Alcademics.com

Exclusive Invitation for Bartenders from Beam Global (Sponsored Post)

Exclusive Invitation for Bartenders from Beam Global

Beam Global Spirits & Wine would like to extend an exclusive, professional invitation to you. In partnership with Communispace, we have a private online community of 300 bartenders who act as direct advisors to key decision-makers for the company, and we would like you to consider becoming a part of this group.  As a member of this exclusive advisory community, you'll agree to log in and contribute your thoughts (via surveys, discussions, chats with industry leaders, etc.) an average of 5-15 minutes per week at whatever time is convenient for you. In addition to advising and building relationships with other members, you will receive tangible gestures of appreciation for your time and energy, such as Amazon e-gift certificates in exchange for your participation.

How do you join? Complete this questionnaire. If selected, you will be notified shortly thereafter. Your responses to the questionnaire will help in the selection process and will be used ONLY for that purpose. All of your responses will be kept confidential and will NOT be used or distributed for any other purpose.

Thanks for your time, and we hope you can join us!

 

---This post was sponsored by Communispace---

(Sponsored) Exclusive Invitation for Bartenders from Beam Global

This is a sponsored post by Communispace.   

Beam Global Spirits & Wine would like to extend an exclusive, professional invitation to you. In partnership with Communispace, we have a private online community of 300 bartenders who act as direct advisors to key decision-makers for the company, and we would like you to consider becoming a part of this group.  

As a member of this exclusive advisory community, you'll agree to log in and contribute your thoughts (via surveys, discussions, chats with industry leaders, etc.) an average of 5-15 minutes per week at whatever time is convenient for you. In addition to advising and building relationships with other members, you will receive tangible gestures of appreciation for your time and energy, such as Amazon e-gift certificates in exchange for your participation.

How do you join? Complete this questionnaire. If selected, you will be notified shortly thereafter. Your responses to the questionnaire will help in the selection process and will be used ONLY for that purpose. All of your responses will be kept confidential and will NOT be used or distributed for any other purpose.Thanks for your time, and we hope you can join us!

Announcing Sponsored Projects on Alcademics

After many months of work, I'm happy to announce the launch of Sponsored Projects on Alcademics.com. 

My home experiments and longer research projects here, such as figuring out how to make clear ice, have been some of the most popular content on Alcademics, and also the most satisfying to do. Thus, I found a way to do more of them- by finding sponsors for specific projects. 

Sponsored Projects may last just a few months or indefinitely, and relate at least tangentially to the sponsoring brand or portfolio. 

This month I am launching the first two Sponsored Projects:

The Sugar Project, Sponsored by Bacardi Rum. Rum is distilled molasses, which is the byproduct of sugar production. In this project I'll be studying the history, production, and varieties of sugar and its derivatives around the world. The project index is here.

The Solid Liquids Project, Sponsored by Skyy Spirits. Bartenders have been dehydrating liqueurs for years now and using the residue as rimming sugar or garnish on cocktails. I'll be looking at this technique and trying to find some fun new uses for these flavored sugars. The project index is here.

I'll be posting at least once a week (probably more than that) on each of these projects and link them all together with an index page to make it easy to follow along.

Hopefully, future sponsored projects will follow. I've got a lot of ideas. 

(Sponsored) Bartenders Wanted for Online Advisory Community

This is a sponsored post by Communispace.  

Bartenders Wanted for Online Advisory Community

The Breakthrough Innovation Group at one of the world's largest food/beverage manufacturers has assembled a small, exclusive online advisory community to directly influence the next generation of food/beverage products and services. This community consists of leading chefs, nutritionists, fitness instructors, food writers, importers, mixologists, coffee shop owners and others passionate about the food/beverage industry. As a member of this exclusive advisory community, you'll agree to log in and contribute your thoughts (via surveys, discussions, chats with industry leaders, etc.) an average of 5-15 minutes per week at whatever time is convenient for you. In addition to advising and building relationships with other members, you will receive tangible gestures of appreciation for your time and energy, such as Amazon e-gift certificates in exchange for your participation.

How do you join? Complete this questionnaire. If selected, you will be notified shortly thereafter. Your responses to the questionnaire will help in the selection process and will be used ONLY for that purpose. All of your responses will be kept confidential and will NOT be used or distributed for any other purpose.

Thanks for your time, and we hope you can join us!

 

Sponsor Shout-Out: Tales of the Cocktail

Thanks to Tales of the Cocktail for sponsoring Alcademics! 

I'll be at the event, July 20-24 in New Orleans, for my fifth year in a row. Tickets are on sale now. 

This year I'll be one of five official Tales bloggers doing deep coverage of the event, and between now and then I'll be posting a few preview blog posts about seminars I'm looking forward to seeing. 

Will I tweet every drink every drink I have at Tales of the Cocktail again this year? Yeah, maybe. 

If you've never been to Tales before, I highly encourage you to come. It's a great time. 

