Patrón Perfectionists 2024 Canadian Finalists

Gianluca Passuello

Gianluca Passuello, a creative and passionate mixologist, joined the BarChef team in 2019, bringing with him a wealth of culinary and mixology experience gained from working in prestigious establishments in Dubai, St. Barthélemy, and Milan. Gianluca strives in pushing the boundaries of mixology and a dedication to crafting truly memorable cocktails. He believes that progressive ingredients and techniques can elevate the cocktail experience, creating unique and immersive sensory journeys.

Entry Challenge cocktail inspiration
The Quisqueya Paloma is inspired by Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Gianluca's mother's birthplace, also known as the "Mother of all Lands" in the native Taíno language, just like its original name, "Quisqueya." As in Mexico, where indigenous cultures have left an indelible mark on traditions, this libation is a heartfelt tribute to Gianluca's roots, with Patrón Reposado being the star of the show. With simple and typical ingredients of Santo Domingo, this creation springs to life with the sweet, tropical embrace of guava, perfectly balancing the Tequila's earthy richness. Quisqueya Paloma is more than a cocktail; it's a journey through time, a testament to the enduring spirit of two remarkable lands, a sip of history in every glass, and an invite to raise your glass to the fusion of traditions, the blending of cultures, and the celebration of life!

Gianluca Passuello's Quisqueya Paloma

Bar: Bar Chef, Toronto
- 1.5oz Patrón Reposado
- 1oz Tierra madre cordial*
- 3oz Soda water

*To make Tierra madre cordial*
250 ml guava juice
150 ml coconut water
100 ml grapefruit juice
4 grams fresh lime leaves
500 grams cane sugar
10 grams citric acid
2 grams malic acid
Wash and peel the guavas. Cut them into small pieces. Extract Guava Juice. Using a juicer, extract the juice from the guava pieces. Fine strain the guava juice to remove any pulp or seeds. Squeeze the grapefruit.
Prepare the Syrup: in a pot, combine 250 ml of guava juice, 150 ml of coconut water, and 100 ml of freshly squeezed grapefruit juice. Add Flavour: Tear the fresh lime leaves into smaller pieces and add them to the pot. Stir in 500 grams of cane sugar. Simmer: Place the pot over medium heat and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Allow the mixture to come to a gentle boil. Strain the Syrup: Once it's boiling, remove the pot from heat. Strain the syrup through a fine-mesh strainer or cheesecloth to remove any solid particles and lime leaves.
Cool and Add Acids: Let the syrup cool to room temperature. Stir in 10 grams of citric acid and 2 grams of malic acid.

Other finalists

Rhiannon Lewis' Hansel and Grapefruit

Bar: Proof Cocktail Bar, Calgary
- 2oz Patrón Reposado
- 1.5oz Currywurst Cordial*
- 2oz Soda water

* To make Currywurst Cordial:
200 ml grapefruit juice (2-3 grapefruits)
150 ml Roma tomato juice (5-6 tomatoes)
60 ml lime juice (4-5 limes)
3g curry powder, 1.5g whole mace & 1g smoked salt
Equal parts white sugar by weight to fruit juices which worked out to 800 grams 2.5 % citric acid by weight. Peel grapefruits and store peels in the refrigerator until ready to use. Zest limes using micro plane and reserve for salt rim. Juice grapefruit, limes, and Roma tomatoes.
Method: In a medium pot over medium heat, toast curry powder and mace until fragrant. Add the juices, sugar and smoked salt to the pot and heat until dissolved. Set aside to cool. Once cool add the reserved grapefruit peels to the cordial and blend. You don't want to pulverize the peels. Just blend until the peels are chunky and resemble gravel or a coarse grain salt. Store in the refrigerator for 24 hours then strain the mixture through cheesecloth. Weigh out cordial once strained and add 2.7 % citric acid by weight.

Makina Labrecque's Pacific Grove Paloma

Bar: Concorde Group, Calgary
- 1oz Patrón Reposado
- 1oz Harrisa Cordial*
- 2oz Soda water

*To make Harrisa Cordial:
Combine 100 grams of fresh grapefruit juice, 200 grams of Monterey County Chardonnay, and 200 grams of honey, and one sheet of crunched up nori paper in a saucepan on medium heat. Fully dissolve the honey, ensuring not to boil, about 5-7 mins of cook time. Fine strain the nori sheets from the cordial. Cool the cordial completely. Acidify the cordial by adding 15ml of 10% acid blend (lactic & citric). (acid blend recipe: combine 5 grams of lactic and 5 grams of citric acid in 100ml water, dissolve acid, serve). Add 15ml apricot liqueur (Giffard brand) to the cooled cordial. Add 10 ml of orange blossom water to the cooled cordial. Stir to combine. Serve.

Ben Kingstone's Soi 11

Bar: Bagheera, Vancouver
- 60ml Patrón Reposado
- 45ml Soi 11 Cordial*
- 60ml Soda water

*To make Soi 11 Cordial:
1. Sustainable grapefruit juice: 500g per litre of cordial. Made by creating an oleo citrate using grapefruit wedges and a grapefruit acid blend (Citric acid, Ascorbic acid, Malic Acid, MSG, a pinch of salt, and sugar). Macerate under vacuum for five hours, then press and strain to extract juices and oils. Dilute back to a pH of 3 for shelf stability, yielding 7-10 times the volume from one grapefruit.
2. Wasted Coconut Water: We use the coconut water that would otherwise go to waste from one of our cocktails that is aged in coconuts at Bagheera. This coconut water serves as the other half of the liquid base for our cordial, adding a tropical depth.
3. White Sugar: Each litre of cordial contains 250g of white sugar for balanced sweetness.
4. Soi 11 Acid Blend: I have used a combination of Citric Acid and Lactic Acid, adding 10g per litre of cordial for a balanced acidity.
5. Wasted Thai Chili Tops: Instead of discarding the flavorful tops of Thai chilies used in our kitchen, I carefully gathered and infused them into the cordial, providing a hint of heat and vibrant taste.

