Country’s Top Female Bartenders Compete for Industry Glory & Breast Cancer Research in National Bartending Competition Finals; Winner Named Miss Speed Rack USA
More than 200 female bartenders across the country have poured their hearts, souls and favorite spirits into the Speed Rack regional heats that were held in 10 of the top cocktail cities nationwide. Ten finalists rose to the top and will be taking the stage on Thursday, May 16 – along with six wild card winners – in a shaking and stirring showdown at the Speed Rack National Finals in New York City.
WHAT: Cheer on the fastest female bartenders in the country at Speed Rack National Finals!
Spectator sport meets the best in bartending when mixtresses from across the country compete in 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 includes such cocktail world luminaries as: Julie Reiner, Dale DeGroff and Audrey Saunders. Pernod-Ricard’s Chris Patino will emcee the proceedings while San Francisco’s Ryan Fitzgerald will DJ the night away.
The first nationwide competition designed to highlight up-and-coming women in the cocktail industry, and give back to those impacted by breast cancer, Speed Rack taps top female bartenders in leading cocktail markets and puts them head to head in timed challenges – all for the purpose of raising funds for breast cancer charities and other charities supporting breast cancer research. To date, Speed Rack has raised almost $150,000.
WHEN: Thursday, May 16, 2013
6:00 pm – 10:00 pm
WHERE: Element Night Club, 225 East Houston Street, New York City
CONTENDERS:
Shel Bourdon – Phoenix; Winner of Speed Rack Southwest
Karah Carmack – The Esquire Tavern, San Antonio; Winner of Speed Rack Texas
Ashley Danella – PB Steak and Pubbelly Restaurants, Miami; Wild Card Winner
Jacyara DeOliveira – Perennial Virant, Chicago; Wild Card Winner
Sheridan Fay – El Gran Malo, Grand Prize Bar, Haven, Houston; Wild Card Winner
Elisabeth Forsyth – Blue Box, San Antonio; Wild Card Winner
Victoria George – Rickhouse, San Francisco; Winner of Speed Rack San Francisco
Amanda Hammond – Niche, St. Louis, MO; Wild Card Winner
Lacy Hawkins – Luc Lac, Portland, OR; Winner of Speed Rack Northwest
Madelyn Kay – Austin, TX; Wild Card Winner
Naomi Levy – Eastern Standard, Cambridge, MA; Winner of Speed Rack Northeast
Liz Pearce – The Drawing Room, Chicago; Winner of Speed Rack Chicago
Eryn Reece – Mayahuel and Death & Company, New York City; Winner of Speed Rack New York
Paige Unger – Extra Virgin and Michael Smith’s, Kansas City, MO; Winner of Speed Rack Midwest
Jillian Webster – Harvard & Stone, Los Angeles; Winner of Speed Rack Southern California
Jaki Winkles – Alambiq Mixology and Levy Restaurants, Miami; Winner of Speed Rack Southeast
COST: Tickets <http://speedrack.liquor.com> are available in advance for $30 and at the door for $35
(cash and credit cards accepted; tickets go on sale Wednesday, April 24)
WHY: Ladies shaking drinks for Breast Cancer! Guests’ entry donation, in advance or at the door, includes plenty of drinks from sponsors, and bites for the audience to nosh while rooting for the country’s fastest female bartenders!
WHO: Speed Rack, Inc. was created by produced by nationally acclaimed bartenders and industry ambassadors, Lynnette Marrero and Ivy Mix in conjunction with event coordination by Claire Bertin-Lang of CBLLC and videos by Le Jit Productions.
PRIZES: Miss Speed Rack USA, will 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 2013 a scholarship to their five-day program
(http://www.beveragealcoholresource.com/ <http://www.beveragealcoholresource.com/> ).
ANOTHER ROUND: Additional information can be found on the Speed Rack website www.speed-rack.com, on Facebook www.facebook/speedrackinfo and on Twitter @speed_rack. Check out the antics at this year’s regional heats by visiting: http://www.speed-rack.com/videos
