Power to The People’s Cocktail at Drago Centro

Depending on where you were in Los Angeles last Wednesday, you weren’t very far from a great cocktail event, whether it was the Whiskey Social at Wilshire on the Westside or a three-course tequila pairing dinner at Malo in Silver Lake. But for sheer variety of cocktails to choose from, it was hard to beat…

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The Search for LA’s Best Bartender

Beginning today, Angelenos will have a chance to give “Service Props” to their favorite bartenders in a contest that will crown one lucky winner LA’s Best Bartender for 2010. From now through August 4th, Table 20 invites you to visit the Official Contest Website, nominate your favorite bartender, then encourage your friends to vote and…

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Austin’s Bill Norris Named Top Shaker Face, The Edison’s Joe Brooke Takes Second

Earlier this week, after a grueling month of competition, Austin’s Bill Norris emerged as the best of twenty contenders in the nationwide Shaker Faces competition, a collaboration between Combier Liqueur d’Orange and Lush Life Productions. The virtual shake-off pitted bartenders from around the US in head-to-head video duels. Prior to the competition, Lush Life roamed…

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Winners of the 2010 Ultimate Cocktail Challenge Announced

~ The winning spirits have been announced for the inaugural Ultimate Cocktail Challenge (UCC), held on April 12-14 at New York’s Astor Center. The competition was presented by Ultimate Beverage Challenge, a New York-based beverage competitions and events company founded by Judging Chairman F. Paul Pacult. Following on the Ultimate Spirits Challenge held earlier this…

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2010 San Francisco World Spirits Competition Winners Announced

Celebrating its 10th year, the San Francisco World Spirits Competition gathered 30 judges at the Hotel Nikko in downtown S.F. on March 13 and 14 to evaluate 1024 different spirits from 57 countries. Judging panels were comprised of spirits experts from noted restaurants and hotels, spirits journalists from major national media, spirits buyers for large…

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Winners of the 2010 Ultimate Spirits Challenge Announced

The winners have been announced for the inaugural Ultimate Spirits Challenge, a three-day, four-stage competition that took place at New York’s Astor Center on March 1-3, 2010. The Ultimate Spirits Challenge was presented by Ultimate Beverage Challenge (UBC), founded by F. Paul Pacult, David Talbot, and Sue Woodley. UBC’s mission is to provide both the…

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A Knockout of a Punch Contest

photos by Lena Watanabe Last Thursday, cocktail enthusiasts braved the rain to attend ‘Twas the Punch Before Christmas, a punch contest presented by Matt Robold (RumDood) and sponsored by Kraken Rum. It all took place in the upstairs area at Malo. The contest entries were whittled down to five (initially six) finalists, a formidable lineup…

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2009 Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition

Since its inception just after the repeal of Prohibition, the Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition (now in its 70th year) has become one of the Top 5 wine competitions in the country. This year’s 3,400 wine entries were judged by an international panel for three days at the end of May, while another…

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