Patron Perfectionists 2024 USA Central Finalists

Jesus Verde

Originally from Venezuela, based in Austin, TX. Currently the bartender for two bars: Here Nor There (Speakeasy bar) and In Plain Sight (Aperitivo bar). After 14 years in the corporate world, while dedicating to learning about spirits, the craft of making cocktails, and the art of hospitality, Jesus decided to jump behind the bar and learn bar service from the bottom-up. Over the past couple of years, Jesus has had the opportunity to guest bartend in different bars nationally and internationally, judge cocktail competitions, made top 10 nationally in "Art of Italicus", invited to bartend at major cocktail festivals in the US (Arizona Cocktail Week, BCB, Aspen F&W, Tales of the Cocktail), collaborated with national artists creating drinks inspired in their form of art, and lately was crowned the winner for US Central Region for Patrón Perfectionist 2023/2024.

Entry Challenge cocktail inspiration
The cocktail was inspired by Bangkok, a city that is very lively and fun. With its energy, the street vendors, the canals, the heat, and also a city that showed Jesus for the first-time real Thai food. Thai cuisine has coconut at the core of many of its iconic dishes, and this is a flavour that connects him with Venezuela. Coconut is a flavour that was very present in Jesus's childhood, and one that will always arise beautiful memories. For his cocktail, Jesus used ingredients that are typical in Thai cuisine, especially of his favourite dish, Tom Kha Gai, which is a coconut milk-based dish with chicken, that uses all the Thai ingredients presented in the cocktail.

Jesus Verde's Lost in Bangkok
Bar: Here Nor There, Austin, TX
- 50 ml Patrón Silver
- 5 ml Dry Curacao
- 10 ml Lime juice
- 20 ml Thai cordial*
- 2 dashes Makrut lime leaf tincture*
- 2 dashes Curry leaf tincture*
- 2 dashes Saline water

*To make Thai cordial:
Step 1
Create 0.5 to 1 Coconut Syrup: in a sous vide bag mix 100grs Sugar with 200grs of Fresh coconut water. Sous vide for 2hrs at 60 degrees Celsius.
Step 2
Mix in a blender:
Lemongrass: 10% of the weight in grams of the final mix of coconut syrup.
Ginger: 5% of the weight in grams of the final mix of coconut syrup Blend for 5min in high velocity. And then strain through coffee filter.

*To make Makrut lime leaf tincture:
Leave sitting overnight 32 grams of Makrut lime leaves, cut in very small pieces (5cm square), with 100ml of Patrón Silver Tequila.

*To make Curry leaf tincture:
Leave sitting overnight 32 grams of fresh Curry leaf cut into small pieces (5cm square) with 100ml of Patrón Silver Tequila.

Other finalists

Adam Chase's Terre Verte
Bar: The Aviary & The Office, Chicago, IL
- 2 oz Patrón Silver
- 0.75 oz Tomatillo/Aloe syrup*
- 0.66 oz Lime juice

*To make Tomatillo/Aloe syrup:
Combine in a blender husked and washed Tomatillos (500g), 1000g of white sugar, 75g of an Aloe Liqueur, 400g of filtered water, 5g of Ascorbic Acid, and 2g of Kosher Salt. Blend until sugar is completely dissolved. Filter through a fine mesh filter then a nut milk bag. Store in fridge for 2 months.

Allison Everitt's Automatic Heatwave
Bar: Kiesling, Detroit, MI
- 2 oz Green bell pepper infused Patrón Silver*
- 0.25 oz Salers Gentian
- 0.25 oz Ancho Reyes Verde Liqueur
- 0.25 oz Agave
- 0.75 oz Fresh lime juice
- 0.5 oz Coconut milk
- 0.5 oz Coconut cream
- 3 dashes Jalapeno tincture*
- 2 dashes Miracle Mile Yuzu bitters

*To make Green bell pepper infused Patrón Silver:
Slice green bell peppers and combine with Patrón Silver, including the seeds and core for 24 hours in a cambro. Strain and store in a sealed container.
*To make Jalapeno tincture:
Slice 100 grams of jalapeno peppers and place (including seeds) in a glass jar filled with high-proof neutral grain alcohol, such as Everclear. Let sit for at least 48 hours covered in a dark place. Shake each day. Strain and keep in a glass bottle.

SC Baker's Retrace Your Steps
Bar: Epiphany, Louisville, KY
- 2 oz Patrón Silver
- 0.75 oz Spiced Gourmand Curaçao*
- 0.5 oz Fino Sherry
- 0.75 oz Persimmon-Orange-Tamarind syrup*
- 1 oz Super lemon*

*To make Spiced Gourmand Curaçao:
150 g orange peels
5 cinnamon sticks
10 cloves
5 tonka beans (grated)
15 coffee beans
2 Madagascar vanilla beans (split)
5 g cacao nibs
500 ml lightly aged rum (eg, Bacardi Superior)
500 ml water
1.5:1 white sugar (by weight)
Combine orange peels, spices, rum and water into a sealed glass jar or vacuum bag. Sous vide or CVAP for 4 hours at 140F. Put in ice bath to temper. Strain and blend liquid with 1.5:1 sugar to tea by weight.

