Competition

ITALICUS bottle surrounded by citrus fruits
by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

The Sixth: Art of ITALICUS Returns

The Sixth: Art of ITALICUS Returns for 2024

by David Klemt

ITALICUS bottle surrounded by citrus fruits

Your bar team members have the opportunity to participate in the sixth-annual Art of ITALICUS Aperitivo Challenge and win an invaluable prize.

There are multiple prizes, really. For example, national finals winners take the title of ITALICUS Bar Artist for their country, for 2024. They also walk away with a ticket to the global finals, which take place in Rome.

After the global finals, one winner will earn the title ITALICUS Bar Artist of the Year 2024. However, taking nothing away from this title, there’s another prize that I feel should drive every competitor to truly outshine their competition.

The ITALICUS Bar Artist of the Year will head to the incredible Cafe La Trova in Miami to participate in a mentorship program. Given that Julio Cabrera is such an influential member of the hospitality world, this prize represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Now, as an operator or leadership team member, you may wonder what this news has to do with you. It’s simple: Encouraging your bartenders to participate in this competition and others like it shows you care about their career progression.

Bar team members who want to take part in competitions get to show off their creativity to a wider audience, become known to brands, and network with peers outside of their local communities. They can also discover and bring back tips, techniques, and lessons to your bar, restaurant, nightclub, or hotel.

In this case, one bartender will return to their bar or restaurant with lessons from the Cafe La Trova team. That’s priceless insight that will benefit their entire team.

For crucial competition details, please read the Art of the ITALICUS Aperitivo Challenge press release below.

Good luck to all of the participants!

ART OF ITALICUS APERITIVO CHALLENGE RETURNS FOR 2024 IN PURSUIT OF THE BEST ART-INSPIRED APERITIVO COCKTAIL

New York, NY (January 9, 2024) – Today, The Art of ITALICUS Aperitivo Challenge returns for its sixth edition, inviting bartenders from around the world to create an original and unique aperitivo cocktail inspired by any form of art and crafted using ITALICUS Rosolio di Bergamotto.

The Winner of the renowned industry challenge will be crowned ITALICUS Bar Artist of the Year 2024 and win a trip to Miami for a once in a lifetime mentorship program with Cafe La Trova by Julio Cabrera. Nominated in 2023 as one of the World’s 50 Best Bars, Cafe La Trova is the true embodiment of hospitality, welcoming guests with impeccable warmth, attention to detail and service, crafting a truly memorable experience for anyone who visits. The “cantinero culture,” which is synonymous with the venue, embraces the most important values of the cocktail industry, making it the perfect inspiration for the new Art of Italicus participants. As part of the prize, the 2024 ITALICUS Bar Artist will have the opportunity to experience what makes this bar truly special and discover one of the most vibrant art cultures in Miami’s iconic surroundings.

Reflecting the brand’s passion for Italian art and design, The Art of ITALICUS Aperitivo Challenge is built on the belief that bartenders are artists and offers them the opportunity to expand their creativity whilst experimenting with new ingredients, techniques and glassware to showcase the versatility of ITALICUS. Each recipe must be in an aperitivo style and can be inspired by any form of art such as sculpture, painting, fashion, music, architecture and much more.

The competition will welcome entrants from 13 countries including Croatia/Slovenia, France, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Swiss, United Kingdom and the United States. Bartenders from other countries will be able to apply through a Wild Card entry, offering them the opportunity to win a spot at the global final in May in Rome.

Giuseppe Gallo, founder and CEO of ITALICUS, comments:

“Now in its sixth year, The Art of ITALICUS Aperitivo Challenge celebrates aperitivo culture while encouraging bartenders to express their creativity, looking to art in its various forms as way of inspiration. Meeting with the industry’s emerging talent through this program gives me a great deal of pride and is something I hope continues for many years as a way of keeping our community connected, working together and empowering one another.”

The 2024 Competition

Competitors are tasked with creating an original aperitivo cocktail using a minimum of 40ml (1.5oz in US) of ITALICUS Rosolio di Bergamotto and a maximum of five ingredients. Participating bartenders must upload their unique recipe alongside an image of their creation including measurements, garnishes and glassware recommendations to the competition website before February 20, 2024 in order to be in with a chance of winning. Competitors are also required to share their inspiration and the story behind their aperitivo cocktail and encouraged to suggest food pairings for their recipe.

Applications for The Art of ITALICUS Aperitivo Challenge 2024 will be open from January 9 through February 20. Recipes can be submitted via the website: https://imbibemagazine.com/art-of-italicus/.

Entrants are also encouraged to share their creations on social media ahead of the competition, using the following hashtags: #ITALICUS #ROSOLIODIBERGAMOTTO #ARTOFITALICUS #AOI24

National Finals

The national finals will take place throughout March and April (March 4 – April 12) where the eight shortlisted bartenders will present their cocktail creation to the judging panel across eight minutes and including at least three serves. The winner of the national final will receive the title of ITALICUS Bar Artist of their country 2024 along with a ticket to participate in the global final which will be held in Rome.

