Alcademics.com

The Woodford Reserve Manhattan Experience, SF Edition

I helped judge the San Francisco semi-finals of the Woodford Reserve Manhattan Experience this week. The competition took place at Tradition in the Tenderloin, and my co-judges were Dave Smith, distiller at St. George Spirits, and Mollie Casey. Director of Spirit and Fortified Wine Sales for The Henry Wine Group. The goal of the contest was to make the best Manhattan variation using Woodford Reserve. Points were given for appeal of the drink, creativity/originality, appearance, and taste. When I think about what makes a Manhattan a Manhattan, I think: Serious, Somewhat Strong, Sweet, Bitter, and Balanced. (Sorry for the cruddy... Read more →

Bombay Sapphire's Most Imaginative Bartender SF Regional Competition Winners

This week over the course of two days I helped judge the San Francisco regionals of the Bombay Sapphire Most Imaginative Bartender competition. We toured San Francisco and hit six bars to watch 8 bartenders make drinks. My co-judges were Borys Saciuk (former Michael Mina bartender, now with Bacardi), Dominic Venegas (former SF bartender at venues including Range, Bacar, and Smuggler's Cove, now at NOMAD in NYC), and Aaron Gregory Smith (operating partner at 15 Romolo and USBG national vice-president). Brian Means of Fifth Floor Restaurant created the Stone's Throw, a reference to stone fruit, made with Bombay Sapphire, roasted... Read more →

The Merlet Sidecar Competition Crowns a Winner

During Tales of the Cocktail this July in New Orleans, I helped judge the Merlet Sidecar Competition, along with Audrey Saunders of the Pegu Club, Chad Solomon of Cuff & Buttons, and last year's winner Mike Yen of San Diego. I was excited for the competition, as the Sidecar has always been a problematic cocktail for me, tasting flat and flabby most of the time. In my opinion, it could use some freshening. And that's just what it had. The finalists were: Nicholas Bennet of Booker & Dax - New York Lucinda Sterling of Middle Branch - New York Monroe... Read more →

Behind the Scenes at Diageo's World Class Global Finals 2013

This year I was fortunate to attend Diageo's World Class Global Finals 2013, aboard the Azamara Journey cruise ship in the Mediterranean Sea. This was my third World Class final, after Delhi in 2011 and Rio in 2012. This year I was working with DiffordsGuide.com to produce both a daily newsletter aboard the ship and information for an all-World Class write-up that is now online. Most of the time I was copying down recipes and reformatting them. By my count, there were 520 cocktails made in the challenges by the bartenders over a 5-day period. While we had a couple... Read more →

Bartenders, Your Chance to Work Abroad in the Auchentoshan Switch

The Auchentoshan Switch is a contest for bartenders with a pretty great prize: 14 days staging in one of two of the best bars in the world. The winning American or Canadian bartender will get to work at Nightjar in London, ranked the third best bar in the world. This bar has the most spectacular garnish presentations you will ever see. The winning bartender from the UK, Sweden, or Germany will work at The Dead Rabbit in New York, a spectucular new bar that has garnered raves from the press and industry folks. They have a vintage cocktail program that... Read more →

Join the World's Largest Bartending Competition

Hey American bartenders! You have two months to sign up for Diageo's World Class global bartending competition. As there are educational modules, tests, and a video to complete, you won't want to let it wait until the last second. Sign up at DiageoWorldClassUSA.com or download the World Class app. The past three years' final competitions have taken place in Athens, New Delhi, and Rio de Janiero, but this year's global finals will be in many places, taking a cruise ship in between them. Sail along the French Riviera in Nice and Monte Carlo. The voyage will include stopovers in some... Read more →

The Grey Goose 10 Cocktail Competition

Last week near Cognac, France I helped judge the first international Grey Goose 10 cocktail competition. My co-judges were Dimi Lezinska, Global Brand Ambassador for Grey Goose, and Francois Thibault, the Maitre de Chai (basically, the dude in charge of production) of the brand. This year the ten bartenders from around the globe were hand-picked by their local brand teams. Many of them have worked with Bacardi in some capacity in the past. Next year, I believe the plans is to hold regional cocktail competitions to choose the 10. The competition took place poolside at the Logis du Fresne, an... Read more →

Hello from France!

As you read this, I should be arriving in Cognac, France with Grey Goose vodka. I'm here to learn about the product (as well as Bacardi's new D'USSE cognac) and to help judge a cocktail contest: The Grey Goose Ten. Bartenders from ten countries are competing. They are: France - Joseph Biolatto (Bar Le Forum, Paris) Brazil - Marcelo Serrano (Brasserie des Arts, Sao Paulo) Canada - Jay Jones (Shangri-La Hotel, Vancouver) China - Yao Lu (The Alchemist, Shanghai) India - Nitin Tewari (Bar Consultant, New Delhi) Israel - Moshe Budnik (Social Club, Tel Aviv) Mexico - Felipe Guajardo Silva... Read more →