*To make Persimmon-Orange-Tamarind syrup:
200 g American persimmon puree
200 g Tamarind paste
200 g Orange juice
600 g White sugar
Break tamarind pods, remove fruit from pod and separate from veins. Cover tamarind fruit in hot/boiling water in a lidded container for 60 mins. Run the tamarind-water mixture through a conical sieve with a pestle or spatula, separating the pulp from the seeds. Mix the remaining water-pulp mixture into a runny paste or sauce, set aside. Wash ripe persimmons and remove brown top (calyx), process them through a food mill or conical sieve and pestle or spatula, separating the skins and seeds from the pulp. If processed through a food mill, run the pulp through a conical sieve with a spatula to remove solids/skins that may have made it through the mill and set puree aside. Juice oranges and strain pulp. Immersion blend equal parts by weight of tamarind, persimmon and orange. Immersion blend with sugar until syrup consistency (1:1 sugar to puree mixture by weight).

*To make Super lemon:
100 g Lemon peels
48 g Citric acid
10 g Malic acid
1 litre Water
Juice from peeled fruit
Macerate peels and acids in a lidded container for 30-60 min, until there are visible oils (yielding oleo citrate). Combine oleo citrate mixture with water and immersion blend until peels are confetti size. Add citrus juice and blend briefly to incorporate. Strain solids and bottle.

David Yee's Shorebird Margarita
Bar: Cobra, Columbus, OH
- 1.5 oz Patrón Silver
- 0.75 oz Shorebird cordial*
- 0.5 oz Lime juice
- 0.25 oz Patrón Citronge
- 0.25 oz Fino Sherry

*To make Shorebird cordial:
50 g Rice milk
50 g Orange juice
50 g Orange peel oleo
50 g Pandan tea
100 g Sugar
Combine in a blender and incorporate thoroughly.

Dragan Milivojevic's Narangrita
Bar: Bacalar, Austin, TX
- 45 ml Patrón Silver
- 5 ml Apricot brandy
- 30 ml Sour orange cordial*
- 20 ml Lime juice

*To make Sour orange cordial:
Part 1 - prepare the Oleo Sachaarum. Add 200 g of sour orange peels in a vacuum bag, then add 300 g of white sugar and vacuum seal. Leave out at room temperature for at least 12 hours.
Part 2 - prepare the cordial. After Oleo Sacharrum is ready, add to a pot with 300 ml of the fresh sour orange juice and 100 ml of fresh lime juice. Cook on low heat until the sugar is fully dissolved. Let cool and then add 100 ml of Naranja Mexican orange liquour. Stir to mix fully, then double strain and refrigerate the cordial.

Eddie Baty's Forbade
Bar: Watertrade, Austin, TX
- 1.75 oz Patrón Silver
- 0.5 oz Black rice horchata rich syrup*
- 0.25 oz Suze
- 0.75 oz Fresh lime juice
- 0.5 oz Orange liqueur

*To make Black rice horchata rich syrup:
Weigh out the mixture, and add pure cane sugar, equal to 200% of the unsweetened horchata's weight. Heat up your unsweetened horchata on low heat, stirring in your sugar. Once a good amount of the sugar has dissolved, crank up the heat to medium-high. Continue stirring until you've reached a boil. Once a boil has been reached. Remove the syrup from the heat and allow to cool. Once cooled, you now have a finished black rice horchata syrup.

To make garnish:
In one container, measure 75g Black rice, 25g Long grain white rice, 15g Sesame, and 375g Filtered water. Place this container in the fridge for 12 hours. In another container, measure 40g Almonds, 20g Cashew, 2g Ceylon cinnamon, 4g whole coffee beans, and a pinch of salt. Cover these ingredients in filtered water, pour near the top of the container and you will have enough water. No measurement necessary. Leave this at room temperature for 12 hours.
The first container, containing your rice, can be poured into a blender, all ingredients including the water. Strain out the water from your second container. We only want the solid ingredients. Once all the water has been strained, add those ingredients to your blender. Add .3g of Crushed Green Peppercorn and blend the mixture on high until all ingredients have been adequately mixed and broken apart. We want powdered solids for use after straining. Strain the contents of the blender through a nut milk bag ideally, but a muslin cloth will also work.
Once you have separated your liquid from the solids, place the solids in a dehydrator, stirring fairly often otherwise it will not dehydrate properly. Set aside for your garnish once fully dehydrated.

Everyn Phoenix's Gaijin
Bar: The Aviary, Chicago, IL
- 1.5 oz Patrón Silver
- 1 oz AvoSabi syrup*
- 0.75 oz Lime juice
- 0.5 oz Toasted Sesame-Washed Cointreau

*To make AvoSabi syrup:
400 g Coconut milk
400 g Avocado
400 g Granulated cane sugar
10 g Wasabi powder
Combine all ingredients in a VitaMix, or another high-speed blender, and blend until fully incorporated and smooth. Pour into an air-tight container.

