Raleigh Magazine’s Cocktail Classic is back shaking things up at The Exchange Nov. 14, bringing together the city’s cocktail heavyweights for one seriously spirited night. This year, RM’s 10 Best Bartender nominees—all owners and founders behind some of Raleigh’s finest cocktail bars—will go head-to-head across 10 bars, each putting their own spin on a classic cocktail.
The evening unfolds with unlimited pours, top-shelf spirits, live mixology demonstrations, luxe experiences and a few surprises worthy of the city’s ultimate holiday kickoff. Need a reason to snag your ticket? We’ve got 10. Here’s why you don’t want to miss it.
Unlimited Pours? Say Less. This year’s noms will go head-to-head behind the bar for the People’s Choice Award—and it’s up to you to sip, savor and vote for your favorite. Each ’tender is mixing up a riff on a classic (think old-fashioned, martini, daiquiri) in tandem with a top-shelf liquor brand:
Liquor Break Don’t love cocktails? We have an experience for you too. A-Vin-Garde will keep the wine flowing all night in the Bubbly Room. And for those pacing themselves, water and mocktails from Killjoy’s spirit-free bar will be available throughout the evening.
Mic’d & Mixed Go behind the bar with Raleigh’s best. Thanks to sponsor Elm Partners, all 10 nominees will take the stage throughout the evening for live, mic’d-up demonstrations—showing off their craft and spilling a few secrets along the way.
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What’s the Deal Feeling confident? Thanks to Live! Casino Virginia, each guest will have the chance to beat the dealer in a game of blackjack. Winners get an invite to the Cafe Royale afterparty.
On the Record A live DJ will keep the energy high all night, setting the scene for a little dancing between pours.
Renew & Recharge Take a beat at the Renew & Recharge lounge–courtesy of OriginPoint—stocked with mints, phone chargers, water and more.
Fuel for the Fun Southern-inspired bites will keep you fueled between cocktails, with savory stations throughout the venue (bonus: half the menu is gluten-free!)—plus the return of the giant charcuterie board of your dreams.
Good Times, Safe Rides Your ride home? Consider it handled. Thanks to Whitley Law Firm, guests will receive a rideshare code for travel to and from The Exchange on event day. Prefer to drive? Complimentary event parking is also available—just plan for a sober driver.
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Spirited Send-off The night doesn’t end with your last sip. Thanks to Cary Consulting Group, guests will head home with a special gift, including a cocktail recipe book featuring all 10 creations—so you can recreate your favorites long after the party’s over.
Pour It Forward Even better? Ticket sales benefit the RDU Chapter of the U.S. Bartenders’ Guild, supporting the hospitality community we all love. Drinking for a cause? Don’t mind if we do!
They came. They shook. They brought the buzz. Raleigh’s top ’tenders stirred up major magic at our annual Cocktail Classic—and we’re still riding the high. Missed the party of the year—or want to recreate the vibes at home? We got you. Sip the night’s most memorable pours below—and don’t forget to cast your vote for Best Bars & Bartender here.
Add butter, vanilla bean and toasted star anise pods to a saucepan. Brown butter over medium heat, slowly cooking in vanilla and star anise. Once browned, remove immediately from heat and pour into dry container. Let cool for 15 minutes, then add Buffalo Trace Bourbon. Let mixture stand at room temp for 1 hour, then transfer to freezer overnight. The next day, remove the fat layer and strain through oil filter.
Love Hack JJ Porter Urban Oak Riff on a Gin Martini 1000 Piers Coastal Carolina Gin
• 2 oz. 1000 Piers Coastal Carolina Gin • 1/2 oz. St. Germain • 1/2 oz. Lillet Rosé • 1/4 oz. Gorae lemon soju • 1 dash Crude “Rizzo” bitters • Fresh grapefruit peel cut into 3 long, thin ribbons
Combine ingredients into a mixing glass with ice and stir until chilled. Strain into a chilled coupe glass. Carefully drop grapefruit ribbons along the inside of the glass.
• 2 oz. pistachio-washed Weldon Mills House Vodka* • 3 drops of rosewater • 3/4 oz. grenadine • 3/4 oz. lime juice • Club soda • Pistachios for garnish
Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake vigorously for 8 seconds. Fine-strain over ice into a 10 oz. Collins glass and top with club soda. Slide a bar spoon into the cocktail and move it up and down to combine with the soda. Garnish with crushed pistachios.
