As Nashville continues to make gains in our reputation as a food and drink town, we're getting more and more cocktail competitions coming to town seeking to identify talented mixologists. There's a new contest starting up that is actually a local product, hoping to expand to the rest of the world in the future.
The Sipsmith Showdown Cocktail Competition is the brainchild of Caleb Kimbley, a talented bartender you might have seen behind the stick at Sinema before he partnered with Galen Johnson to form Hook + Bond, a spirits marketing firm. Both Kimbley and Johnson also work at The 404 Kitchen to keep their bartending chops honed, and they are definitely plugged in to the local cocktail scene.
So it makes sense that Hook + Bond has partnered with Sipsmith Gin to establish a three-week competition to help recognize some of Nashville's best barkeeps. The events will happen in two rounds with semifinals to be held on Monday, Feb. 8, at the new Bar Sovereign downtown and the following Monday, Feb. 15 at (the also new) Bar Luca in East Nashville. Three bartenders will compete in each semifinal with judges evaluating a unique drink made with Sipsmith London dry gin.
The winners will face off in the finals on Monday, Feb. 22 at the imminently opening Old Glory on Villa Place, where the champion will be crowned by a panel of professional drinkers. (Disclosure: including me) And believe me, the judges will be taking our responsibilities seriously, since the winning bartender will be taking a trip to London to visit Sipsmith, the only new distillery to open within London city limits in the past couple of centuries. Hook + Bond are providing the trip, so you can imagine the competition will be fierce!
There's no charge to attend any of the competitions, which will run from around 8 until 10 p.m. each night. Discounted cocktails featuring Sipsmith will be available for purchase, and this will be an excellent opportunity to try our some new bars and see some of the city's best bartenders at work. In case you want to cheer on a particular favorite, check out who is competing and which bars they will be representing after the jump:
Feb. 8
at Bar Sovereign
Nick Delerenzo — Acme Feed & Seed
Will Benedetto —William Collier's
Eric Simmons — Pinewood Social
Feb. 15
at Bar Luca
Freddy Schwenk — Bar Luca
Jeremiah Blake — The Green Hour
Carley Gaskin — Butcher & Bee
Feb. 22
at Old Glory
Final competition
