SPEED RACK ANNOUNCES NATIONAL FINALS

Serious stirring and shaking is about to happen, thanks to the New York return of Speed Rack, the only all-female, speed-bartending competition that raises money for breast cancer charities. Almost 200 bartenders across the country have poured their hearts, souls and favorite spirits into the Speed Rack regional heats that were held in eight of the top cocktail cities nationwide – Chicago, New York, San Antonio, Seattle, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Nashville, and Boston. Eight finalists rose to the top and will be taking the stage on Sunday, May 22 – along with eight wildcard winners – in a shaking and stirring showdown at the Speed Rack National Finals in New York City. To date, Speed Rack has raised more than $350,000 for breast cancer charities in the U.S. and abroad.
 
Contestants will compete in timed heats to make rounds of cocktails, culled from a list of 50 accepted industry-standard classic recipes, in front of a panel of judges and a crowd of excited viewers. Judges rate each drink based on prep time and accuracy. The judging panel at Speed Rack National Finals will feature such leading cocktail-world luminaries as: Kate Krader of Food & Wine magazine, Paul McGee, owner and head bartender, Lost Lake Chicago, Julie Reiner, owner of Flatiron Lounge, Clover Club and co-owner Leyenda, and Dave Wondrich, world-renowned cocktail historian and writer. Pernod Ricard’s Chris Patino will emcee the proceedings.
 
WHAT:           Speed Rack National Finals
 
WHERE:         Webster Hall
                        125 East 11th Street, New York, NY 10003
                       
WHEN:           Sunday, May 22, 2016, from 5:00pm – 9:00pm
 
COST:            Tickets are $30 in advance and at the door
                        With suggested donation, attendees receive cocktails from our premium sponsors.  
 
WHY:              To date, Speed Rack has raised more than $350,000 globally for breast cancer charities and elevated top female bartenders in America and abroad who go shaker-to-shaker competing for industry glory and a Speed Rack title. Beneficiaries have included SHARE cancer support, National Breast Cancer Foundation, Susan G Love, The Helen David Foundation and others.
 
THE CONTENDERS:
Alicia Walton – The Sea Star; Ms. Speed Rack San Francisco
Christine Wiseman – Break Room 86; Ms. Speed Rack Nashville
Emily Yett – Herbs & Rye; Ms. Speed Rack Las Vegas
Genna Barone – Franklin Café; Ms. Speed Rack New England
Haley Holman – Capitol Hill’s Canon bar; Ms. Speed Rack Seattle
Lacy Hawkins – The NoMad, Clover Club; Ms. Speed Rack New York
Madelyn Kay – VOX Table; Ms. Speed Rack Texas
Melissa Huth – Bordel; Ms. Speed Rack Chicago
Andrea Tateosian – Urbana; Nashville Wildcard Winner representing Washington D.C.
Anna Wingfield – Mother’s Ruin, Ba’sik; New York Wildcard Winner
Elise Barnard – Restaurant Good Luck; New England Wildcard Winner
Elyse Blechman – Captain Foxheart’s Bad News Bar & Spirit Lodge; Texas Wildcard Winner
Jessi Lorraine – Absinthe; San Francisco Wildcard Winner
Julia Gordon – Lost Lake; Chicago Wildcard Winner
Karen Grill – Sassafras Saloon; Las Vegas Wildcard Winner
Kate Perry – Rumba; Seattle Wildcard Winner
 
PRIZES:          Luxardo, Italy’s premier liqueur producer, will present Miss Speed Rack USA with the Grand Prize trip for two to Padova, Italy, home of the Luxardo distillery.
 
Miss Speed Rack USA 2016 will join Speed Rack Founders Lynnette Marrero and Ivy Mix for an educational trip to the Jameson Distillery in Ireland and represent the United States at the Jameson Bartender Ball; along with the Speed Rack winner in each tour city. They will also receive an all-inclusive trip for two to France, where she will enjoy the beauty of the Anjou region and take a tour of the Cointreau distillery while attending the Cointreau Bartender Academie, an educational and intricate program designed to enlighten the trade on the secrets and subtleties of Cointreau.
 
In addition, the founding Partners of BAR (Beverage Alcohol Resource) are offering Miss Speed Rack USA 2016 a scholarship to their five-day program
(http://www.beveragealcoholresource.com/) and the winner will get a custom bar bag from Barkeeper & Co.
 
FYI:                 Speed Rack, Inc. was created by nationally acclaimed bartenders and industry ambassadors, Lynnette Marrero and Ivy Mix, who were named among the “Most Innovative Women in Food & Drink” by Food & Wine and Fortune magazines in 2015.
 
Additional information can be found on the Speed Rack website www.speed-rack.com, on Facebook http://www.facebook/speedrackinfo and on Twitter @speed_rack using the hashtags #SpeedRack #BacktheRack.
 
Check out the fifth season tour launch in Chicago by visiting Speed Rack’s YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/STRfGso4DqE and check out the antics at last year’s regional heats by visiting http://bit.ly/1cIrwLH. The 2016 tour is filmed by Le JIT Productions with event execution by Double Barrel Consulting.