Serious stirring and shaking is about to happen, thanks to the Texas return of Speed Rack, the all-female speed-bartending competition that raises money for breast cancer charities. Expect fast-paced action, free-flowing cocktails and a rocking good time. In 2015, the tour will expand globally to Canada and France and continue efforts in the U.K., making Speed Rack the one and only all-female, international bartending competition.
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 Dallas will feature such leading cocktail-world luminaries as: Chris Bostick (owner of Half Step Austin), Alba Huerta (owner and head bartender Julep Houston), Matt McCallister (executive chef and owner of FT33 and 2014 Food & Wine Best New Chef), and Chad Solomon (owner of Midnight Rambler). The evening will be emceed by Pernod Ricard’s Chris Patino and Texas’s Adam Pickrell with DJ the night away. Â
WHAT: Speed Rack Dallas
WHERE: Life in Deep Ellum Cultural Center
2803 Taylor Street, Dallas, Texas, 75226
WHEN: Wednesday, January 14, 2014, at 6:00PM
COST: Tickets are $20 in advance; $25 at the door
With suggested donation, attendees receive cocktails from our premium sponsors;
food available for purchase from local vendors and food trucks.
WHY: To date, Speed Rack has raised more than $250,000 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.
THE CONTENDERS:
Kristy Drapiza – The Rach at Las Colinas
Nicole Marie DeGroot – Whiskey Cake Kitchen & Bar
*Becca June Conklin – Bourbon O Bar (New Orleans, Louisiana)
Janessa Flowers – Barbaro
Elisabeth Forsythe – Barbaro
Aisling Gammill – Drink.Well
Ashley Nicole Helstrom – The Rach at Las Colinas
Haydee Hernandez – Midnight Rambler
Jennifer Keyser – Contigo
Kiyoko Kinoshita – Midnight Rambler
Jennifer Land – Urban Crust
Jenna De Long – Whisky Cake Plano
*Pailinn Petthongg – Bourbon O Bar (New Orleans, Louisiana)
Alexandrea Rivera – The Ranch at Las Colinas
Zulcoralis Rodriguez – The Esquire Tavern
Alexis Rolon – The Rustic
Jessica Sanders – Drink.Well
*Claudia Schumacher – Tonique (New Orleans, Louisiana)
Simone Elizabeth Springer – Midnight Rambler
*Caroline Woodruff – Minero (Charleston, South Carolina)
*Note: Out of state competitors are recipients of the 40 Creek Canadian Whiskey Scholarship, which helps out-of-state bartenders, who do not have a local Speed Rack, enter the competition in other cities.
PRIZES: Miss Speed Rack Dallas, as well as her fellow winners from each city from the tour will receive several prizes, including a $500 honorarium toward travel to the National Finals in New York (June 7, 2015) provided by St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur.
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