Mixology in the Mountains
Join us June 14–15, 2019 for a culinary weekend event featuring craft cocktail creation and pairing with our very own team of chefs and top regional mixologists. This can't-miss affair will feature a welcome tasting reception that will prepare the palate for the weekend ahead which includes a mixology forum, a cocktail competition dinner and more.
Friday, June 14
Welcome Reception 7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. | $55 per person
Kick off our Mixology in the Mountains weekend at our welcome reception, which will feature whiskey, cigars and hors d’oeuvres.
Welcome Reception Menu (PDF, 140 KB)
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Saturday, June 15
Happy Hour Mixology Forum 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. | $55 per person
Learn from our featured mixologists some tips and tricks of the trade. You'll be able to take recipe cards home with you to recreate these delicious concoctions.
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Contradiction Dinner Competition 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. | $90 per person
Each mixologist will take on a different course of the meal to pair their specialty drink with. The drinks will feature Contradiction from Smooth Ambler.
Cocktail Competition Dinner Menu (PDF, 163 KB)
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Mixology in the Mountains Package
This package includes our Welcome Reception, Happy Hour Mixology, Contradiction Dinner Competition, as well as Saturday breakfast buffet and parking.
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Guest Mixologists
Hunter Johnson
Hunter Johnson is a self-taught bartender who owns two Roanoke, Virginia restaurants, Lucky and Fortunato. His bartending career began eight years ago — not by choice, but because he realized that his restaurants needed a quality bar program that matched the exceptional food being created in the kitchen. He could not have predicted that he would fall in love with bartending and drink creation, or that it would cause a world of opportunities to flow his way. Over the years, he has been a contributing writer to Local Palate and has been featured in many publications.
Kevin Rutkowski
Kentucky native Kevin Rutkowski is a career bartender and bartends at one of the top 60 bourbon bars in the country. His passion is crafting cocktails and learning more about the industry. When he’s not slinging drinks, Kevin likes to spend his time outside hiking and enjoying nature.
Amy Russell
After stumbling from the world of biology to mixology ten years ago, Amy has poured spirits into glasses in bars all over DC. As great granddaughter of a moonshiner, she should have seen this coming. Her favorite drink to make is whatever makes people happy, and her favorite drink is whisky neat.
The Omni Homestead Chefs
Severin Nunn, Director, Food & Beverage
Severin Nunn brings 20 years of culinary experience to his new role as director, food and beverage for The Omni Homestead Resort. In this position, he leads the overall operation and success of the resort’s multitude of dining outlets, banquets and special events. Nunn is also responsible for developing and maintaining a high-level of service standards and managing a team of more than 100 including chefs, wait staff and stewards. As a member of the Executive Committee, he partners with other resort leaders to ensure cross-departmental communication and implementation of key initiatives.
Nunn joined the resort from Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, where he rose from assistant executive chef to executive chef leading nine departments over two-and-a-half years. During his 10+ year tenure in Las Vegas, he also held positions in the kitchens of Bellagio Resort & Casino, Alain Ducasse’s miX at Delano Las Vegas, and Restaurant Guy Savoy at Caesars Palace. Nunn launched his culinary career at The Trellis in Williamsburg, Va., and also worked as chef de rotisseurs at Restaurant Daniel in New York.
John Ferguson, Executive Chef
As executive chef, John Ferguson brings impressive culinary and organizational skills to this multi-faceted position. Chef Ferguson leads and directs all kitchen operations and menu creation for the resort’s seven restaurants and bars including the historic Dining Room, Jefferson’s Restaurant, Woody’s, Rubino’s at the Cascades as well as all banquet and catering events. In addition, he manages a team of more than 100 culinary professionals.
He joins The Omni Homestead from Bellagio Resort in Las Vegas, where over five years he advanced from assistant chef in garde manger to overseeing a team of 37 chefs as executive sous chef of catering and banquets. Ferguson got his start at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., joining as an apprentice in 2006 and departing as senior saucier in 2011.
