Global Competition Spotlights Hoosier Craft Scene
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA coffee roaster and a mixologist from Indianapolis will be the only U.S. entries in a high-profile competition this weekend in The Netherlands. Steve Hall from Tinker Coffee Co., a specialty coffee roaster, and Michael Schrader from The Garden Table, a restaurant and juicery are among 16 finalists in the Coffee Mixologists event at this year’s Amsterdam Coffee Festival. Their "Lord Byron" concoction includes cold brew coffee, vermouth, tequila and spiced pear liqueur. During an interview on Inside INdiana Business Television, Hall described what the opportunity means to the emerging Hoosier businesses.
"Just to be part of the global industry is really one of the most exciting things for us," Hall said. "We’d love to win, we’re going to try our hardest to win, but this is all just a part of us maturing as a coffee company." Tinker Coffee doesn’t have a cafe, but its coffee varieties are sourced from throughout the world and roasted in Indianapolis. The coffee can be purchased on-site, online or found in what it says are "intelligent and refined cafes, restaurants and businesses."
The Garden Table focuses on ingredients from local producers in communities such as Orland, Zionsville, Jasper, Wolcott and Lebanon. Schrader says the entry into the competition means a lot. "For Indianapolis, it’s just a continuation of the craft cocktail industry, mixology and bartending here and just showing not only the United States, but the rest of the world that we’re here and we have really great food and really great drinks and we’re not afraid to show people that," he said.
The companies say the opportunity in Amsterdam is "seriously a dream come true and we’re honored by the selection."
Recipe for "Lord Byron" From Tinker Coffee Co. and The Garden Table in Indianapolis
4:1 Finca Los Pinos cold brew concentrate (24 hour steep)
- .25 oz 18.21 Bitters rosemary sage simple syrup
- .75 oz Cruz vermouth
- 1.5 oz cold brew concentrate
- 2 oz Camarena silver tequila
- 6 dashes Regan’s orange bitters
- .75 oz St. George spiced pear liqueur
Stir, strain, pour, rim glass with lemon zest
View the entry video from Tinker Coffee and The Garden Table: