With our local establishments being closed during the COVID-19 crisis, we were left without the comfort of a craft cocktail mixed up by our favorite bartender. Even worse, these close friends and neighbors of ours were left without work. We figured there was no better time to bring the bar experience we love into our homes for our friends to showcase their at-home bartending skills for a chance to win cash prizes. That's when we kicked off the Home Is Where The Bar Is virtual cocktail competition, where we invited anyone with an at-home cocktail recipe featuring their favorite Eastside spirit to share their creations.
The response was incredible - filled with flare, libation inspiration, and left us thirsty for more. The competition reached over 10,000 bartenders across Eastside's brand's social profiles and email subscribers, resulting in 31 total video submissions. The virtual cocktail competition consisted of three week-long rounds for participants to submit a one minute video of themselves building their cocktail and sharing their unique recipe to our esteemed panel of judges, including our Master Distilling, Mel Heim. At the end of each round, a single winner was announced and then entered into the final round for the Grand Prize.
Our judges indeed had their work cut out for them as they carefully reviewed each submission to deem the winner. Each participant's entry was judged thoroughly on a 12-point scale based on ingredients, cocktail appearance, creativity, and production.
Meet Cocktail #1 - The Double Take feat. Burnside Bourbon
Our first round winner was Josiah Francis of Portland, Oregon. Josiah created "The Double Take," using our Burnside Goose Hollow RSV Bourbon.
The Double Take
2 oz. Burnside Goose Hollow RSV Bourbon
.5 oz. Gran Classico
.5 Carpano Antica Formula
Angostura orange bitters
El Dorado 12-year spritz
Garnish with orange
Meet Cocktail #2 - Kiki feat. Azuñia Reposado
Sam Liverman from West Hollywood built “Kiki” using Azuñia Tequila's Reposado, claiming the winning title for our second round.
Kiki
1.5 oz. Azuñia Reposado Tequila
.75 oz. Lime juice
.75 oz. Kiwi syrup
Top with unfiltered Nigori sake
Meet Cocktail #3 - The Bahay Blossom feat. Azuñia Blanco
Kariza Anna of West Hollywood chose Azuñia Blanco Organic Tequila to create her winning cocktail for round three: The Bahay Blossom.
The Bahay Blossom
1.5 oz. Azuñia Blanco Organic Tequila
2 Rambutans peeled and muddled
1 oz. Jasmine tea syrup (Equal parts steeped jasmine tea and sugar)
.75 oz. Calamansi juice
.5 oz Nigori sake
Grand Prize Winner
Once we chose our three winners, they battled it out on our Instagram feed for their chance to win an additional $250 cash prize and a donation made to a non-profit of their choice. By recruiting their friends and family to vote, our Grand Prize Winner was the "People's Choice" selection, based on the number of views their video received by the contest deadline. When all was said and done, our ultimate winner was Sam Liverman of Los Angeles, CA. His winning cocktail, Kiki, is original, crisp, and refreshing - and we'll be sipping that all summer long.
Life’s a Cocktail… Make it What You Wan’t
You don't need to be in a bartender competition to have the incentive to make craft cocktails at home. Some of our mixology friends, like Charity Johnston of Toca Madera, have been enjoying their time getting creative, making drinks away from the bar. "Even though I've been in this industry for a long time (I won't disclose HOW long), I'm surprised to find that I'm having just as much fun as I do behind the bar!" Other bartenders have gotten creative, offering virtual bartending classes during the pandemic. Some organizations, like The Community, are offering virtual happy hours to tip bartenders for the cocktails they pour online. Other establishments have put together virtual tip jars for out of work hospitality staff members.
Even though we are facing tough times, we're inspired by the optimism and rallying support around our service industry friends and family. In the words of our bartending contest winner, Sam Liverman, "Life's a cocktail... make it what you want!"
Follow us for more
If you need some additional inspo for at-home cocktails, take a look at all of the recipes shared by our amazing mixologist friends on Instagram by searching the hashtag #HomeIsWhereTheBarIs. Remember, just because the contest is over doesn't mean we don't want to see what you're mixing up! Be sure to tag @EastsideDistilling to show us your skills.