Off the Slopes: Judges rule in favor of drinkability

Before and after shot of judges (from left) Lehman, Gardner, Barrett, Wolf and Badgley. (Photo: Thies)

At bartending comp, cocktails prevail! Judges hammered

Last Thursday, Lakanuki held the Annual Mammoth Bartending Competition sponsored by Three Tiki Rum. I had the pleasure of sitting on a selectively sloppy judge’s panel that included Town Planning Commissioner Tony Barrett, Lakanuki drink slinger Kelly Gardner, local business tycoon Matthew Lehman and Young’s Market rep. John Badgley. Without question, this was a supreme alignment of arbitrators that would earn the nod from such judging greats as Judge Judy, Judge Dredd and even Mike Judge.
The Iron Chef-like competition included bartenders from Lakanuki, Auld Dubliner, Petra’s, The White Bark Lounge, Sushi Rei, Nevados, Grumpy’s, and the Yodler. All were assigned the task of expertly concocting the best beverages using the sponsored main ingredient, Three Tiki Rum. The winning drink of this competition was awarded with not only local bragging rights but also a spot on Lakanuki’s revamped menu.
Judging a laborious event like this isn’t easy. One can’t just sit back, get drizzle and yell weird stuff like Hasselhoff on America’s Got Talent. It takes a discerning yet discriminating taste and appreciation for the method in which one gets drunk.
All of the drinks essentially fell under the dessert cocktail category, as every bartender brought a personalized and creative spin on the spiced rum. Taste, creativity and presentation were all important factors to choosy drinkers like us. But in the end the drinks were more or less critiqued on a Miller Lite mentality of which cocktail had a high “drinkability.”
As the event rolled on, Lakanuki bartender Mike Shumante handled the microphone and handed out raffle prizes. Meanwhile in a side room of the Grand Sierra Lodge, the judge’s panel cleared their palettes and skillfully sipped each bartender’s attempt at cocktail glory. Though some drinks were glorious, some on the other hand would most definitely be referred to by Tarantino fans as Inglourious Basterds.
In an attempt to pass time (and talk smack), the panel decided on a few alternative names for the drinks, which for the sake of Mammoth’s virgin ears probably should not be disclosed beyond the walls of Lakanuki. Ehhh what the hell, cocktails like the She’s so Creamy and the Flaming Tiki Tai inspired names like the Yeast Infection and the Clay Aiken.
Toward the end of the evening, we grew as a judge’s panel. Starting out as a small group of strangers sitting at equal distance apart, we ended the night with enough hugs and ass slaps suitable for an episode of Bromance.
As a judge, I suppose the moral of the story is that after 9 rounds of cocktails no one will ever understand when you try to explain why a certain drink tasted like a cornucopia of pixie piss and sunshine. Perhaps the best response after a night of crunk juice and maybe the only response is that every drink tastes “greeeeeaaat!” Which I suppose is also the lesson for bartenders; you can have an award winning drink that tastes like a ski boot as long as you go last.
Though all of the cocktails on some level, for at least some lush, should be included on some menu, at least somewhere, there could only be one winner worthy of Lakanuki immortality.
At the end of the night, the people’s choice award went to Petra’s bartender Leigh Ann Batista with her drink entitled the Ginger Snap. But the top cocktail went to Nevados bartender Janice Sadilek, who plastered the competition (and the audience) with a cocktail she called the Pumpkin Tikini. The zesty pumpkin flavored cocktail proved that Nevados doesn’t have to just pour stiff drinks to win local hoots and hollers. Congratulations to Janice and Leigh Ann, as well as Lakanuki for hosting a great event.
Be sure to check out Lakanuki.com for photos and recipes of all the featured cocktails and definitely don’t miss Lakanuki’s Fall Classic Golf Tournament, Thursday Sept. 24. Stuart describes it as “Halloween golfing on steroids.”