

Nicole Long of local Mexican restaurant Santo Arcadia won the competition. Here is the recipe for Phoenix’s official signature cocktail – “The Phoenix”.

Shake in a box with:

• 2 ounces Milagro reposado
• 1 ounce Chiltepines Mesquite Honey Syrup
• 1 ounce of lemon juice
• 1/4 ounce prickly pear
• Garnish: Dehydrated lemon and peppers

“Santo Arcadia’s mixologist developed a unique cocktail recipe that was selected as the most representative cocktail of our bold and diverse city,” officials said in an article. “With house-made Chiltepin mesquite honey syrup, prickly pears, and Long’s picked lemon juice, his cocktail is a true garden-to-glass experience.”

The contestants who participated in the competition only had a few rules. According to the article, “They had to live in a Phoenix zip code, the cocktail had to be prepared via a ‘traditional’ bar technique, a maximum of three homemade ingredients could be used, no more than two ounces for the base.” spirits, a full ounce had to be Milagro Tequila, and local and indigenous ingredients were encouraged.

With these guidelines in place, participants had their cocktails judged in the first round by industry experts. The judges selected a total of 20 cocktails to taste from the online proposals. Of the 20 drinks selected, the field was narrowed down to the top four.

From there, the top four cocktails were offered at multiple locations throughout the Valley during the second and third rounds. The audience had the chance to taste and decide on the two best cocktails.

After narrowing the list down to two, the final cocktails were voted on throughout May. Long’s drink was the last drink standing and earned the name “The Phoenix”.