USA West Finalists

Patrón Perfectionists 2024 USA West Finalists image 1

Patrón Perfectionists 2024 USA West Finalists

The US West winners and their cocktails, who'll go on to compete for a place in the Patrón Perfectionists Global Final in May 2024.

Joe Arakawa

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Joe Arakawa was born and raised on the island of Oahu, and is currently residing in Las Vegas, NV as Bar Director for Anima by EDO. Joe found a humble beginning in the service industry as a bar back and found a love for bartending and cooking as he progressed over the years. Within just two years he found himself as the opening bar manager for Avenues bar and Eatery which has since been sold and rebranded. 12 years in the bar industry with a simultaneous 15 in the Army Reserves with multiple combat tours and serving as a Chief Warrant Officer 2. Joe has worked in all manner of establishments and utilizes his upbringing in Hawaii as the forefront of his hospitality and style in bartending. Joe is passionate about his craft and always looks for opportunities to give back, mentor, and be a steward of the profession.

Entry Challenge cocktail inspiration
The K2 or Kamaʻāina Kuleana Margarita is a direct inspiration of Hawaii. The first word meaning a child of the land, which is Joe as he is not of Hawaiian blood but born and raised there. Kuleana is responsibility, but not just any responsibility, it is an earned or bestowed upon responsibility. As a Kamaʻāina it is your Kuleana to be a respresentative of Hawaii and the Aloha spirit wether you live there or not. It is your responsibility to create that spirit everywhere you go. This cocktail was designed to emulate that while tying in nods to Joe's Korean heritage as Hawaii is a true melting pot of culture and people. Highlighting both indigenious and non-indigineous ingredients to further emphasize the adaptability of Hawaii and its people to both integrate and welcome with open arms as Joe believes the Patrón Familia also does every day.

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Joseph Arakawa's K2 Margarita
Bar: Anima by EDO, Las Vegas, NV
- 0.5 oz Patrón Silver
- 1.5 oz Tumeric sous vide Patrón Silver*
- 5 oz Coconut fat-washed Patrón Citronge
- 0.5 oz Guava cordial*
- 5 dashes 80:20 saline solution*
- 0.5 oz Fresh lime juice
- 5 dashes 20% malic acid solution*

*To make Tumeric sous vide Patrón Silver:
100g of turmeric to 300g of Patrón Silver by weight. Sous vide in water bath at 105 degrees Fahrenheit for 16 hours. Fine strain.

*To make Guava cordial:
456g (1lb) of guava, quartered and placed in a container. Gently press the Guava to release the juice. Cover Guava in 228g of cane sugar. Allow to sit for 16 hours at room temperature to extract. Strain off extracted syrup. Add 250g of 100 proof neutral grain spirit to the guava that was used for syrup and allow to sit at room temperature for 12 hours. Strain and mix with the syrup that was previously extracted. Bottle and store in a fridge and use for up to 3 weeks.

*To make Saline solution:
Mix by weight 80g of water and 20g of kosher salt until salt is fully dissolved.

*To make Malic acid solution:
100g of water to 20g of malic acid. Mix until malic acid is fully dissolved.

Ashleigh Hehmann

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Ashleigh Hehmann is the Wild Card US national winner of Patrón Perfectionists. Based in Long Beach, California, she has been bartending and managing bars in the Los Angeles area for the past thirteen plus years. You can currently find her at Accomplice Bar in Mar Vista. She is very passionate about the spirit of hospitality, education, outreach, and mental health awareness. Whether it be participating in competitions or putting together training classes for new bartenders, she is always seeking opportunities to learn, share, and collaborate.

Entry Challenge cocktail inspiration
Crafted to celebrate the heart of Agave, the spirit of the Margarita, and the soul of Oaxaca, "Sin Maíz, No Hay País" pays homage to agave and maíz, two deeply-rooted and culturally significant plants, celebrating their rich heritage and role in Mexican culinary traditions. The name pays tribute to the non-profit group that works to protect native corn varieties. Each ingredient complements Patrón Silver adding layers that represent sensory memories from Oaxaca, such as BBQing at a Palenque, visiting the Grana Cochinilla Museum, stopping at street vendors, sipping on Tejuino, and the smell of smudged herbs drifting from nearby windows.