Sponsor Shout-Out: G'Vine Gin Connoisseur 2011

You may have noticed the groovy new banner to the left. That's telling you about the G'Vine Gin Connoisseur 2011 contest to find the best gin bartender in the world. Click the banner or read below for more info on how it all works.

In addition to the trip to France for the 15 finalists from around the world, those lucky folks will aso get to spend five days there with *me* as I'll be there to report on the contest.  I'll make sure they show you a good time.

Even if you're not sure about entering the contest, you might want to register and do the online modules- at worst you'll learn more about gin.  

G'Vine Gin Connoisseur 2011

In 2010, over 300 bartenders from 29 different countries competed for the toughest, most prestigious title in gin bartending: The G'Vine Gin Connoisseur.

The G'Vine Gin Connoisseur Program (GCP) resumes with the theme for 2011 : "Traditionally Unconventional". The G'Vine Gin Connoisseur 2011 is the quest for the world's finest all-round gin bartender. As well as the usual contest elements of cocktail creation, the G'Vine Gin Connoisseur 2011 includes online modules, local contests in countries around the world, trainings, tastings, examinations, hanging out with Gaz Regan in the French countryside, and running your own bar at the G'Vine Summer Ball in Cognac! Chances to be the Gin Connoisseur 2011 are offered to every bartender across the world:

1. Each entrant must complete an online examination process including 3 interactive modules (Advanced Gin Cocktails, World of Bars, G'Vine Education). The exams are supervised and graded by the world-renowned expert, Philip Duff, an award-winning speaker, trainer, author and mixologist, and the owner of Liquid Solutions Bar & Beverage Consulting.

2. Any gin-loving bartender can attend the preliminaries held in March & April in Canada, Germany, Spain, UK and US, including Philip Duff's famous Prehistory & Evolution of Gin seminar, presentations by the World Finalists of the G'Vine Gin Connoisseurs Program 2010, a blind Gin Nosing & Tasting Challenge and a cocktail creation. Contenders must also create an original G'Vine cocktail and include it on their bar's cocktail list until the 29th of April.2b. If G'Vine isn't available in your country, or if it is available but no preliminary contest is being held in your country, you can still enter the GCP – as a Wild Card! You will have to make a short video making an original G'Vine cocktail and develop a unique interpretation of G'Vine's original catch phrase: "So Traditionally Unconventional." It could be in the form of any medium: a blog, a painting, a podcast, a videoclip, a photo, etc. These 2 challenges will be shared on youtube and facebook, and popularity (how many times it is "liked") is taken into consideration by the judges.

3. All the points for each challenge are tallied end of April and the 15 top-scoring bartenders will be flown to France in June for a week's worth of unforgettable GCP experiences: seminars with G'Vine's master distiller Jean Sébastien Robicquet, handpicking the vine flowers with bartending legend Gaz Regan, the opportunity to create his or her personal blend of G'Vine, speed drink-making contests, written examinations

Prizes :In addition to being granted the 2011 title of "G'Vine Gin Connoisseur", the winning bartender will receive over-the-top prizes including:  $3,000, the platinum Vine Flower pin, a year's supply of G'Vine for your bar and the Gin Connoisseur experience of a lifetime : the opportunity to choose an intercontinental bar tour in either London or New York, visiting some of the best gin bars in the world.

Register for the challenge here.

Sponsor Shout-Out: Chambord Flavored Vodka

Thanks to the new Chambord Flavored Vodka for supporting Alcademics. 

"Chambord Flavored Vodka delivers the floral aromatics of the hibiscus flower with notes of vanilla, white chocolate and the distinctive flavor of the original Chambord Black Raspberry Liqueur, delivering a unique and satisfying taste experience when enjoyed straight or in a wide variety of cocktails." 

Plus, think about the time you'll save with your French Martinis two-thirds mixed in advance.

I'm thinking that you'll finish drinking it a lot sooner than Chambord liqueur that you only use in partial ounces at a time, so you'll get to do something fun with the bottle sooner. Snow globe? 

  

Remixology Contest from Appleton Rum (Sponsored Post)

(update! The contest was just extended until July 28)

Hey you bartender! *waves dollar bill, snaps fingers* Hurry up!

The deadline to enter the Appleton Estate Reserve Remixology Contest is July 26, which is the day after Tales of the Cocktail ends, which is the day you swear off drinking. So you should probably enter this contest now-ish rather than later-ish. 

Word on the street is that creativity is important in this one, so you might avoid choosing a Bob Marley song even though he is from Jamaica. Contest rules also state that you need to be a US citizen with no criminal record (sorry, half of you!) and that the drink shouldn't contain any seasonal ingredients (sorry, locavores!), and that you should have a valid passport in case you get flown to Jamaica for your prize (sorry, people who don't want to go to Jamaica for a prize!). 

So go ahead and take that song that's been on repeat in your head (California Girls?, Somebody to Love?,  The Brady Bunch Theme Song?), make an Appleton drink to accompany it, and enter the contest here.