Midtown's 'Ultimate Blast' Brings Together City's Top Mixologists

By Selena Ricks-Good

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Cocktail, spirits and wine enthusiasts will gather next week for what will likely be the biggest drinking event of the fall season, the Ultimate Blast at the Marriott Marquis Hotel.

In its inaugural year in 2010, the Blast hosted more than 1,600 people, creating a lively party scene of epic proportions.

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Party-goers will have the chance to try new cocktail recipes, chat with top NYC bartenders and taste some of the highest-rated spirits in the world as they walk through seemingly endless tasting aisles and swanky lounges.

Event founder F. Paul Pacult tells CBSNewYork that guests can expect to sip contemporary and classic cocktails made by star bartenders, such as award-winning author Dave Wondrich (author of Imbibe! and Punch) who'll be whipping up the Franco-Iberian Fizz made with Fonseca Port and "Bartender of the Year" Jim Meehan (PDT), who'll be creating the Paddington Cocktail with Banks Island Rum.

"At no other event this fall can you taste Chateau de Laubade 1985 Bas-Armagnac, The Jewel of Russia Ultra Vodka, Michael Collins 10 Year Old Single Malt Irish Whiskey, Louis Royer 32 Year Old Grande Champagne Cognac and t1 Ultra Fino Blanco Tequila all under one roof," said Pacult.

Many of the 500-plus beverages on offer at the Ultimate Blast are Chairman's Trophy winners and finalists from the Ultimate Beverage Challenge, an annual competition for spirits, cocktails and wine held earlier this year. Sip your way through whiskeys, tequilas, rums, gins, mezcals, cachacas, piscos, calvados--you name it, they'll have it, including rare varieties you won't find at your corner liquor store.

This year, there will also be book signings with spirits authors including Paul Pacult, Jill and Dale DeGroff, Karen Foley, Jim Meehan, David J. Reimer Sr. and David Wondrich.

Tickets are $175 for VIP entry from 5:30-9:30 p.m. and $125 for general entry from 6:30-9:30 p.m. Tickets include unlimited tastings of spirits, cocktails and wine, as well as live music and food. Guests must be 21-plus to attend.

Can't make it to the event? Here's a recipe from the Ultimate Blast to try at home:

Le Punch Fantastique by Lynnette Marrero

1 oz. club soda
3 sugar cubes
1/2 oz. Carpano Antica Vermouth
1/2 oz. lemon juice
1/2 oz. Cherry Heering
1/4 oz. fresh ginger syrup (equal parts ginger juice and sugar)
2 oz. Pierre Ferrand 1840 Original Formula Cognac
1/4 oz. allspice dram
2 dashes Angostura bitters
1 oz. Champagne

Muddle sugar cubes with club soda and bitters in a shaker.  Add two ice cubes. Add all other ingredients except for Champagne.  Stir. Strain into a highball glass filled with ice and top with champagne. Garnish with a brandied cherry.

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Selena Ricks-Good writes about drinks and produces events as The Dizzy Fizz.