Winner will receive $15,000 at finals in Puerto Rico in June 2017
BARDSTOWN, Ky. – Heaven Hill Brands and Liquor.com are searching for the 2017 Bartender of the Year. The event includes online submissions, regional semifinals and the crowning of the 2017 Bartender of the Year in June 2017 at the St. Regis Bahia Beach in Puerto Rico. Bartenders will be challenged to demonstrate a variety of cocktail skills including the use of Domaine de Canton French Ginger Liqueur, Elijah Craig Small Batch, PAMA Pomegranate Liqueur and Rittenhouse Rye Whisky.
Abigail Gullo of Compere Lapin in New Orleans set the bar as the champion of the inaugural Bartender of the Year in 2016. The 2017 Bartender of the Year contest will identify the bartender who best embodies the range of qualities to which all bartenders aspire to be, as Gullo expertly showcased throughout each round of the competition. From service to history and skills to quality preparation, the 2017 Bartender of the Year will be a celebrated example of what it means to be a hospitality professional behind the bar.
“The inaugural year of the Bartender of the Year competition showcased supreme craft across the bartending industry,” said Kate S. Latts, Vice President, Marketing for Heaven Hill Brands. “Our exemplary lineup of featured Liqueurs and Whiskeys provide a base for identifying the strong talent in the U.S. We are excited to continue this new tradition of elevating the craft of bartending and supporting the history and traditions that characterize its culture.
Over ten months, Heaven Hill Brands and Liquor.com will identify candidates for Bartender of the Year, first by online submissions received from August 1 to October 31. Submissions will be evaluated throughout November by returning judges Heaven Hill National Brand Educator Lynn House, Director of Mixology & Spirits Education for Southern Wine & Spirits of New York Allen Katz, and Bar Manager of Clyde Common & Pépé Le Moko Jeffrey Morgenthaler. The regional semifinals will be expanded to eight host cities including San Francisco, Las Vegas, Dallas, Denver, Chicago, Nashville, Miami and New York City beginning in January 2017 and continuing through March 2017. The finalist from each regional competition will vie for Bartender of the Year and $15,000 at the St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort in Puerto Rico in June 2017.
Submissions for the contest will open at bartenderoftheyear.liquor.com on August 1. Judges for the regional semifinals will be announced throughout the duration of the contest. Gullo will also return to Puerto Rico as a judge for the beachside finals.
Grounded in the original Bartender of the Year hosted by Domaine de Canton starting in 2009, Heaven Hill Brands resurrected the competition in 2015 due to strong demand from bartenders worldwide. Past winners of the Domaine de Canton competition include John Lermayer, Sean Kenyon and Dennis Gobis.
Founded in 1935, Bardstown, KY-based Heaven Hill Brands (www.heavenhill.com) is the nation’s largest independent, family-owned and operated spirits producer and marketer and the world’s second-largest holder of Kentucky Bourbon. Heaven Hill’s diversified portfolio of brands includes Evan Williams Bourbon; Larceny, Elijah Craig and Henry McKenna Bourbons; Deep Eddy Vodka; Burnett’s Vodkas and Gin; Admiral Nelson’s and Blackheart Rums; HPNOTIQ Liqueur; The Christian Brothers Brandies; PAMA Pomegranate Liqueur; Domaine de Canton Ginger Liqueur; Lunazul Tequila; Cinerator Hot Cinnamon Flavored Whiskey and Rittenhouse Rye Whisky.
Heaven Hill reminds you to “Think Wisely. Drink Wisely.”
CONTACT:
Lauren Cherry
Communications Coordinator
Heaven Hill Brands
(502) 413-0217
lcherry@heavenhill.com
www.heavenhill.com
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