Aletha Couture' Connect The Hops

Bar: Bartholomew's Public House, Victoria
- 1.5oz Patrón Reposado
- 1oz Dry-hopped grapefruit cordial*
- 1oz Soda water

*To make Dry-hopped grapefruit cordial:
Add 185g of grapefruit peel and 370g of cane sugar to a Ziplock bag, and once the oleo is macerated, add 370g water. I then added a cheesecloth bundle with 15g El dorado, 10g mosaic, and 8g motueka hops to the cordial, boiled for 10 minutes, and steeped overnight. Once the hops were removed, it was acidified with 1.5% citric acid to 2.5% lactic acid.

Lingjie Xue's 手の絆 (te no kizuna)

Bar: Dear Friend Bar, Dartmouth
- 1.5oz Patrón Reposado
- 2.5oz Scallop grapefruit cordial*
- 1.25oz Soda water

*To make Scallop grapefruit cordial:
Home cordial recipe: peel grapefruits and cut zest into small pieces. Put 10g water into 150 dehydrated scallops and let it set in the fridge for 5hours. Juice 1000 g grapefruit and 1000g of lemon juice and mix them together. Prepare a pan, pour 2000g juice mixture and scallop together boil it together on the low heat for 45 mins. Take the scallop out the pan and weight half of it and blend together with the juice mixture. Filter it into a new container and put 100g of small grapefruit zest into it. Let it set for a whole night. The next day, take the zest out of the cordial and weight it, put 3/4 of the sugar into it.

Nick King's Hiberno Mexicano

Bar: Bar Pompette, Toronto
- 40ml Patrón Reposado
- 60ml Barmbreac Cordial*
- 80ml Soda water
Garnish with Dried Hibiscus Flower

*To make Barmbreac Cordial*
Sultana raisin 200g
Thompson raisin 200g
Cranberries 50g
Brown sugar 400g
All Spice 8g
Nutmeg 4g
Cinnamon 8g
Salt 2.5g
Black tea 600g
Grapefruit zest 50g
Sous vide all ingredients at 60 degrees Celsius for 2 hours. Strain. In a separate container add:
Lime juice 200g
Grapefruit juice 230g
Raisin mixture 850g
Milk 240g
Allow to sit overnight. Strain milk punch through super-bag.

Stuart Knapman's Assembly of the Dead

Bar: El Rey Mezcal Bar, Toronto
- 60ml Patrón Reposado
- 45ml Harrisa Cordial*
- 45ml Soda water

*To make Harrisa Cordial
4 Whole Cardamom Pods
12 Coriander Seeds
12 Cloves
5g Cumin
10 Dried Red Chilis
5g Diamond Kosher Salt
Method: Combine spices and dried chilis in a pan and toast over a low-medium heat until spices begin to release aromas. Add citrus zests, juice, salt, and sugar to the pan and increase heat to medium-high, stirring continuously until sugar has fully dissolved. Remove pan from heat and allow to cool. Once cordial is cooled strain out the zests and spices.

Vincent De Candido's Bx L-Alto

Bar: Cloakroom, Montreal
- 1.5oz Patrón Reposado
- 3oz Grapefruit, Caraway, Gentian and Chili Cordial*
- 0.75oz Soda water

*To make Grapefruit, Caraway, Gentian and Chili Cordial
500g Fresh Grapefruit juice
100g sugar
10g citric acid
5g malic acid
5g tartaric acid
2.8g chili tincutre
7g gentian tincture
9.8g caraway tincture
Method: Tinctures are made of 28g of fresh ingredient for 250g of neutral grain spirit, sous-vide for 3 hours at 45 Celsius. Alternatively, if a thermo circulator is not available, combine in a container and store in a cool and dark place for 5 days, then strain.

Lori Chiaradia's Meigamma

Bar: Moccione, Montreal
- 1.5oz Patrón Reposado
- 2.75oz Red roasted pepper, saffron and grapefruit cordial*
- 1.5oz Soda water

*To make Red roasted pepper, saffron and grapefruit cordial
This cordial was elaborated slowly and with great care. First, I roasted a whole red pepper over a gas stove until most of the skin turned black. Then, I placed the pepper in a clean bowl which I covered in plastic wrap. I let it rest for a few minutes. Afterwards, the skin was easy to peel off. I then cut the pepper and emptied it out. All the insides of the pepper along with the skins were put in a dehydrator for a few days to eventually create the salt used as a rim in this cocktail. I placed the flesh of the pepper along with the zest of 2 grapefruits on 250g of white sugar and muddled the mixture to obtain an oleo saccharum. I let this oleo saccharum infuse for 24 hours, then transferred it in a pot, with 250g of water, 600g of grapefruit juice and a big pinch of saffron. I brought all of it to a simmer and stirred occasionally for about 10 minutes. After removing the syrup from the stove and letting it cool down, I filtered it using a fine mesh strainer, and then added 60g of powdered citric acid, and 3 barspoons of an anchovy flavoured saline solution (10g of salt, 100g of water and 1 anchovy filet combined well and infused for 24 hours).