Brandon Lutz's El Chico Nostalgico
Bar: This Too Shall Pass, Austin, TX
- 1.5 oz Patrón Silver
- 1.25 oz Spicy citric tomato syrup*
- 0.75 oz Corn liqueur

*To make Spicy citric tomato syrup:
Into a blender: add 300g of filtered water, 125g tomatillo, 350g Roma tomato, two Serrano peppers (one deseeded), 200g of sugar and 10g of citric acid. Blend thoroughly until everything is fully incorporated or until you no longer see large chunks of vegetables. Strain mixture through a cheese cloth making sure to squeeze out as much of the syrup from the pulp as possible. Bottle and refrigerate syrup.

Jarmel Doss' Texas Tea
Bar: Return to Sender, Houston, TX
- 1.5 oz Patrón Silver
- 0.5 oz St George spiced Pear Brandy
- 0.75 oz Ginger/Green cardamom syrup*
- 0.75 oz Lime juice
- 4 Matcha/ Apple ice*

*To make Ginger/Green cardamom syrup:
Add 80g sliced ginger, 10g toasted green cardamom, and 200g simple syrup to a pot. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Cover and steep for 1hour. Strain and reserve for use.
*To make Matcha / Apple ice:
Add 1 teaspoon matcha powder to 6oz hot apple juice and whisk until thoroughly combined. Strain through cheese cloth and pour into ice moulds. Place into freezer until frozen all the way through.

Kristina Magro's Magrorita
Bar: Sportsmans Club, Chicago, IL
- 2 oz Patrón Silver
- 1 oz Local raw honey (syrup)
- 1 oz Lime juice
- 0.5 oz Apologies Celery Root Liqueur
- 0.25 oz Malort

*To make Local raw honey syrup:
Source local honey preferably wildflower. Make honey syrup 2 parts raw honey to 1-part hot water. Stir to incorporate.

Meghan Webb's Salsa Fresca
Bar: Parliment and Nickel City, Saginaw, TX
- 45 ml Avocado oil fat washed Patrón Silver*
- 15 ml Pico De Gallo (salsa Fresca) Dry Vermouth*
- 10 ml Lime acid solution*
- 4 dashes Cilantro oil*
- 1 dash MSG (monosodium glutamate) solution*

*To make Avocado oil fat washed Patrón Silver:
750 ml PATRÓN Silver
500 ml Avocado Oil
Immersion blend and stick in freezer for 8 hours. Agitate at 4 hours. Remove after 8 hours and pull frozen oil disc off Patron and set aside to defrost for the cilantro infused oil.

*To make Cilantro oil:
Use oil from fat washing as base.
500 ml oil
100 g Cilantro blended with oil

*To make Pico De Gallo (salsa Fresca):
750 ml Noilly Prat
100 g diced tomato
100 g chopped cilantro
25 g red onion
15g Serrano pepper
Add all ingredients to a vacuum sealed bag and seal. Sous vide at 50 Celsius for 3 hours. Strain, set cool, bottle, label, and date.

*To make Lime acid solution:
100 ml Citric acid
50 ml Malic acid
Diluted at 10 percent for each acid (So 100g water to 10g citric or malic powder).

*To make MSG solution:
100g water
50g MSG
Dissolve and put in dropper bottle.

Billy Fredlund's Wash Me Away
Bar: Stave Cocktail Lounge, Carmel, IN
- 1.5 oz Patrón Silver
- 0.75 oz Orange peel infused elderflower liqueur (St. Germaine preferred)*
- 0.75 oz Lime adjusted cucumber juice

- 0.5 oz Agave Nectar (Tres Agave preferred)
- 2 dashes Black pepper Patrón tincture*

- 1 dash 10% Saline solution**

*To make Orange peel infused elderflower liqueur:
750 ml St. Germaine Elderflower Liqueur
175 g Naval orange peels (remove pith)
In a non-reactive container, combine ingredients and cover. Let sit at room temperature for 12 hours. Strain and bottle.

*To make Lime adjusted cucumber juice:
500 ml English cucumber juice
20 g Citric acid powder
10 g Malic acid powder
1 g Ascorbic acid powder
Combine ingredients and mix until powders are dissolved.

*To make Black pepper Patrón tincture:
500 ml Patrón Silver
150 g Fresh cracked black peppercorns
Place ingredients in an ice Whipped Cream canister. Shake vigorously and charge with 1 nitro charger. Shake again and charge with a second. Let rest for 20 minutes. Slowly release pressure. Once pressure is depleted, open canister and filter through a nut milk bag.

To make 10% Saline solution:
90 ml Warm Water
10 g Kosher Salt
Combine ingredients and stir until salt is dissolved.