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Ashleigh Hehman's Sin Maíz, No Hay País
Bar: Accomplice Bar, Long Beach, CA
- 2 oz Patrón Silver
- 0.75 oz Pasilla Ancho Chile infused Nixta Elote Liqueur
- 1 oz Lime juice
- 0.75 oz Coco-corn syrup*
- 3 dashes Mexican Mole bitters
- 3 barspoon Oaxaca-style acid-adjusted orange sorbet

*To make Coco-corn syrup:
- 8 oz Organic coconut water
- 8 oz Fair trade turbinado sugar
- 1/4 tsp Pink Himalayan sea salt
- 1 large hoja santa leaf
- Kernels from one sweet corn
Blend coconut water and sugar until dissolved. Combine all ingredients and sous-vide at 135 degrees Fahrenheit for 1 hour. Double strain and refrigerate until ready to use.

Other finalists

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Aline Tongkhuya's The Sisterhood of the Traveling Plums
Bar: Modernist, Fresno, CA
- 2 oz Li Hing Mui infused Patrón Silver
- 0.75 oz Macadamia Agave*
- 0.25 oz Fresh lime juice
- 2 dashes Angostura orange bitters

*To make Macadamia Agave:
Equal parts agave nectar and unsweetened macadamia milk (80g each).
Combine and mix well until the solution is homogenous. Does not need to be heated. Store in a cool, dry place.

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Brendon Bos' Mayhaw Faeries' Fix
Bar: Padre & Mezcalero LBC, Long Beach, CA
- 3 oz Patrón Blanco
- 1 oz Citrus Butter Patrón*
- 2 oz Hand pressed lime
- 2 oz Cane River Mayhaw Jelly
- 2 oz Water

*To make Citrus Butter washed Patrón:
- 500 ml Patrón Blanco
- 150 g Butter
- 1.5 g White peppercorn
- 90 g Orange peel
- 5 g Fresno chili (seeded)
Toast pepper corns in skillet until aromatic, add butter and brown until golden. Add citrus peel, fresno chili and Patrón and immediately transfer to freezer bag. Vacuum seal and sous vide at 135F for two hours. Fine strain, reserving citrus peel and fresno chili to dehydrate -- discard peppercorns. Freeze butter washed Patrón, fine strain through cheesecloth and chinois. Resulting liquid is Citrus Butter washed Patrón Blanco.

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Connor Sullivan's Peak Bliss
Bar: Reynard Social, Arvada, CO
- 1.5 oz Patrón Silver
- 0.75 oz Patrón Extra Añejo orange liqueur*
- 1.25 oz Colorado Palisade peach puree*
- 0.75 oz Fresh lemon juice
- 2 barspoon Superfine sugar
- 2 barspoon Colorado Green Chile Pepper Sotol*

*To make Patrón Extra Añejo orange liqueur:
- 750 ml Patrón Extra Añejo Tequila
- 2 Meyer lemons
- 5 Navel oranges
- 1/4 tsp Vanilla extract
- 8 Basil leaves
- 200 g Turbinado sugar
Peel lemons and oranges and infuse the peels and basil with tequila for 1 week in an air-tight container. Strain product through coffee filter, discarding peels and basil. Over low heat, combine infused tequila, turbinado sugar, and vanilla until sugar is fully dissolved. Let Cool.

*To make Colorado Palisade peach puree:
- 4 Colorado Palisade peaches
Boil water in saucepan and create ice water bath in a large mixing bowl. Place Peaches into boiling water for 1 minute each and then submerge each into ice bath. Dry peaches and peel the skins from the fruit, discard the skins. Cut open the peaches and discard the pits. Place the peach fruit into a food processor and blend until smooth.