Global Finals

On May 12, the national finalists will compete against one another in Rome in a bid to earn the coveted title of ITALICUS Bar Artist of the Year 2024 as well as a once in a lifetime opportunity and mentorship with one of the world’s most influential bars, Cafe La Trova by Julio Cabrera. During the trip to Miami, the winning bartender will be accompanied by a film crew who will document their experience and create a documentary video which will later be released on social media.

For further information on The Art of ITALICUS Aperitivo Challenge, please visit www.artofitalicus.com.

Image: ITALICUS

Bar Nightclub Pub Brewery Menu Development Drinks Food

Person pouring draught beer
by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

2022 World Beer Cup Winners

2022 World Beer Cup Winners

by David Klemt

Person pouring draught beer

The Brewers Association‘s 2022 World Beer Cup identifies the top three beers across a staggering 103 separate categories.

If you enjoy multiplication, that’s 309 medals in a single competition. And that’s just the winners; there can be more than 200 entries in a single category.

So, yes—I envy the World Beer Cup judges. I mean, what beer fan wouldn’t want to taste all the entries into the Olympics of Beer?

This competition, developed by the Brewers Association, has been going strong since 1996. Next year’s competition, if you happen to brew beer and want to enter it, will take place in Nashville in May.

Okay, you may be wondering why I’m talking about this beer competition. The reason is simple: To get your ready for September.

There are three beer holidays to program for and celebrate next month:

  • National Beer Lover’s Day (September 7)
  • National Crush a Can Day (September 27)
  • Drink Beer Day (September 28)

Oh, and there’s this little event—Oktoberfest—that takes place from September 17 to October 3.

Below you’ll find 48 medal winners from 16 categories to give you a taste of the 2022 World Beer Cup results. For the full list, click here, then click the “2022 Winners” button.

Cheers!

Category 1: American Wheat Beer (68 entries)

  • Gold: For-scythe, Cherry Street Brewpub at Halcyon (Alpharetta, GA)
  • Silver: Hefe, Widmer Brothers Brewing (Portland, OR)
  • Bronze: American Wheat, Cerveceria Principia (Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico)

Category 2: Fruit Beer (134 entries)

  • Gold: Yuzu KSA, Fort Point Beer Co. (San Francisco, CA)
  • Silver: Berry, Berry, Quite Contrary, Territorial Brewing Co. (Springfield, MI)
  • Bronze: Grape Fruit Session IPA, Mahanine Brewing (Hohhot, People’s Republic of China)

Category 5: Pumpkin Beer (40 entries)

  • Gold: 5 Phantoms, Philipsburg Brewing Co. (Philipsburg, MT)
  • Silver: Ryes of the Pumpkin King, Sound2Summit Brewery (Snohomish, WA)
  • Bronze: Pumpkin Paddy, Launch Pad Brewery (Aurora, CO)

Category 9: Coffee Beer (79 entries)

  • Gold: Gusto Crema Coffee Ale, Georgetown Brewing Co. (Seattle, WA)
  • Silver: Daybreak, Wolf’s Ridge Brewing – Production Operations (Columbus, OH)
  • Bronze: Double Cream Coffee Dream, Dangerous Man Brewing Co. (Minneapolis, MN)

Category 10: Coffee Stout or Porter (112 entries)

  • Gold: Dusk til Dawn, Pizza Port San Clemente (San Clemente, CA)
  • Silver: Mocha Porter, Bend Brewing Co. (Bend, OR)
  • Bronze: Mocha Machine, Beachwood Brewing (Huntington Beach, CA)

Category 11: Specialty Beer (56 entries)

  • Gold: KURI KURO – Dark Chestnuts Ale, Miyazaki Hideji-Beer Co. (Nobeoka, Japan)
  • Silver: Agavemente, SouthNorte Beer Co. (Chula Vista, CA)
  • Bronze: Graham Cracker Porter, Denver Beer Co. (Denver, CO)

Category 14: Non-Alcohol Beer (123 entries)

  • Gold: Golden Lager, Grüvi (Denver, CO)
  • Silver: Non-Alcoholic Black Butte, Deschutes Brewery (Bend, OR)
  • Bronze: Parallel, Southern Grist Brewing Co. (Nashville, TN)

Category 15: Session Beer (43 entries)

  • Gold: Swift Half, Station 26 Brewing Co. (Denver, CO)
  • Silver: Peacekeeper, Launch Pad Brewery (Aurora, CO)
  • Bronze: Bucketty’s Pale Ale No. 2, Bucketty’s Brewing Co. (Brookvale, New South Wales, Australia)

Category 16: Session India Pale Ale (107 entries)

