Portland, 2011 Oct 23rd

On Sunday, October 23, Speed Rack helped wind down Portland Cocktail Week (PDXCW) in style! Held at the Left Bank Annex in the early afternoon, the place was buzzing by 11am as the preliminaries began. Featuring bartenders from Portland, as well as Seattle and even Pittsburg and New Orleans, competition was tough.

Doors opened to the public at 1pm and guests were treated to sponsors’ punches and cocktails, as well as beer and non-alcoholic offerings served from five bars.LUPEC Portland ladies kept the crowd engaged and offered kisses from a kissing booth, while a table was set up to display the amazing prizes in the raffle. DJ Nick Van Tiel kept the house rocking in between rounds and set a high-energy mood by spinning fun songs for each bout.

In front of a packed house of about 200 people, the competition began. Prominent industry figures Misty Kalkofen, Audrey Saunders and Charlotte
Voisey were joined by local celebrity drag queen Poison Waters to serve as the judges for the afternoon. The round began with the judges each calling out a drink for the girls to make. The contestants had to make the drinks as quickly – and as accurately – as possible. The judges then compared the girls’ drinks side by side and issued penalty seconds to the girls for any mistakes made. The girl with the lowest time was declared the winner and moved on to the next round. 7 heated battles ensued.

A fun time was had by all, and most importantly, about $3,600 was raised for
breast cancer research, education and prevention.

Full list of competitors:

Melissa Cross - Sun Liquor Seattle
Sarah Rehmann - H50 Portland
Alise Michele - Bunk Bar Portland
Allison Hunt - Circa 33/Central Portland
Jenn Hegstrom - Pope House Portland
Mindy Kucan - Beaker and Flask Portland
Becca June - Cocktail Cart Portland
Jade Godfrey - Bend OR
Erika Joyner - Pittsburgh
Mykla Anderson - The Bitter End Pub
Beckaly Franks - JoBar Portland
Lydia Reissmueller - TenderBar Consulting
Lacy Hawkins - Luc Loc/Marriot Portland
Kimberly Patton Bragg - Tamarind (New Orleans)