Somedays the best way to count down to a big event is to talk about it on the morning news. This past Friday, August 28, 2026 I was up early to drive to Raleigh NC; back in the WRAL studios with the station’s own Ken Smith. With us, the featured guest of the segment, someone I have watched shine all year long, Sarah McCabe, the 2025 NCRLA Mixologist of the Year. The topic of the segment: The Spirit-Free Cocktail portion of the NCRLA Chef Showdown Mixology Competition.
It had been a full year since Sarah last stood in front of the WRAL cameras after her Championship win.
She first appeared with Ken the morning after her big win in August 2025. This has become a part of a lovely WRAL tradition of welcoming our champions on air. This time, though, she came back to help me give viewers a taste of what to expect at the 2026 NCRLA Chef Showdown Grand Finale, coming up September 2, 2026.
Here’s a fun FAQ. Ken and I go back ten years, all the way back to the very first NCRLA Chef Showdown event in 2016.
Ken co-hosted the very first NCRLA Chef Showdown Grand Finale, with me. And has been a big fan of the competition ever since. So it always feels right to sit a champion down beside him.
Sarah and I both shared a quick look on all the related Instagram and Facebook feeds of what her “As Seen on TV” Spirit-Free Cocktail, called “Want Not, Have Not” detailed. Now, let’s make it easy for everyone to recreate at home. I’m bringing it all together right here, with the recipes and both videos in one place.
A Year in the Life of a Mixologist of the Year
Winning the title is only the beginning. As a 2025-26 Got to Be NC Beverage Ambassador, Sarah has spent the year shaking and stirring her way across the state.
She poured at the Annual Chefs’ Field Trip at Tidewater Grain Company and mixed at the 2026 Dinner on the Gap. She judged both the preliminary and regional NCRLA Chef Showdown mixology rounds of competition this year. And on any given day, you will find her behind the bar at the Lounge at the Longleaf Hotel in Raleigh…