Lightly toast pistachios in a dry pan over medium heat for 3–4 minutes, stirring frequently, until fragrant. Let cool slightly, then add pistachios to a nonreactive container or jar with the vodka. Seal and infuse at room temperature for 24 hours, agitating occasionally.
After infusion, place the mixture in the freezer for 12–24 hours to solidify the fats. Once frozen, strain through cheesecloth or a fine mesh strainer to remove pistachio solids and remaining fat. Store in a sealed container in the fridge or freezer until ready to use.
• 1.5 oz. Corralejo Reposado Tequila • 1 oz. cinnamon-apple-honey syrup* • 3/4 oz. lemon juice • 1/2 oz. cinnamon-apple liqueur • Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal for rim • 3 candied cranberries on a skewer
Combine tequila, cinnamon-apple-honey syrup, lemon juice and cinnamon-apple liqueur in a shaker and shake with ice. Double strain into a coupe glass rimmed with freshly blended Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Garnish with three candied cranberries on a skewer.
*Cinnamon-Apple-Honey Syrup
• 1 cup water • 2 cups honey • 2 cinnamon sticks • 4 Honeycrisp apples
Dice and core apples, and toast cinnamon sticks for 3 minutes. Flash apples and toasted cinnamon sticks in 1 cup of boiling water. Combine water, apples and cinnamon sticks in a separate pot with honey. Simmer on low to medium heat for 15 minutes. Strain and let cool.
• 1.5 oz. Kill Devil Silver Rum • 1/2 oz. strawberry puree* • 1/2 oz. white balsamic vinegar • 1/2 oz. lime juice • 1/2 oz. agave • 2 bar spoons Campari • Strawberry-Campari caviar**
Combine all ingredients in a shaker and shake with ice. Double strain into a Nick & Nora glass. Garnish with strawberry-Campari caviar.
Clarified Version Scale all ingredients up to desired batch amount, then add 25% of the volume in whole milk. Allow to curdle, then strain through cheesecloth. Repeat as needed until clear in color.
*Strawberry Puree
• 5 oz. bag frozen strawberries • 5 oz. water
Thaw strawberries, then blend with water until smooth.
**Strawberry-Campari Caviar
• 6 oz. strawberry puree, strained • 3 oz. Campari • 3/4 tsp. agar agar powder • Neutral oil
In a saucepan set over medium-high heat, combine strawberry puree and Campari (2:1 ratio). Add agar agar—1% of total mixture’s weight (roughly 1/2 tsp.)—and whisk constantly until boiling. Continue whisking for 1–2 minutes to fully combine, then remove from heat and let cool 2–3 minutes. Meanwhile, fill a tall, narrow vessel with cold neutral oil. Using a squeeze bottle, drop strawberry mixture into the oil—making drops large enough to sink to the bottom. Once you have desired caviar amount, strain from oil and rinse under cold water until no oil remains. Store in fridge for up to 5 days.
Gingerbird Wright Dixon Moon Room Riff on a Gimlet Moonbird Gin
• 2 oz. Moonbird Gin • 1 oz. pear ginger cordial*
Combine ingredients in a shaker and shake with ice. Strain and serve in a Nick & Nora glass. Garnish with pear slice.
*Pear Ginger Cordial (yields 2–3 cups)
• 4 ripe pears (Barlett or Bosc), peeled, cored and chopped • 1.5 cups water • 1.5 cups sugar • 2 Tbsp. fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced • 1 cinnamon stick • Juice and zest of 1 lime • Cloves, optional
In saucepan, combine chopped pears, water, sugar, sliced ginger, lime juice, zest and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20–30 minutes, until pears are soft and liquid is syrup-like. Gently mash pears with potato masher or fork to release flavor. Remove from heat and let steep for 10–15 minutes. Strain through fine-mesh sieve, let cool and pour into bottles or jars. Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or freeze for longer.
Cherry Berry Tribute Jarod Johnson Killjoy Riff on a Gold Rush Bulleit Bourbon
• 1.5 oz. Bulleit Bourbon • 3/4 oz. freshly squeezed lemon juice • 1/2 oz. diluted honey* • 3/4 oz. spiced cherry syrup** • Brandied cherries
Combine ingredients in a shaker and shake with ice. Strain into rocks glass with ice and garnish with brandied cherry.
*Diluted Honey
• Honey • Water
Combine honey and warm water in a 1:1 ratio.
**Spiced Cherry Syrup
• Cherry jam • 3 cups water
Add 3 cups water to your favorite cherry jam and bring to a boil until it thickens into a syrup.
