Twin River Casino hosted five of six weeks of competition, as of press time, for the 2014 Iron ‘Tender Bar War Challenge at its Lighthouse Bar. Twin River Casino, Gruppo Campari, Bacardi USA, Heineken USA, Heaven Hill Distilleries, Lucas Bols, Deep Eddy Handmade Spirits, and United States Bartenders Guild (USBG) Rhode Island sponsored the event, which began on April 7 and ran through May 12, 2014. Bartending talent from Rhode Island, Connecticut and Boston, including Johnson & Wales University, faced a judging panel and a different spirit each week. The contestants were scored on categories such as drink name, balance, simplicity, presentation, aroma, taste, originality, delivery and overall impression of cocktail. Prizes were awarded to the first and second place winners each week, as well as the team with the largest fan base. The winner was chosen May 19, 2014; photos and story forthcoming.
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- Team Cartel de la Reyna: Mia Sarazen, Joaquin Meza, Ian Miagros and Marco Meza.
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- Emcee Michael Lester of M.S. Walker.
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- Team Johnson & Wales.
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- Winners of the April 28 competition, Team Children of the World: Diego Louis Perez, Jesse Hedberg and Willa Van Nostrand.
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- The competing teams take the stage together.
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- Judges Scott Burchfield, Beverage Manager, Twin River Casino, Mike Ritz, Leadership Rhode Island, and Frank Martucci, National Vice President, USBG and General Manager of Beverage Operations at Twin River Casino.
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- Team Snookers: Lisa O’Donnell and Alex Branca.
Photos by Chris Almeida.
