Cocktail Wars Episode 4 Recipes: Sweet, Spicy and Strong

Cocktail Wars episode 4 recipes are the most divisive batch of the season so far, and that is a compliment. The episode, titled Sweet, Spicy and Strong, aired on E! on September 1 and asked three mixologists to build a chocolate bar in a glass, then a savory pickle-brine cocktail, then a flavor mash-up with wasabi on the bar. Same format as always: three escalating challenges, one elimination after round two, $10,000 for the winner, Joey Fatone and Lance Bass hosting and master mixologist Melissa Brooke judging. Below is the Cocktail Wars episode 4 recap plus every recipe, each with a one-tap link to save it to your Velvet Shelf account.

Every spec below comes straight from the official episode 4 recipe page at cocktailwars.com, so the measurements are exactly what the competitors poured. Save any of them and the recipe lands in your bar with cocktailwars.com credited as the source.

Who competed on Cocktail Wars episode 4?

Janice Bailon, Luke Mannarino and Marisa Field made up the field. Janice took the first two rounds outright, Marisa was cut after the savory challenge, and Luke came from behind to win the final and the $10,000.

Each challenge named its spirit. Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva rum for the chocolate-bar first impression, Tequila Herradura Blanco for the savory skills round, and Jack Daniel's flavored liqueurs, Tennessee Blackberry and Tennessee Honey, for the mash-up final.

Round 1: The Chocolate-Bar, a first impression with Diplomatico rum

Ten minutes to turn Diplomatico's vanilla, toffee and dark chocolate notes into a dessert cocktail. All three reached for espresso or chocolate, and all three finished with a foam.

Up in the Clouds (Janice Bailon)

The round winner. Rum, PX sherry and creme de cacao make the candy bar; the toffee nut cream and smoked salt on top make it a dessert. Make the cream ahead and keep it cold, it is the whole show.

Glass: Coupe
Garnish: Toffee nut cream, smoked salt, grated chocolate espresso beans

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 oz Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva Rum
• 1/4 oz Amaro S. Maria al Monte Galliano Espresso Liqueur
• 1 barspoon Galliano L'Autentico Liqueur
• 3/4 oz Gonzalez Byass Nectar Pedro Ximenez Sherry
• To taste Monin Toffee Nut Syrup
• 1/2 oz Bols Creme de Cacao
• To top Toffee nut cream (2 oz Monin Toffee Nut Syrup, 16 oz heavy whipping cream, charged twice in an iSi)

Method

Add all ingredients to the glass. Top with the toffee nut cream and garnish with smoked salt and grated chocolate espresso beans.

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Spicy Sherry (Luke Mannarino)

A rum espresso martini with a hot honey syrup for the spicy half of the theme and PX sherry for the sweet half. The chocolate drizzle inside the coupe is the easiest garnish in the episode to copy.

Glass: Coupe drizzled with chocolate syrup
Garnish: Chocolate sauce drizzle and chocolate espresso beans

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 oz Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva Rum
• 1 oz Cafe Bustelo Unsweetened Espresso Style Iced Coffee
• 1/2 oz Hot honey simple syrup
• 1/2 oz Gonzalez Byass Nectar Pedro Ximenez Sherry
• 4 dashes Fee Brothers Fee Foam

Method

Drizzle the inside of a coupe with chocolate syrup. Shake the ingredients with ice and double strain into the glass. Place an espresso bean on the foam.

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Naughty Banana (Marisa Field)

Banana, chocolate and espresso over aged rum, with a pinch of salt to keep it from reading as pure dessert. The sugar syrup is optional; taste first, the banana syrup carries a lot of sweetness.

Glass: Coupe or Nick & Nora
Garnish: Fresh grated chocolate and a banana chip on the rim

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 oz Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva Rum
• 1/2 oz Monin Banana Syrup
• 1/4 oz Monin Creme de Cacao
• 1 oz Cafe Bustelo Unsweetened Espresso
• 3 to 4 dashes Fee Foam
• 1 pinch Salt, or two drops of saline
• 1.4 oz (optional) Sugar syrup

Method

Shake hard with ice for 12 to 15 seconds. Fine strain into the glass and garnish.

