Morristown Bartender Wins Mixologist Of The Year Award

MORRISTOWN, N.J. – Anyone who dines and drinks at Jockey Hollow Bar & Kitchen can now say they’re being served by the state’s best.

Jonathan Echevarria, one of the restaurant’s bartenders, was recently named New Jersey’s “Mixologist Of The Year” at a statewide competition organized by the New Jersey Restaurant & Hospitality Association where he beat out 20 others in his field.

Echevarria’s winning drink is named Gaur-den State Flip, and is described as a “unique frothy, vanilla-white cocktail made with Gaur Spice Whiskey, sprinkled with cinnamon and garnished with a perfectly-centered star anise.”

The competition was held at Jack Baker’s Lobster Shanty in Point Pleasant Beach. It was Echevarria’s first competition at the state level.

"An aptly named classic flip, perfectly accented with the spices of Gaur!" said Francis Schott, the lead judge at the event.

The event was sponsored by Gaur Spice Whiskey and participants were asked to make a drink using only the official liquor and six other ingredients. Drinks were judged on taste, creativity, and presentation by a panel of respected mixologists from around New Jersey. The was the event’s sixth year.

Photos Courtesy lifeasfineart.com.