COCKTAIL CULTURE
Cocktail culture begins with craftsmanship. When
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts wants to inspire its
bartenders to set the standard for cocktail culture,
the luxury hotel operator doesn’t take the task
lightly. For over a century, bartenders presiding over
Fairmont’s storied bars have been shaping cocktail
trends and creating new recipes to please the palates
of world travelers.This legacy of cocktail innovation
entered a new era in 2015 with the creation of the
Fairmont Tastemaker program. For the first time in
the brand’s history, a group of Fairmont’s best mixologists were brought together to collaborate, create
and share expertise, unearthing a new level of quality and craftsmanship worldwide. Bartender Bout
The Tastemakers knew that it wasn’t enough for the
best of the best to collaborate and create together if
they wanted to inspire their counterparts at hotels
around the world to pursue cocktail excellence.
Starting in the Americas (US, Canada, Mexico, Bermuda & Barbados), it was time to invite bartenders
to show their stuff by inspiring a bit of friendly
competition while exploring the craftsmanship of
two of the brand’s top spirit partners – Brown-Forman’s Woodford Reserve and Gentleman Jack. Each
of Fairmont’s 44 hotels in the Americas was invited
to select two bartenders to create and submit a new
cocktail recipe that featured the selected spirits.
Melissa Logie of Fairmont Waterfront in Vancouver
won with the creation of the Maple Nut Bourbon
Sour featuring Gentleman Jack and Jean Felix Desfossés of Fairmont Le Château Frontenac in Quebec
City won with the Trail Blazer, a Woodford Reserve
cocktail with pomegranate and blackberries.
The winners were invited
t o j o i n Ta s t e m a k e r s
G r a n t S c e n e y o f Fa i r m o n t
Pa c i f i c R i m a n d N a d e r
C h a b a a n e o f Fa i r m o n t
Queen Elizabeth on
an intimate trip to the
bourbon belt to explore
the stories behind these
historic brands.