During the month of December, the Fox Tucson Theatre, Tucson City of Gastronomy (TCOG), and The Parish are celebrating the holidays together in style.
For all performances and shows, Fox Tucson Theatre’s bars will feature this year’s “TCOG Cocktail of the Year” competition winner Manzanita at Midnight. This cocktail was created by The Parish‘s lead bartender Kelsey Counch.
“We worked to create a special blend of flavors that feels like Tucson and were so thrilled to be acknowledged by the public as the ‘Cocktail of the Year,'” said Counch. “I am looking forward to working with the bar staff at the Fox to help recreate this special drink for their guests”.
Ingredients in the Manzanita at Midnight include Suncliffe Gin, mint, citrus, blackberry liqueur, bitters, and more.
“The Fox is delighted to partner with City of Gastronomy and the incredible team at Parish to feature this extra tasty concoction in the month of December,” said Bonnie Schock, Fox Executive Director. “We like to think of our role as a connector between artists and audiences — inviting people to discover and celebrate artistry of all kinds. It’s exciting to be able to highlight this piece of artistry in Tucson’s unparalleled food and beverage scene on our Fox stage.”
This collaboration is just one part of the Fox bar team’s ongoing commitment to local spirits, beers, and wines. The gin-based drink is the perfect accompaniment to any of the holiday shows at the Fox in December.
The Manzanita at Midnight cocktail will be available for purchase for $16 at all bars at the Fox Tucson Theatre during December (get it while you can).
“This was the people’s choice for ‘Cocktail of the Year’ at this year’s Tucson Cocktail Challenge, and we are proud that more people will have opportunities to enjoy Kelsey’s special creation at Fox events over an entire month,” said Jonathan Mabry, Executive Director of the nonprofit Tucson City of Gastronomy. “The mixologists from our Certified restaurants battled it out with new recipes featuring heritage ingredients and locally made spirits that represent southern Arizona’s cocktail terroir.”
Fox Tucson Theatre is located at 17 W. Congress St. For more information, visit foxtucson.com.
Article written by:
Matt Sterner
More about MattAt a very young age, Matt Sterner was gifted with the artistic ability to masterfully roll a burrito to the highest of standards, but the wrapped medley of delicious innards wasn’t his first love. Matt’s first true love was a combination of reading, writing, and creating. He grew up reading comics, the ingredients list of his shampoo and conditioner bottles, choose-your-own-adventure books, and the Scrabble dictionary — something he found useful when challenging his grandmother to a game.
He attended college at New Mexico State University and graduated with a degree in Digital Filmmaking. One of his favorite classes was screenwriting because he became responsible for the story’s birth before it came to life on-screen. After school, Matt took on numerous positions at a local television station in Tucson. From dealing out stories about heartbreak to producing “fluffier” content for a lifestyle broadcast, he learned what it takes to adapt to the many emotions the world of media can stir. Since 2017, Matt has dabbled in the culinary world of Tucson as well as San Diego, California from time to time.
If you’re in the mood for strange stories, head over to his pride and joy, wonkytimes.com. And in case you’re curious — yes, after all of this time, he still manages to roll a killer burrito.
