Thanks to everyone who braved the cold cold weather to come out and join us for our first Iron Bartender! The event was a great success; we took in $1,433 from over 50 donors, and even more importantly, everyone who participated told us they had a fantastic time.
Judges seated behind the secret ingredient: Sam Adams, then Portland’s mayor-elect; London, photographer, bartender, and former Suicide Girl; Martin Eichinger, sculptor; Lucy Brennan, renowned mixologist; and Miss Ginger Lee, CC Slaughters performer (Rev. Phil was our last judge, but at the time this picture was taken he was likely partaking in some Santa suited shenanigans, which delayed his arrival)
The Matador’s Rob Davis
Competition was intense amongst our competitors, as they all worked quickly to develop three original cocktails featuring ginger, the secret ingredient.
Jack Dahl from Olive or Twist
Methods varied from bartender to bartender; Jake Carey from the Bye and Bye chose to make his presentation drinks first, while Jack Dahl and Rob Davis worked on their tasters first before moving on to their presentation. Likewise, Jack and Jake came with lists of possible names for drinks, while Rob made his up on the fly. Our personal favorite drink name was Jack’s “Its name is Robert Paulson,” a reference to Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club character of the same name.
The life of an Iron Bartender judge is hard!
The judges were an opinionated bunch, and when all was said and done it was Jake Carey’s classic cosmo, the “Ginger Don’t Leave Me,” that ended up bringing him the win and the title of Iron Bartender. Jake’s booty included a housecleaning from Personal Touch Cleaning, a massage from AG Massage, and a cut from the Gypsy Rose Salon, as well as a martini glass trophy.
The Bye and Bye’s Jake Carey
The rest of the night is a bit of a blur as the cosmos may have gone a bit to our heads, but everyone remembers having a fantastic time dancing late into the night to the DJ stylings of Nathan Detroit, Hanukkah Miracle, and Freaky Outy.
