Who’s Makes the Best Cocktail in Dallas? The Bartenders Guild Will Decide Today

I’d like to invite all of you to attend the first meeting of the North Texas Chapter of the United States Bartenders Guild at Bolsa April 13th , starting at 1:30 pm. Our guild is made up exceptional bartenders who take great pride in the cocktails they serve. After months and months of petitioning the National Bartenders Guild, we finally have our own chapter.

Don Q Rums is sponsoring the meeting and a drink-making competition.  The bartender who shakes the best cocktail of the day will win a trip to NYC to compete against winning bartenders from all the other chapters of the Guild.  The national winner will then compete in Puerto Rico against bartenders from around to see who shakes the best drink.  Think you have what it takes? We’d welcome you to join the Guild or just attend the event.

The rules are simple. All cocktails must include Don Q rum, be unique in flavor, prepared in a timely fashion, and have balance (neither too sweet nor too tart).  So far, competitors include DFW bartenders Eddie “Lucky” Campbell of Bolsa, Charlie Papacino of Windmill Lounge, Jason Kosmas of Neighborhood Services Tavern, Curtis Chaney from Del Frisco’s, Brad from Usual Bar, cocktail expert Dan O’Keefe, bartenders from the Mansion on Turtle Creek, the Ritz-Carlton-Dallas, Victor Tangos, and several more.

The North Texas Bartenders Guild is a community of professional bartenders who get together for educational programs and to discuss trends and local happenings in the food and beverage industry. Like other large cities, Dallas and Fort Worth are witnessing a renaissance of Prohibition cocktails.

But the classics are just a beginning. We bartenders are taking these classic recipes and tweaking them with a culinary spin.  Take the Old Fashion (2 oz. whiskey, 1 sugar cube, Angostura bitters, soda water, lemon and orange twists). A spin on the Old Fashion might be substituting rum for whiskey, or using a rum infused with an array of spices like cloves, cinnamon and coffee beans.
The North Texas Chapter’s goals are to educate the public on the American Cocktail.  Sure, there will always be a place for a whiskey and Coke, but we are bartemders are challenging ourselves to raise the standards of cocktails offered behind the bars here in Dallas and Fort Worth.  We preach making “culinary cocktails,” which means using fresh ingredients, hand squeezed juices, homemade tonics and syrups and, of course, the most important ingredients: quality spirits and great service.  (Nobody likes being around a disgruntled bartender.)

We will be having monthly meetings, luncheons, happy hours, and charity benefits. An important goal of the chapter is to give back to the community in some meaningful way.

You can learn more about the Guild here, or check out our Facebook page. If you want to know more about how to get involved, email me at northtexasbartendersguild@gmail.com.

Cheers!

Michael

Bolsa is located at 614 West Davis Street, Dallas, TX 75208-4744, (214) 367-9367