Dram and Draught founder heads to national cocktail competition

Kevin Barrett, the founder of Dram and Draught, is headed to New Orleans this month for a national cocktail competition.

Posted 10:12 a.m. Jul 11, 2018 — Updated 10:25 a.m. Jul 11, 2018

Jessica Patrick

, WRAL.com editor

RALEIGH, N.C. — Kevin Barrett, the founder of Dram and Draught, is known for serving up creative beverages made with fresh ingredients and quality liquors.

This month, Barrett will show off his best work at the Make It Exotico competition in New Orleans as part of the annual Taste of the Cocktail bartenders convention.

Barrett said he has attended the convention three times in the past 10 years.

"If I went every year, my liver would give out," he laughed. "The first time I went there I had a lot of fun, but since then, I try to get as much out of it as possible. It's a great opportunity to shake hands with bartending legends."

Last week, Barrett showed us how to make a cocktail named Cosas Peligrosas, which is Spanish for "dangerous things." He calls it 2.0, or the precursor to Samba in the Rain, the cocktail he made in front of judges in February's regional competition, which qualified him for this month's national competition.

Barrett will remake Samba in the Rain in New Orleans on July 18. If he advances, he will move on to the international competition in Mexico.

In February, Barrett shared with us his recipe for the award-winning drink.

This week, he gave us the recipe for Cosas Peligrosas, a summery, tequila-based cocktail that is both sweet and bitter.

Recipe: Cosas Peligrosas

1 oz. Exotico tequila

1 oz. Aperol

0.5 oz. Sombra

0.5 oz. agave (1 part agave syrup, 1 part water)

0.75 oz. freshly squeezed lemon juice

Splash of soda water

Directions: Combine ingredients, shake and strain. Serve in a Collins glass over fresh ice, and garnish with half an orange slice sprinkled with a dash of Nons salts.