Think you’ve got what it takes to craft
the finest bourbon cocktail in the country?
It’s time to square off against America’s best bartenders in the 4th annual Garrison Brothers Bourbon Brawl benefiting Good Bourbon for a Good Cause.
This year, Garrison Brothers is teaming up with Cocktail Courier and Texas Monthly to provide a one-of-a-kind Bourbon Brawl experience and crown the 2022 Bourbon Brawl Bartender of the Year. You’ll be tasked with crafting your most spectacular cocktail, built around Garrison Brothers award-winning bourbon whiskey. With dozens of candidates slingin’ syrups and working their mixology magic, this fast-paced competition will put even the most skilled cocktail curators to the test.
This year’s competition is nationwide with a focus on the following five (5) markets: Orange County, Chicago, New York, Tampa and Houston. Bartenders from outside of these areas are welcome to join in on the action, but you’ll be responsible for travel if you make it to the semi-finals!
Each cocktail will be judged on the following traits that are central to the ideals of the Garrison Brothers family:
-
- Creativity And Innovation
- Spirits Knowledge
- Genuine Hospitality
- Presentation
- Style
To enter the competition, submit your unique cocktail recipes via ShakeStir by April 12th, 2022 at 11:59pm CST
Meet The 2022 Semi-Finalists & Judges
Houston
- RYAN SMITH – FINALIST
- Jeanette DeWolfe – Judge
- Sean Beck – Judge
- Justin Ware – Judge
Tampa
- Christopher Wright
- Bradley West
- Hunter Bryant
- Angela Dunn
- Graham Comstock
- Madeline Kaye – Runner Up
- Zeke Gustafson – Runner Up
- Dylan Ruhl – Judge
- Chris Dunham – Judge
- Greg Sinadinos – Judge
New York
- Jeffrey Alvarado
- Albert Pero
- Jason Kilgore
- Austin Collins
- Adrian Miranda
- Thomas Markham – Runner Up
- Donnie Chauncey – Runner Up
- Kristen Keim – Judge
- Christian Orlando – Judge
- Danielle Rutherford – Judge
Chicago
- Katherine Doughty
- Zachary McMahon
- Luis Estrada
- Davíd León Jr.
- Marco Montaguano
- Patrick Treacy – Runner Up
- Charles Welsh – Runner Up
- Lisa Selman – Judge
- PJ Wagner – Judge
- Eric Rose – Judge
Orange County
- Marie Yoshimizu
- Rachel Keeney
- Heather Ramirez
- Daniel Friedman
- Samantha Dengler
- Lauren Azevedo – Runner Up
- Raul Pool – Runner Up
- Emily Delicce – Judge
- Greg Nagel – Judge
- Saeed (Hawk) – Judge
Phase One: Online Submissions | March 1st – April 12th, 2022
To enter the competition, Bartenders (both at-home bartenders or those currently employed at a bar or restaurant) across the United States will submit their best cocktail recipes via ShakeStir by April 12th, 2022 at 11:59pm CST. They will submit their best cocktail recipes using Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey for a panel of experts to review and decide who will advance to the semi-final round. Mixologists will be given the opportunity to sign up for email cadence reminders during the online submission portion of the competition.
While the semi-final events will be hosted in the five specified markets above, bartenders from all across America are welcome to enter. They will be assigned to the closest applicable market if they are chosen to advance to the semi-final round.
Contestants must have a ShakeStir profile (and the profile must indicate U.S. residency) in order to participate. Creating a profile is simple and can be done HERE.
Phase Two: The Semi-Finals | May 9th – June 6th, 2022
Bartenders will be assigned to the closest applicable market below and 5 bartenders from each market will advance to the semi-finals round. The semi-final round will be closed to fans and only open to industry professionals and the judging panel. The semi-final competition will be broken down into two rounds:
- Round 1: Bartenders will present their cocktail that they submitted online during phase one to a panel of industry professionals to be critiqued and scored.
- Round 2: Bartenders will batch their cocktail that they submitted online during phase one for other bartenders/ industry professionals to taste and vote on (winner gets two points added on to their overall judges score in round one). The bartender with the top score will advance on to the final round in Austin, Texas.
Dates for the semi-final events in each region are:
- May 9th- Houston, TX
- May 16th – Tampa, FL
- May 23rd – New York, New York
- May 31st – Chicago, IL
- June 6th- Orange County, CA
(Times and locations TBD, closed to bartenders/industry professionals only)
Phase Three: The Finals (June 30th, 2022)
One bartender from each of the semi-finals will advance onto the final round in Austin, TX on June 30th, 2022. The finals will be open to all Garrison Brothers fans. The winning bartender will receive $10,000 and a barrel of bourbon (for personal consumption only). The format will be broken down into the three rounds below.
- Round 1: Bartenders will batch their cocktail from online submissions for consumers to try and vote on (winner gets two points added on to their round two score).
- Round 2: Presentation of a new cocktail using Garrison Brothers HoneyDew Bourbon Whiskey on-stage in-front of a panel of industry judges. The top two scores will advance to round three.
- Round 3: Bartenders are given 10 minutes to craft a new cocktail from a table of mystery ingredients for the panel of industry judges to critique. The top scoring bartender will then be named the Garrison Brothers Bourbon Brawl Bartender of the Year.
PURCHASE TICKETS TO THE FINALE EVENT
The winning cocktail from round three at the finals will also be named as the Garrison Brothers Bourbon Brawl Cocktail Kit available on Cocktail Courier. Prizing is provided by ShakeStir.
To learn more about the Garrison Brothers Bourbon Brawl competition including the complete list of rules, visit our page on Texas Monthly.