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Round 2: Savory Sips, a skills challenge with Tequila Herradura Blanco

The skills challenge put pickle brine on the bar and asked for a savory tequila cocktail. Janice's carrot cordial took the round and Marisa was eliminated.

What's Up Doc? (Janice Bailon)

The round winner. A pickled carrot cordial does the sweet and sour work, fino sherry and habanero bitters do the savory work, and a lime soda top lightens it. Batch the cordial ahead; it keeps for weeks.

Glass: Highball
Garnish: Fennel frond

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 oz Tequila Herradura Blanco
• 1 dash Fee Brothers Habanero Bitters
• 1/2 oz Tio Pepe Gonzalez Byass Sherry
• 1/2 oz Lime juice
• 1/2 oz Egg white
• 1 oz Icelandic Glacial Tahitian Lime Carbonated Water
• 3/4 oz Pickled carrot cordial (4 pickled carrot sticks, 6 oz pickled carrot brine, 3 oz Gin Mare, 12 oz simple syrup, 1/2 oz Filthy Pickled Onion Brine)

Method

Build in a mixing tin. Dry shake, add ice and shake again. Double strain and top with the lime soda. Garnish with a fennel frond.

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Stoop Sipper (Luke Mannarino)

A tequila mule with a full ounce of pickled onion brine in place of some of the citrus. Toasting the rosemary with a lighter right before serving puts the aroma up front.

Glass: Collins
Garnish: Toasted rosemary sprig, lemon wheel, pickled onion

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 oz Herradura Blanco Tequila
• 3/4 oz Bols Orange Curacao
• 1 oz Pickled onion brine
• 3/4 oz Fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 oz Simple syrup
• To top Q Mixers ginger beer

Method

Fill a Collins glass with ice. Add the syrup, juice, brine and spirits to a tin and shake. Double strain into the glass, top with ginger beer and toast the rosemary before garnishing.

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M Squared (Marisa Field)

Two brines, olive and pickled watermelon radish, make this the most savory drink of the night, closer to a dirty margarita than anything else. Go easy on the pepper the first time.

Glass: Rocks glass with a salt rim, over one large rock
Garnish: Pickled watermelon radish, thyme sprig, cracked black pepper

Ingredients

• 1/2 oz Pickled watermelon radish brine
• 2 oz Tequila Herradura Blanco
• 1/4 oz Monin Organic Agave Nectar
• 1/2 oz Filthy Olive Brine
• 1/2 oz Lime juice
• 1/2 oz Sweet watermelon radish brine
• To taste Cracked black pepper

Method

Shake hard with ice. Strain over one large rock. Apply the salt rim and garnish.

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Final: Flavor Mash-Up with Jack Daniel's Tennessee Blackberry and Tennessee Honey

The final asked for a flavor mash-up built on Jack Daniel's flavored liqueurs, with wasabi on the bar for anyone brave enough. Luke's wasabi-laced blackberry stirred drink beat Janice's honey and grapefruit sparkler to win the episode.

Jump Up and Kick (Luke Mannarino)

The $10,000 winner. Blackberry liqueur and a minty amaro would be a pleasant stirred drink on their own; a barspoon of wasabi dissolved in hot water turns it into something you keep sipping to figure out. Dissolve the wasabi fully or it will float.

Glass: Rocks glass with a half salt rim, over a large cube
Garnish: Lemon twist

Ingredients

• 2 oz Jack Daniel's Tennessee Blackberry Liqueur
• 1/2 oz Amaro S. Maria al Monte
• 1/2 oz Simple syrup
• 1 barspoon Wasabi paste
• 2 dashes Fee Brothers Turkish Tobacco Bitters

Method

Prep a rocks glass with a half salt rim. Dollop the wasabi into a stirring glass, add a splash of hot water and dissolve it. Add the syrup, bitters and spirits, add ice and stir 15 seconds. Strain over a large cube and garnish with a lemon twist.

