The Cowboy Saloon hosted the 13 best bartenders in the state last Friday as they vied for $2,500 and a championship belt buckle in the Wyoming Whiskey Bartender Shootout live drink mixing competition.
The competitors advanced to the state finals by placing at regional competitions that were held in Casper, Cody, Lander and Laramie. The rules of the competition were fairly simple, but urged competitors to take there drinks to the next level by prohibiting them from using flames and requiring they must use two ingredients in addition to the required Wyoming Whiskey.
Competitors went out on a limb both with ingredients as well as making a point to create unique names for their concoctions. One such drink was Sarah Thompson’s “Cabin Fever” that used cedar wood and vanilla bean syrup, white pepper and huckleberry juice.
Jesse Brown of the Cowfish bar in Lander took home the coveted buckle and prize money with his drink, “The Brown and Gold Derby.” A variation on a prohibition era cocktail called a Derby, Brown’s drink had grapefruit juice, Lander Honey and bruised sage among other ingredients to form the prize winning beverage.
Megan Schmoll, a bartender from The Rose in Jackson who finished second, said that the competition gave bartenders a unique opportunity to interact in a way they do not often do.
“It’s cool to see bartenders from other places and to see what different ingredients they use,” said Schmoll.
Brittany Fells, also of The Rose in Jackson, said her motives for competing were two-fold, “I really want the buckle, but it’s also great to support Wyoming Whiskey, too.”
Jason Hawk who owns Bar 10 in Riverton said he came to Laramie to support his Bartender Jay Collins and his drink, “Washakie Sour.” Hawk said his favorite part of Collins’ drink was the local ingredients, “Besides the Wyoming Whiskey he finishes the drink with a petite Sirah wine that comes from the Buffalo Jump Winery in Cody.”
Co-founder of Wyoming Whiskey and the competitions announcer, David DeFazio said the competition was planned over the past six months and was designed to build up excitement for their product again.
“We really want to reengage Wyoming and get the bartenders behind us and we hope this competition will get people making these cocktails,” DeFazio said.
The other goal of the competition was to show off Wyoming Whiskey’s more recent batch of product called Single Barrel, which recently won a silver medal at the Denver International Spirits Competition.
Overall DeFazio said it was about having a good time, “It’s about getting the crowd involved, it’s about the experience, and most importantly it’s about having fun.”