*To make Colorado Green Chile Sotol:
- 100 ml Hacienda de Chihuahua Sotol Plata
- 1 Colorado green chile pepper
Dice green chile pepper into small pieces. Infuse with sotol for three days. Strain through coffee filter and discard pepper pieces.

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Eliza Hoar's FIGure It Out Monkey
Bar: Youngblood, San Diego, CA
- 1.5 oz Patrón Silver
- 0.75 oz Fresh lime juice
- 0.5 oz Toasted rosemary honey syrup*
- 1 oz Fig grapefruit curacao*
- 1 dash Salt

*To make Rosemary honey:
Toast 2 stalks of rosemary on the stove top and add to a pot of 1:1 organic honey to water. Let simmer on low heat for 45 minutes. Take off heat and let cool. Filter out the rosemary sprigs.

*To make Fig grapefruit curacao:
Take 25 figs and thinly slice them. Then peel 5 ruby red grapefruits without the pith. Use a bottle of Patrón Reposado and cover in a room temperature room for 6 days (figs sugar content makes the time shorter). On the 6th day put this inside the fridge for 24 hours so that all the flavours settle in. After that time take out and filter out all the bits and add sugar. It is a beautiful rose colour.
Fig leaf/fig oil:
Take a cup of dried fig leaves and 2 thinly sliced figs and put them in a container with 2 cups of extra virgin olive oil. Let this sit in room temperature for 3 days. Filter out all bits using cheese cloth. Nice forest green colour.

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Giovanni Siracusa's Elefante Verde
Bar: 264 Fresco, San Diego CA
- 1.75 oz Patrón Silver
- 0.25 oz Orange blossom water
- 1 oz Freshly squeezed lime juice
- 0.5 Cloves infused agave nectar*
- 4 Cloves water*
- 1 barspoon Dash bergamot marmalade

*To make 1lt Cloves nectar:
- 750 ml 100% agave nectar
- 250 ml Water
- 3 tbsp Dried cloves
Infuse 3 full tablespoons of cloves in 250ml of hot water and stir it. When it cools to warm, remove the cloves and combine the water with 750ml of pure agave nectar. Add more cloves for stronger flavours. The ratio used in this recipe was water: agave 1:3.

*To make Cloves water:
- 3 tbsp Dried cloves
- 125 ml Water
Bring the water to boil. Add the cloves and mix it. When it cools down remove the cloves and store it in a small atomizer or dash bottle.

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Heather Biesemeier's The Great Get-Together
Bar: Agua Viva, Los Angeles, CA
- 1.5 oz Charred Corn Husk infused Patrón Silver*
- 0.5 oz Triple sec
- 0.25 oz Patrón Reposado Ahumado
- 1.5 oz Citrus blend juice*
- 1 oz Charred corn and caramelised apple agave*
- 1 oz Vanilla bean ice cream
- 2 dashes Saline solution (80:20)
- 2 dashes Peychauds bitters
- 2 dashes Aztec chocolate bitters
- 3 barspoon Crushed waffle cookie and sea salt mixture*

*To make Citrus blend juice:
2 parts lime juice
2 parts lemon juice
1 part grapefruit juice
1/2 part orange juice

*To make Charred corn and caramelised apple agave:
Grill corn until kernels start to brown, cut apple into thin slices, coat slices with cane sugar and bake at 400 degrees until sugar browns about 8-10 minutes. Shuck corn and cut cob into fourths. Add apples, corn cobs and agave to airtight bag and sous vide for 2 hours at 200 degrees. Let cool and fine strain using a sieve.

*To make Charred Corn Husk infused Patrón Silver:
Using charred corn husk from the grilled corn, weigh the Patrón into milligrams and add 10% of its weight in corn husk into an airtight container and leave overnight. Finely strain with sieve and coffee filter.

*To make Crushed waffle cookie and sea salt mixture:
Add 2 waffle cookies to blender and blend until crumbled, weigh and add equal parts sea salt.

