Congratulations to our SideDish and My Table contributor Phaedra Cook, who won the 2013 Anvil Regulars Cocktail Competition at Anvil Bar & Refuge’s fourth anniversary party this past Sunday evening, March 24.

Phaedra calls her Welcome to Europe cocktail “a celebration of the countries that create many of the spirits that make bartending so darn much fun.” Here are her notes and recipe, courtesy of Anvil, which has added the cocktail to its rotating drinks menu.

1 oz. Hayman’s Old Tom Gin (England)
3/4 oz. Carpano Antica (Italy)
3/4 oz. Pierre Ferrand Cognac (France)
1/2 oz. St. Germaine (France)
1 dash Underberg (Germany)
orange coin (for garnish)

METHOD: Combine all ingredients (except orange coin) in bar glass with cubed ice. Stir until well chilled and strain into a coupe. Squeeze orange coin over glass and flame. (See disclaimer below.) Carefully drop the coin, peel side up, into glass to garnish. If it flips on you, don’t panic. Just use your barspoon to turn it over.

Disclaimer: Flaming an orange peel takes practice. The key is to warm it a bit and then quickly squeeze it into the flame from a lighter, igniting the oils. Flame it at your own risk and don’t sue me if you burn your fingers. I’m still mastering the technique myself. If you don’t want to go through the trouble of flaming the peel, you can still get some benefit from the orange oil just by squeezing it over the drink. In the right light, you can actually see the little droplets land on the surface and spread, which is pretty cool. Also, never play with fire if you’re already tipsy, because that’s always a bad idea.

Spirits notes:

Carpano Antica is a complex, high-end red vermouth that is less sweet than some of its counterparts. It has bitter, spice and orange rind flavors. When kept properly chilled, it’s delicious on its own, but I found it works well with Cognac, too.

Old Tom Gin is a gentle spirit that doesn’t have some of the incompatible pungent botanicals some other gins carry. Picking the wrong gin could potentially make this cocktail into a big, complicated mess.

A small amount of St. Germain adds elderflower and vanilla notes. Underberg adds just a bit more of a bitter component, and the oils from the flamed orange peel play beautifully off of those orange and spice notes that dwell in the Carpano Antica.