The 2024 Newport Winter Festival continued its week of festivities with a cocktail competition featuring Litchfield Distillery spirits at The Red Parrot Restaurant on Feb. 22. Local bartenders created their best hot drinks for judges using Litchfield Distillery Batchers’ Vanilla Bourbon, Litchfield Distillery Batchers’ Coffee Bourbon and Baileys Chocolate Liqueur to warm up the offerings. Each entry was judged on its presentation, taste and appeal, with the winning beverage deemed the Best Hot Drink in Newport. Guests gathered to cheer on competitors and sample each cocktail, with competitors from The Red Parrot, Diego’s Newport, Gas Lamp Grille, Wally’s Wieners and Skiff Bar at Newport Marriott Hotel & Spa among them throughout the night. The winners were: first place: David Fickel, Diego’s Newport; second place: Ethan Destefani, Gas Lamp Grille; and third place: Ronda Wojcik, Manager, The Red Parrot Restaurant.
-
- Debbie Bailey, Newport This Week; Nancy Rosenberg, Marketing and Events, Newport Winter Festival; Brittany Costa, Marketing and Events, Newport Winter Festival; Kathy Farrington, Discover Newport; and Erin Callam, Bank Newport.
-
- Litchfield Distillery Batchers’ Vanilla Bourbon, Baileys Chocolate Liqueur and Litchfield Distillery Batchers’ Coffee Bourbon.
-
- First-place winner David Fickel, Diego’s Newport.
-
- Fickel’s cocktail, There’s Always Money in the Banana Stand.
-
- Second-place winner Ethan Destefani, Gas Lamp Grille.
-
- Destefani’s Strawberry Cream White Hot Chocolate.
-
- Third-place winner Ronda Wojcik, Manager, The Red Parrot Restaurant.
-
- Wojcik’s cocktail, Sugar and Spice She Ain’t So Nice, featuring Litchfield Distillery Batchers’ Maple Bourbon and Batchers’ Coffee Bourbon.
-
- Competitor Harmony Picard, Wally’s Wieners.
-
- Picard’s cocktail, C4: Connor’s Crazy Coconut Concoction.
-
- Kristen Herb and Debbie Doncaster, Skiff Bar at Newport Marriott Hotel & Spa with their cocktail, The Skiff Riff on a Dirty Chai.
-
- The Skiff Bar at Newport Marriott Hotel & Spa team’s cocktail, The Skiff Riff on a Dirty Chai.
Photos by Laura Widness.
