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Last Sunday at the extravagant Cochon 555 Denver, Punch Bowl Social beverage manager Patrick Williams earned a spot among the Punch Kings finalists. The punch-centric contest focused on large format mixing is the boozy side-kick to the swine-focused Cochon 555. Participating bartenders are given 30 minutes to prepare 1 punch bowl featuring 1 bottle of spirits along with their special ingredients.
Williams created a punch using an intricate mixture of Breckenridge bourbon, cardamom infused Lillet Blanc, oleo-saccharum made from blood orange and lemon peels with muscavado sugar, raspberry and quince paste syrup, Bohea and Lapsang Souchong teas and fresh lemon juice. The drink, named 'Not by the hair on my chinny-chin-chin,' was garnished with pink pigs made from freezing jello, dried currants and cranberries.
The national finale, featuring the winners from each city, will take place in Snowmass on June 19 where one finalist will be crowned the 2015 Punch King.