• 1.5 oz. Hennessy • 3/4 oz. whole milk • 3/4 oz. orange liqueur (Cointreau or Dry Curaçao) • 3/4 oz. fresh orange juice • 3/4 oz. vanilla syrup (1:1) • 0.375 oz. fresh lemon juice (just under 1/2 oz.) • Cumin syrup* • Cumin foam**
Add 3/4 oz. whole milk to a separate glass. Combine remaining ingredients and slowly pour into the milk (never the other way around). Let sit for 30–45 minutes to fully curdle. Strain through a mesh strainer, then through a coffee filter or paper towel for clarity. Serve in glass topped with cumin foam. You’ll yield about 3.25 oz. clarified liquid. To batch for four cocktails, multiply quantities by four.
Toast whole cumin seeds until fragrant, then simmer in 1:1 simple syrup for 10–15 minutes, strain and chill.
**Cumin Foam
• 10 oz. cumin syrup • 2 large egg whites • 2 N₂O cartridges • 1 pint whipped cream dispenser
Combine syrup and egg whites in a bowl, and whisk gently until slightly foamy. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a whipped cream dispenser. Charge with 2 N₂O cartridges, shaking 10–12 times after each charge. Chill for at least 1 hour.
• 2 oz. blackberry Cook’s Mill Bourbon Whiskey* • 3/4 oz. kumquat & calamansi lemon oleo** • 1/2 oz. rosemary simple syrup*** • 1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice • Kumquats, fresh blackberries and rosemary for garnish
Combine ingredients in a shaker and shake with ice. Double strain into rocks glass and top with pebble ice. Garnish with a skewer of dehydrated kumquat, fresh blackberry and flamed rosemary.
Combine ingredients in sealed jar and sous vide at 140°F for 30 minutes. Strain through cheesecloth or fine-mesh strainer. Store in sealed container in fridge for up to 4 weeks.
**Kumquat & Calamansi Lemon Oleo (yields 3 oz.)
• 1/3 cup white granulated sugar • 1/3 cup water • 1/4 cup dehydrated kumquats • 1 Tbsp. calamansi lemon juice
Combine ingredients in sealed jar and sous vide at 140°F for 30 minutes. Strain through cheesecloth or fine-mesh strainer. Store in sealed container in fridge for up to 4 weeks.
***Rosemary simple syrup (yields 3 oz.)
• 1/3 cup sugar • 1/3 cup water • 1 sprig flamed rosemary
Combine ingredients in sealed jar and sous vide at 140°F for 30 minutes. Strain through cheesecloth or fine-mesh strainer. Store in sealed container in fridge for up to 4 weeks.
It’s that time of year again—voting for our 2025 Best Bars + Best Bartender is now open! From cocktail lounges to dive bars, wine haunts to breweries, now’s your chance to shout out your faves. Cast your picks in one, some or all categories here.
Meet Clovis LaCour, the ’tender shaking things up behind the fan-fave Person Street cocktail haven.
Hailing from Fuquay-Varina, Clovis LaCour can be found keeping spirits high at the mellow + cozy William & Company (affectionately dubbed Willco). The professional mixologist whipped up a riff on a martini via his Perfect Blue drink feat. Conniption Kinship gin, homemade chile-lemon oil and a mint leaf at the inaugural The Cocktail Classic, presented by The Exchange Raleigh.
While we not-so-patiently wait till next year for another edition of The Cocktail Classic, the Best Bartender (and Bars!) competition is still ongoing. … Be sure to cast your vote for your fave bartender nom for 2023 Bartender of the Year and your fave bars in Raleigh across a variety of categories (voting ends today!)—and dive into LaCour’s get-to-know-you questionnaire.
Get to know Ingrid Folkers, who expertly tends bar at the Warehouse District whiskey (and spirits!) haven.
Hailing from Iowa, Ingrid Folkers is known far and wide across the City of Oaks for the sensational sips she slings at Warehouse District’s Whiskey Kitchen. Last month, she wowed guests at the inaugural The Cocktail Classic, presented by The Exchange Raleigh, with her Miss Charming concoction, a delish (and gorg!) riff on a cosmopolitan.
While The Cocktail Classic has come to pass, the competition is far from over. … Be sure to cast your vote for your fave bartender nom for 2023 Bartender of the Year (voting open through Dec. 15)! In the meantime, get in the spirit(s) of it all with Folkers fun facts.
