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.
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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