Huntsville Bar Star Competition

Do you think you’ve got what it takes to be a star? Not just any star, but a bar star? On Monday, September 23rd, you can find out who in Huntsville does at the first Huntsville Bar Star Competition.

Ready, Set, Pour

From 6:30-9pm at the Westin Courtyard at Bridgestreet, six local bartenders will be creating drinks and competing for the title of best local bartender. The winner will go on to compete in the state competition.

And you get to watch all the fun!

I’ll be there as one of three local celebrity judges, deciding the fates of the local bartenders, (talk about pressure!) and I want to make sure we have a great crowd for these folks! So put this on your calendar, now!

Here are the bartenders competing on Monday:

Ryan McGowan from Humphrey’s
Robby Lominick from Humphrey’s
Keeton Light from Westin Huntsville
Tamera Patton from Baumhower’s Restaurant
Brian Lovejoy from Marriott Shoals Hotel and Spa
Kirstie Williams from I love Sushi

Local Brews

Lest you manly beer drinkers be scared away from this event, let me assure you, there will be plenty of manly brews available. In fact, you’ll be able to get craft beers from local breweries such as Straight to Ale, Yellowhammer, Blue Pants, Avondale and Good People. You can find all the local breweries in town by visiting our breweries directory. Charles Lennox, the food and beverage director at The Westin, encourages everyone to come out.

“Come cheer your favorite, and make a night of it. We are cooking great local food, and we have five exceptional brewers present serving both sample and full portions of their beer, along with sharing knowledge about their brewing styles,” he told me.

How’s that for manliness?

How It Works

Each contestant will be given a list of 20 drink recipes in advance along with the name of the featured spirit. Contestants must memorize all of the drink recipes and create their own one of a kind recipe utilizing the “featured spirit,” American Harvest Vodka.

Monday night during the competition, the bartenders will take a written test about the 20 cocktails (don’t worry that isn’t part of the show. That’s before everyone gets there.) And I’ve gotten a sneak peak at the recipe list, these are no vodka and Sprites! The Huntsville Bar Star will truly earn their title.

Then each bartender will randomly select 4 of the 20 drink recipes to prepare along with their own special drink.

Some of the drinks I’m hoping to try:

Pink Fizz
Expresso Martini
Harvest Cooler
Harvest Basil Lemondade

Picking a Winner

Mojo Jones, host of the Mojo Radio Show on 104.3 WZYP, will emcee the Huntsville competition. And the winning bartneder will be left up to 3 local judges.

David Kumbroch, WHNT-19 anchor/reporter
Larkin Grant (aka me), Digital Media Wizard, Our Valley Events
Chris Anderson, ’92 University of Alabama Championship team

And just how will we pick the winner? Here’s what the bartenders will be judged on:

Ingredients: As the contestants prepare each drink, they will be narrating for the judges. We will have a list of each drink and ingredients. The more you get correct, the higher your marks
Explanation: As the bartenders prepare their own signature drink, high marks go to the folks that explain not only what they made but why they made it.
Showmanship: Gotta make sure we can hear the bartenders. Plus high marks go to the folks who entertain along the way.
Flair: That special something the really great bartenders have.