Bartender, Please!
As the clock slowly approaches the 5 p.m. freedom hour every Friday, chances are that you spent the last hour of "work" thinking about which watering hole you plan to visit with the other working stiffs that you call your friends.
The questions running through your mind at the end of the week are likely: "where's the closest happy hour?" "Who has the best mojitos?" and "I wonder where [insert cute guys/girls name you met last weekend here] will be tonight?"
In fact, and as the semi-old, newly revised saying goes, a bartender's work is never done. And even more so, it's never easy.
If you've played the role of bartender before, you know exactly what I'm talking about. If you haven't then you're in luck.
For the next two Sundays, Stool Pigeons Coop & Grill will host their first-ever Grand Prix Bartender Competition , with the preliminaries to be held this Sunday, Aug. 24 and championships on Sunday, Aug. 31.
Best of all -- three of your favorite writers from Richmond.com ( Karri Peifer , Greg Hershey and yours truly) will be joining bartender extraordinaire, Adam "The Hurricane" Hinkle and Crash from XL102 , at the judges' table.
And it doesn't stop there; Stool Pigeons' mission is to maintain the rivalries in Richmond -- and soon up and down the east coast with seasonal competitions in the future.
"We had seen other places do this in the past and in the recent present and we weren't satisfied that they hadn't included more than just the Richmond-area" said Matt Russell , district manager for Stool Pigeons.
"So we wanted to not just have a contest, but have something that will be known on the east coast as being one of the biggest and best competitions."
Bartenders from across the state of Virginia, including Richmond, Virginia Beach, Blacksburg and even one from Baltimore, Maryland, will join together for four rounds of competition in speed and accuracy, drink memorization, an "Iron Chef" like mystery ingredient round and, last but not least, bartending flair.
Stool Pigeons is expecting 30 to 45 different bartenders to officially enter the competition. And with registration still open during the night of preliminaries, and $2,000 in cash and prizes at stake, the competition is sure to get fierce.
For the championships on Aug. 31, only the top 10 bartenders will be accepted to shake up some cocktails and wow the crowd.
"One of the judges, Adam 'The Hurricane' Hinkle, normally wins the other competitions around Richmond. So he's going to be judging, but we're actually labeling him as 'The Richmond Champion,'" Russell said.
"The first place winner of this competition, the Grand Prix in Summer '08, will then go on to compete as the number one contender against Adam when we hold this again in the fall."
As far as the prizes are concerned, Stool Pigeons has constructed their own line of very impressive trophies for first through third places. The plan is to divide up the rest of prizes, which include a trip for four to Wintergreen , $500 in cash, VIP tickets to the National and much more, among the winners as well.
"Expect a great show, whether you know someone competing or you just like a bar atmosphere," Russell said. "It really will be fun for both the people in the contest and for the people watching."
- The first-ever Grand Prix Bartender Competition preliminaries will be held from 8 p.m. to whenever the last drink is poured on Sunday, Aug. 24 with the championships to be held during the same time on Sunday, Aug. 31, all at Stool Pigeons Coop & Grill . Bartenders will be able to register for the preliminaries from now up until 8 p.m. on the night of the preliminaries, Sunday, Aug. 24.
For more information, call (804) 344-4490 or visit stoolpigeons.biz .
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