William Grant & Sons 2014 May Mix Off
Contributed by on May 01, 2014
Zero readers love this post.
Brian Stewart, Petit Ermitage
William Grant and Sons 2014 May Mix Off Schedule is out! The Mixing Room at the JW Marriott at LA Live will once again be the spot to be Wednesdays in May from 7 to 9 PM. William Grant and Sons has tapped 16 bartenders from around the city to compete every week. The competitions are free and open to the public. Food and drinks will be available for purchase.
The first evening on May 14 will feature Reyka Vodka and Sailor Jerry Rum competitions. Then on May 21, bartenders will battle it out with Hendrick’s Gin and Milagro Tequila. The top 4 from the two weeks will meet on May 28 to see who win the grand prize which includes a trip to New Orleans for Tales of the Cocktail. Last year Edwin “The Garnish King” Cruz, formerly of the Spare Room of Hollywood, took home the prize.
Ken Barranda, Hakkasan
While we know the spirits for the preceding two weeks, the final is up for grabs. Competing bartenders will have prepared their drink recipes in advance for previous weeks but it’ll be an Iron Chef-style showdown on the final competition day. A mystery ingredient (or spirit!) is revealed the night of May 28th.
The bartenders are judged on their cocktails’ taste, presentation, performance and this year there’s an added category– crowd response. Edwin was a crowd favorite last year not only for his beautiful garnishes but for his style. He brought in two bell-shaped mixing vessels that “rang like bells.” Let’s hope this year’s crop of bartenders follow his path to victory with equally exciting presentations.
5/14
- Joshua Lucas – Honeycut
- Tracy Mazyck – JW Marriott
- Zachariah Parks – Joe’s Restauran t
- Christine Wiseman – La Descarga
- Dominick DiNapoli – The Virgil
- Kristina Howald – Bestia
- Brian Stewart – Petit Ermitage
- Feisser Stone – Churchill
5/21
- Ken Baranda – Hakkasan
- Derrick Bass – Willie Jane
- Nathan Oliver – Butchers and Barbers
- Eva Pelczer – Honeycut
- Chris Amirault – Harlowe
- Cari Hah – City Tavern (DTLA)
- Max Kestenbaum – Cocktail Academy LA / Apt. A
- Chris Raba – Eveleigh
Final competition with the top 8 on May 28.
Pictures from last year’s final competition
May 14, May 21, May 28
7-9 PM
900 West Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90015 — (213) 765-8600
© The Minty // LA Cocktails 2014
Filed under: bar stories, bars, bartenders, cocktail competition, cocktail week, cocktails, contest, events, history, hot bartenders, la, la cocktails, los angeles, spirits, the minty, travel Tagged: bartenders, competitions, drinkwire, hot bartenders, may mix off, tales of the cocktail, totc, william grant and sons 
