A little friendly competition for a good cause! Batson River Brewing & Distilling will be hosting their first ChopTail Cocktail Competition this upcoming Tuesday, March 29th from 6 PM – 8 PM at their Portland location.
Taking all the creativity, intensity, and competitiveness of the hit cooking competition show, Chopped, but with booze instead of food, ChopTails will have five of Portland’s best bartenders square off in the ultimate test of mix mastery.
This is a ticketed event. A $75 ticket will get you a welcome cocktail, an up-close and personal view of their all-star cast of cocktail pros in action, passed appetizers and snacks, and a sample of the winning ChopTail cocktail. A portion of the event’s proceeds will go to benefit Maine Needs in their mission to help local Mainers meet their basic needs. Purchase tickets here.
How the Competition Will Work:
The competition is broken down into the following rounds:
Round 1
The five contestants will have ten minutes to create a shot and present it to the judges. Judges will then vote on a winning shot and the contestant with the winning recipe will receive a special advantage.
Round 2
Contestants will each draw a basket number. Each basket will contain a different Batson River spirit, along with the required mystery ingredients. Contestants will each have 20 minutes to make a unique cocktail utilizing all ingredients in the basket. Once they’ve accomplished mix-mastery, they must deliver their cocktail to Batson’s esteemed panel of judges for scoring.
The Winning ChopTail
Each cocktail will be ranked according to 5 separate categories, timing, presentation, taste, creativity/naming & basket utilization. The cocktail that earns the highest score will earn its maker the 2022 Batson River ChopTails Champion trophy, bragging rights, along with a spot on Batson River’s April cocktail menu! But wait, there’s more – $1.00 of every ChopTail sold in April will go to the winning bartender’s charity of choice!
Meet the Contestants:
Arvid Brown – Crispy Gai, 90 Exchange Street, Portland
Audrey Treadwell – Bramhall, 769 Congress Street, Portland
Caleb Landry – Blyth and Burrows, 26 Exchange Street, Portland
Liz Smith – Black Cow Burgers, 83 Exchange Street, Portland
Mark Hibbard – ViA VECCHiA, 10 Dana Street, Portland
Remember to come hungry and ready to cheer on your favorite bartender for this first-of-its-kind event!