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The Bittersweet Symphony (Janice Bailon)

Honey whiskey and bonded whiskey under grapefruit, aperitivo and a spicy agave syrup, topped with Prosecco. Nine ingredients, and it still tastes like one idea: a Paloma that grew up in Tennessee.

Glass: Coupe
Garnish: Grapefruit wheel and 1/4 oz Red Bitter Caffo

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 oz Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey Liqueur
• 1 oz Jack Daniel's Bonded Tennessee Whiskey
• 1/2 oz Mezzodi L'Aperitivo Italiano
• 1/2 oz Grapefruit juice
• 1/4 oz Lemon juice
• 1/4 oz Monin Spicy Agave Sweetener
• 1/4 oz Cinzano Bianco Vermouth
• 2 dashes Fee Brothers Orange Bitters
• 1/2 oz Cala Bennati Prosecco

Method

Build in a tin, shake and double strain. Top with the Prosecco and finish with the grapefruit wheel and a float of red bitter.

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How the episode played out

Janice Bailon was the story of the first two rounds. Her toffee-cream rum cocktail took the chocolate-bar challenge, then her pickled carrot cordial took the savory round and sent Marisa Field home. The final flipped it. Luke Mannarino's Jump Up and Kick, a blackberry liqueur stirred drink with dissolved wasabi and a half salt rim, beat Janice's nine-ingredient honey and grapefruit sparkler, and Luke walked away with the $10,000.

Three techniques worth stealing from episode 4

Dissolve wasabi before it meets alcohol. Luke's trick was a splash of hot water in the mixing glass first, stirred until the paste disappeared, then the spirits and ice. Wasabi dropped straight into a cold drink floats in clumps and never blends.

Pickle brine is a modifier, not a gimmick. All three savory drinks used brine for acid and salt at once, in doses from half an ounce to a full ounce. Start at half an ounce in a two-ounce-spirit drink and taste before adding more.

Charged cream toppers. Janice's toffee nut cream was two ounces of syrup in sixteen ounces of heavy cream, charged twice in a whipper. The ratio works with any Monin syrup and turns a dessert cocktail into an event.

Save the whole episode to your shelf

Every recipe above has its own save link, the same kind we drop in the comments on Instagram. Tap it, sign in, and the cocktail lands in your favorites with the ingredients checked against your bar. Missing the PX sherry or the habanero bitters? The Barkeep will tell you what to swap. Cocktail Wars airs Tuesdays at 10 on E!, and we will be doing this every week.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won Cocktail Wars episode 4?

Luke Mannarino won Cocktail Wars episode 4, the Sweet, Spicy and Strong episode, and the $10,000 prize with Jump Up and Kick, a stirred cocktail built on Jack Daniel's Tennessee Blackberry Liqueur, amaro and a barspoon of dissolved wasabi. Janice Bailon, who won the first two rounds, was the runner-up, and Marisa Field was eliminated after the savory challenge.

Can you put wasabi in a cocktail?

Yes, but dissolve it first. Stir a barspoon of wasabi paste into a splash of hot water in the mixing glass until it disappears, then add the spirits, syrup and ice. Added straight to a cold drink, wasabi clumps and floats. Luke Mannarino used this method for his winning drink on Cocktail Wars episode 4.

How do you use pickle brine in a cocktail?

Treat pickle brine as a combined acid and salt component. Replace part of the citrus with half an ounce to one ounce of brine in a drink with two ounces of spirit, and cut any added salt. Onion, carrot and watermelon radish brines all appeared in the savory tequila round of Cocktail Wars episode 4.

What spirits were used on Cocktail Wars episode 4?

Cocktail Wars episode 4 used Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva rum for the chocolate-bar first impression, Tequila Herradura Blanco for the savory skills challenge, and Jack Daniel's Tennessee Blackberry and Tennessee Honey liqueurs, alongside Jack Daniel's Bonded, for the flavor mash-up final.