  • Gold: Trump Hands, Cannonball Creek Brewing Co. (Golden, CO)
  • Silver: Moon Rocks, Mickey Finn’s Brewery (Libertyville, IL)
  • Bronze: Tiny Juicy IPA, Five Boroughs Brewing Co. (Brooklyn, NY)

Category 22: Gluten-Free Beer (66 entries)

  • Gold: La Gosa Rita, Lakefront Brewery (Milwaukee, WI)
  • Silver: Little Brown Job, Lucky Pigeon Brewing Co. (Biddeford, ME)
  • Bronze: Glutenberg Session IPA, Glutenberg (Montréal, Québec, Canada)

Category 91: American-Style Pale Ale (160 entries)

  • Gold: Figueroa Mountain Mosaic, Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co. (Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA)
  • Silver: Cruisin’, Pizza Port Bressi Ranch (Carlsbad, CA)
  • Bronze: Somewhere Golden, Institution Ale Co. (Camarillo, CA)

Category 92: Juicy or Hazy Pale Ale (141 entries)

  • Gold: Hazealicious, Reuben’s Brews – The Taproom (Seattle, WA)
  • Silver: Baby Azacca, 33 Brewing Experiment (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)
  • Bronze: Haze in the Park, Kings & Convicts Brewing Co. (San Diego, CA)

Category 95: Imperial India Pale Ale (174 entries)

  • Gold: Space Lettuce, Monday Night Brewing (Atlanta, GA)
  • Silver: Cali Boy, No Label Brewing Co. (Katy, TX)
  • Bronze: Devil’s Pool, Wissahickon Brewing Co. (Philadelphia, PA)

Category 96: Juicy or Hazy Imperial India Pale Ale (171 entries)

  • Gold: Pantless Thunder Goose, Mast Landing Brewing Co. (Westbrook, ME)
  • Silver: Houblon Deluxe, Pure Project (Vista, CA)
  • Bronze: Citra Powered Jetpack, Barebottle Brewing Co. (San Francisco, CA)

Category 102: American-Style India Pale Ale (384 entries)

  • Gold: Hop-Fu!, North Park Beer Co. (San Diego, CA)
  • Silver: Super Slap, Brewery X (Anaheim, CA)
  • Bronze: Aurora Hoppyalis IPA, Karl Strauss Brewing Co. (San Diego, CA)

Category 103: Juicy or Hazy India Pale Ale (343 entries)

  • Gold: Rhymes Like Dimes, Xül Beer Co. (Knoxville, TN)
  • Silver: Blue Comet, Widowmaker Brewing (Braintree, MA)
  • Bronze: Tasty Jams, Brix City Brewing (Little Ferry, NJ)

Image: Josh Olalde on Unsplash

Prairie Dash mobile game from High West and American Prairie
by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

Play with High West, Protect the Plains

Play with High West, Protect the Plains

by David Klemt

Prairie Dash mobile game from High West and American Prairie

For a limited time, you can help help protect the Great Plains of Montana just by playing a fun mobile game.

High West and American Prairie are partnering for a short time to raise $50,000.

The money from playing Prairie Dash will go toward conserving Montana’s Great Plains.

A Dash of Conservation

High West has long been supportive of conservation efforts throughout the West. For every game of Prairie Dash people play, the distillery will donate $1 to American Prairie, up to $50,000.

Proceeds from sales of High West American Prairie Bourbon from the distillery’s online store or Drizly will also go to American Prairie.

The game is simple but, of course, challenging to play. Using your thumbs, you’re trying to get a pronghorn to its actual, real-world top speed: 61 MPH.

Interesting aside you can share this month while you’re serving guests or out for a drink, the pronghorn is known as the American antelope. However, the Great Plains mammal is most closely related to giraffes.

Each time you get the pronghorn to its top speed, you’ll be presented with a different obstacle-clearing challenge.

The Leaderboard

Players are given a number of entries depending on their scores. So, the higher you score, the more entries you’ll have the opportunity to submit.

The prize, beyond helping conserve the West during Outdoors Month, is incredible.

One winner will head to High West’s distillery in Park City, Utah, for a one-of-a-kind, curated experience.

So, click this link to play Prairie Dash—the game will only be available through the end of June.

“We are committed to celebrating and conserving the beauty and nature of the West, the place we call home. With the launch of Prairie Dash, we’re excited to bring that mission to life and provide both High West loyalists and new brand fans with a chance to take part in the efforts,” says High West general manager Daniel Schear. “American Prairie is truly one of the most fantastic projects of our time, and it’s been an honor to work alongside their team to protect today’s Western habitats for future generations to come. We invite our community to join in on the movement, too, all while enjoying a little friendly competition and sipping on one of our favorites, American Prairie Bourbon.”

Good luck! See you on the leaderboard.

Image courtesy of High West

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