Whisky Focus - Monkey Shoulder’s Ultimate Bartender Championship 2015

Calling all bartenders, whether you are a bar newbie or a seasoned pro, the Monkey Shoulder Ultimate Bartender Championship is back and looking for the next generation of bar owners. This year the Monkey Shoulder are taking the Ultimate Bartender Championship on the road and from today the Monkey Shoulder team will be touring the UK in a newly pimped out tour bus and they are on the hunt for the UK’s best bartending team.

The Ultimate Bartender Championship was designed to support and nurture the next generation of UK bartenders, since launching in the UK it is now taking place in markets across the world. This year sees the subversive Scotch brand supersize the UK competition by having more teams compete and add more mentorship to each stage of the journey. Monkey Shoulder are welcoming applications from all bartenders whatever their existing ability—from bar newbie to seasoned pro—will gain knowledge and improve their skills whether they win or lose.

Each team will battle it out to be awarded the title of Ultimate Bartender Champion and the prize of running its own pop-up bar at London Cocktail Week. The pop-up bar will be built, stocked and promoted by Monkey Shoulder with the winning team keeping all the takings.

Winners of the 2014 Ultimate Bartender Championship, The Cowbell realised their dream of creating a bar based off the now infamous Saturday Night Live sketch starring Christopher Walken and Will Ferrell in October of 2014. During a week of high-energy music, tasty Scotch cocktails, haggis toasties and—of course— cowbells, they took in £12,000 of earnings.

The Ultimate Bartender Championship will be led by Monkey Shoulder’s UK Brand Ambassador Grant Neave who will be challenging contenders around the UK on all the elements of bartending. Ranging from testing back-of-house organizational skills, general spirits knowledge, speed of service, as well as how applicants entertain their guests, the competition will cover every aspect of running and owning a bar. No stone will be left unturned.

Teams of three will be put through their paces in Regional Heats taking place in 8 cities over 9 days. The three top-scoring teams from each Regional Heat will then face off in a Dragon’s Den-style round from which only three final teams will emerge go on to compete in the Ultimate Bartender Championship Final on the 4th June 2015. Cocktail writers, industry veterans and the general public will have opportunities to judge the contestants and cast their votes along the journey, ensuring each team has the skills to appeal to media, cocktail experts, and consumers alike.

The Monkey Tour Bus will stopping at the following cities were regional heats will taking place on:

• 23rd March: Aberdeen
   
• 24th March: Edinburgh
   
• 25th March: Newcastle
   
• 26th March: Manchester
   
• 27th March: Nottingham
   
• 30th March: Leeds
   
• 31st March: Bristol
   
• 1st April: London (West)
   
• 2nd April: London (East)

As Grant Neave said, "Monkey Shoulder’s UBC was the first of its kind last year: a competition that not only celebrated all aspects of bartending and bar ownership (from stock take to business plans), but also included all those who work in venues and make bars special. We were keen to not just glorify one single bartender. For 2015, the circus is coming to town! The Monkey troupe has got an ultra-pimped-out tour bus travelling all over the UK so we can host more regional heats than ever before. Expect more mentorship from the judges too, as well as tougher rounds. It’s gonna be awesome."

The competition opens for entries today Monday 23rd February 2015 and the closing date for entries is Monday 9th March 2015. For more info and to enter visit the www.monkeyshoulder.com website, good luck!
 

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