Skip to main content

Could You Be America’s Most Imaginative Bartender?

We’re going to cut to the chase on this one. Are you a bartender? Are you the one that your friends rely on when you’re out and about? What should I get? Do you think I’ll like this? Are you the one whose kitchen looks like a smaller-scale set of any number of Food Network shows?

Better yet, do you look at Kanye and go, “You call that genius? I’ll show you genius”?

If so, this competition may be for you.

Recommended Videos

Starting April 18th, you can register to try your hand at being named the Most Imaginative Bartender in the country. Sponsored by Bombay Sapphire, and in its tenth year, The United States Bartenders’ Guild is on the hunt for the most creative bartender in the country.

Related: Meet the Mixologist of the Year: Justin Lavenue

This is the big one, y’all, and for the first time ever the Top 10 finalists will travel to London this August–home of Bombay Sapphire and its new Laverstoke Distillery—to battle it out for the 2016 North American title. The grand prize winner will be featured on a special edition cover of GQ Magazine’s December Men of the Year issue.

How. Cool. Is. That? Not only could you be named the most imaginative bartender, reaching heights that your fourth grade teacher who gave you an F in art could never dream of, but you’d be in G-freakin’-Q.

Not sure if you’ve got the whiskey stones to enter? Check out the cocktail from 2015 Winner, Justin Lavenue, of Austin’s The Roosevelt Room:

The Poet’s Muse (pictured)

  • 2 oz. Bombay Sapphire Gin
  • .75 oz. Poet’s Cordial
  • .75 oz. Yuzu-Lime blend
  • 2 dashes Umami tincture

Method: Hard shaken over a large ice cube. Strained into a large coupe glass with the large ice cube dropped in. Garnished with a lime peel Rosette. Served on a Zen Garden.

Poet’s Cordial Prep: 1 L Pistachio Milk (1 park unsalted pistachio meat, 2 parts water, blended and strained), 800ml Wildflower Honey, 2 cinnamon sticks, 4 Star Anise pods, 1 vanilla bean, 2 tablespoons Matcha Green Tea Powder. Combine ingredients, mix well, and let rest for three days. Fine strain and bottle.

Citrus Blend: 15 parts fresh lime juice, 1 part Yuzu concentrate. Mix well and bottle.

Umami tincture: 30 Shitake mushrooms (chopped), 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, 6 oz Bombay Sapphire, 1 tablespoon Himalayan Salt. Saute the Mushrooms in butter for 10 minutes. Add Bombay Sapphire and salt and steep for another 10 minutes. Strain mushrooms off and freeze to let fats coagulate. Strain off fats and bottle.

For more information on how to enter, check out the official contest website.

Sam Slaughter
Sam Slaughter was the Food and Drink Editor for The Manual. Born and raised in New Jersey, he’s called the South home for…
Pineapple cocktails are this summer’s hottest trend — these recipes are must-try
Tropical is the way to go for summer cocktails
A glass of pineapple Tiki style cocktail.

Over the last few years, the cocktail world has seen a number of massive trends. From espresso Martini recipes galore to the return of fun flavors like banana, there's been a lot of action behind the bar. After chatting with some industry folks, we're convinced one of the big cocktail flavors of summer 2025 is going to be pineapple.

Call it escapism or that long-standing love for all things tropical, whatever it may be, pineapple seems to be coming back yet again. Recently, it's shown up not just in the form of intriguing cocktail recipes but infused into liqueurs and even injected into beer. Looks like pineapple might just find a way into your favorite glass this summer.

Read more
Flashy Independence Day cocktails from Deep Eddy Vodka
Red, white, blue, and refreshing
Festive Deep Eddy shot.

The Fourth of July is tomorrow and if you don't have a signature cocktail in order yet, fear not. We've got two festive recipes from a vodka brand worth trying out at home. They're cold, colorful, and refreshing, meaning they're more than welcome on a long summer weekend.

Deep Eddy set us up with pair of cocktails befitting of the weekend, each with a trio of colors and flavors. In the end, you're set up with a beverage that can handle even the hottest afternoon as you try out some easy grilling recipes. And you can dress them up any way you like, adding cool straws or garnishes.
Declaration on Ice

Read more
The ultimate holiday weekend drink: Good Guys’ Frozen Fernet & Coke
Bitter, sweet, cold, and cola-driven
Amaro

Fernet is amazing stuff. The iconic Italian amaro adds a smack of bitterness and herbaceous goodness to your favorite cocktails, balancing out the drink at large and making it oh so tasty. And the liquid goes especially well with Coke, preferably frozen.

In the spirit of summer, we reached out to Good Guys in NYC for an optimal hot-weather cocktail. You know, the one that's the equivalent of playing in front of a gushing fire hydrant in New York City on a sweltering day. And I believe we have the drink.

Read more