The National Restaurant Association will be searching for the country’s most creative cocktail at this year’s NRA show.
The association will be running the Star of the Bar competition for professional and amateur mixologists at the 2011 International Wine, Spirits & Beer Event (IWSB), which is part of the show. The competition begins online with video submissions. Six finalists will be invited to the NRA show, where they will compete live for the Star of the Bar title and a $5,000 grand prize.
IWSB will be held May 22 and 23 at Chicago’s McCormick Place. It is the restaurant and hospitality industry’s only event focused exclusively on improving restaurant and
hospitality bar programs. The Star of the Bar competition is sponsored by Bacardi. “The Star of the Bar mixology competition provides a great opportunity to showcase creativity and skill in bartending,” says C.W. Craig Reed, convention chair for NRA Show 2011 and director of food and beverage, Broadmoor Hotel, Colorado Springs, Colorado. “Last year’s winner credits Star of the Bar with helping him launch his mixology career. We’re looking forward to watching this year’s competitors turn fresh ingredients into innovative signature cocktails and become the next Star of the Bar winner.”
Interested mixologists should submit, via YouTube, a two-minute video of themselves preparing their best signature cocktail by 11:50 p.m. Central Daylight Time on April 1. The contestant must complete the entry form at www.winespiritsbeer.org, include the original written recipe, and use at least one product from the Bacardi portfolio.
Voting will take place on www.winespiritsbeer.org through Monday, April 11, 2011 until 5 p.m. Central Daylight Time. IWSB attendees—including some of the world’s leading alcohol experts, producers, and buyers—will help narrow down the field to the top three contestants, who will then go on to compete live for the title at “Restaurants Rock”—the official party of the NRA Show and IWSB 2011—that evening.
Official contest rules are available here.