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Jacopo Rosito's Elmy's Margarita
Bar: 54 Mint, San Francisco, CA
- 50 ml Patrón Silver
- 25 ml Martini Ambrato Riserva
- 15 ml Pineapple syrup*
- 15 ml Clear sour mix*
- 7 dashes Serrano Tincture

*To make Clear sour mix:
1L Filtered Water + 30g Citric Acid + 20g Malic Acid + 10g Tartaric Acid + 2.8g Baking Soda.
Mix acids into water until diluted. Then while mixing add the baking soda until bubbling stops. Put 1-2 lemon zest and rest overnight. Refrigerate.

*To make Pineapple syrup:
1 Pineapple
400 g Sugar
200 g Water
Sous vide at 70 Celsius for 2 hours. Strain and refrigerate.

*To make Serrano Tincture:
100g serrano peppers + 200g tequila Silver room temperature infusion for 24hours. After 24 hours remove the serrano peppers.

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Kenneth Hwong's Hot Vegas Nights
Bar: Legacy Club @ Circa, Las Vegas, NV
- 1.5 oz Patrón Silver
- 1 oz Clarified lime juice*
- 0.75 oz Bacardi coconut rum
- 0.75 oz Agave
- 0.5 oz Green Chile liqueur
- 3.5 oz Salted orange oleo foam*

*To make Clarified lime juice:
10 oz. Lime juice
0.6 g Agar agar
Bring 2.5 oz lime juice to a slow simmer and dissolve agar agar with a whisk, turn off heat and slowly pour remaining lime juice while whisking. Place in freezer for 1-2 hours to form soft gel, strain through a coffee filter.

*To make Salted orange oleo foam:
1 cup orange oleo saccharum (10oz. Caster sugar, 5 whole orange peels. Wash and dry unwaxed oranges, peel with as little pith as possible, muddle peels and sugar, place in a vacuum bag and seal for 12 hours at room temperature until sugar dissolves. )
1 cup fresh orange juice
1 cup egg white
3.5 oz. 20% saline solution (Dissolve 20 g Kosher salt into 100 g water)
Combine in an ice whipper and charge twice with n2o cartridges, refrigerate.

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Marie Yoshimizu's Land of Sunshine
Bar: CE LA VI Bellevue, Bellevue, WA
- 1.5 oz Patrón Silver
- 0.75 oz Yuzu Dry Curacao
- 0.75 oz Honey-miso syrup*
- 0.5 oz Fresh lime juice
1 barspoon Umeboshi paste

*To make Honey-miso syrup:
Stir to combine 1.5 cup of honey, 1 tsp of white miso paste, and 1.5 cup of water in a saucepan at medium heat. Simmer for 10-15 min. Strain and keep refrigerated.

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Mitchell Lyons' Playa Del Amor
Bar: Highball Cocktail Bar, Phoenix, AZ
- 1.5 oz Patrón Silver
- 0.5 oz Patrón Anejo Sherry Cask
- 0.5 oz Apertivo Nonino
- 1 oz Fresh lime juice
- 0.75 oz Highball pineapple puree*
- 0.25 oz Mandarin/Tangerine syrup*
- 0.5 oz Chiltepin Oleo*

*To make Highball pineapple puree:
575 g Pineapple, skinned & cubed
30 oz Pineapple juice
Blend until smooth.

*To make Mandarin/Tangerine syrup:
260 g Perfect Puree Mandarin
200 g Sugar immersion
Blend until dissolved.

*To make Chiltipin Oleo:
12 g Crushed Chiltipin
12 g Lime zest
7 g Grapefruit zest
3 g Orange zest
300 g White granulated sugar
Mix thoroughly, steep at room temperature for 30 minutes with no liquid. Add 440 g water and immersion blend. Strain through chinois.

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Seth Sandoval's Claro Que Si
Bar: Farniente, San Diego, CA
- 1.5 oz Patrón Silver
- 0.5 oz Amaro Angeleno
- 0.5 oz Heirloom Alchermes
- 1 oz Lime
- 0.75 oz Agave
- 1 oz Whole milk
- 1 oz Horchata
Combine ingredients excluding the milk and horchata as a punch, then make a horchata/milk mix and clarify the punch through the horchata/milk mixture.

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