HAMILTON, Bermuda--(BUSINESS WIRE)--United States Bartenders’ Guild (USBG) is proud to announce the four winners of the Express Your Cocktail Challenge presented by GREY GOOSE:
- Dyamond Caples, Summertime Chi (SenSAGEtional)
- Roshelley Mayen, L^2 (L Squared)
- Samantha B. Spencer, Pears on Point
- Destinee Pavia, Lily Pond
USBG challenged Chicago bartenders to craft their own signature GREY GOOSE cocktail as part of the Express Your Cocktail Challenge. To enter, bartenders were asked to create a cocktail recipe that was inspired by their urban Chicago neighborhoods and submit along with a description and image.
“It takes a great deal of skill and passion to create the world’s best tasting GREY GOOSE cocktails,” said Lorran Brown Cosby, Senior Marketing Director, for GREY GOOSE in the U.S. “The Express Your Cocktail Challenge recognizes those innovative cocktail creators who express the soul of their city through iconic cocktail experiences.”
Prior to the competition, GREY GOOSE, in collaboration with Causing A Stir (CAS), hosted Vive La Vodka workshops in Chicago neighborhoods, most of which were in the Southside of Chicago. These workshops served as a way to provide industry knowledge on the brand, vodka as a spirit, and cocktail tutorials on using the finest and freshest ingredients that are easily accessible. It also helped bring awareness to the contest and provide guidance on submissions. Because of these efforts, Express Your Cocktail Challenge received submissions from bartenders in communities who don’t often participate in similar contests.
“We were delighted and impressed to see bartenders connect their uniquely crafted cocktail with a personal nod to Chicago neighborhoods. The USBG Express Your Cocktail Challenge finalists will have the opportunity to attend specialized spirit trainings as well as developing their mixed media skills. Our collaboration with GREY GOOSE is a fantastic example of furthering our mission to unite the hospitality community to advance professional bartending,” said Sheila Rosario, Director of Sponsorship Sales for the USBG.
As part of the winning prize, these four bartenders will receive a professional video shoot, participate in a six-part bartender-training course, which, in addition to spirits and mixology, will cover social media, media skills and more. Out of the four winners, one bartender will be selected to visit the brand home of Grey Goose in LeLogis, France. The bartender-training course will be led by Colin Asare-Appiah, Senior Portfolio Ambassador for the Bacardi brand portfolio in the United States. Photos of the winning cocktails, as well as all those who entered, can be found at www.expressyourcocktail.com.
About USBG
Founded in 1948, the United States Bartenders’ Guild® is a non-profit professional society of bartenders and other hospitality professionals uniting the hospitality community to advance professional bartending. The USBG believes that every US bartender achieves greater personal and professional success by connecting to diverse local and national hospitality communities. Through our network of over 60 communities nationwide, the USBG connects members with peer-to-peer learning, expert instruction, community service projects, and skills-based competition.
For more information on the USBG go to usbg.org.
About Causing A Stir
Causing A Stir developed from a luncheon comprised of 10 female bartenders of color whom gathered together in fellowship to discuss views and perspectives on the hospitality industry. The group came to find there was a need for radical inclusion, equal representation and accessibility to educational opportunities within the Chicago bar community.
Causing A Stir’s goal, quite simply, is to #getinvolved by listening and understanding the needs of our bar community as a whole. Our vision is to nurture better working environments and the people that hone them.
Since its inception in November 2016, Causing A Stir now hosts over 1.3k hospitality professionals from all over the globe and will continue to facilitate interactive workshops, scholarship programs and educational opportunities to underserved areas and highlight underrepresented individuals of the hospitality industry.
Causing A Stir has filed as a non-profit organization seeking 501 c 3 status.
About GREY GOOSE® Vodka
Every aspect of the creation of GREY GOOSE is focused on crafting vodka of unmatched quality. The creation of GREY GOOSE begins with the very best ingredients from France – soft winter wheat from the Picardie region, le grenier à blé (the breadbasket of France) and spring water from Gensac-La-Pallue, that is naturally filtered through limestone. A unique distillation process brings out the naturally superior characteristics of these ingredients.
From field-to-bottle, the expertise of the GREY GOOSE Cellar Master, François Thibault, ensures an unparalleled smoothness and exceptional taste to the connoisseur palate. The GREY GOOSE portfolio is comprised of GREY GOOSE® vodka, GREY GOOSE® Interpreted by Ducasse, GREY GOOSE® La Poire, GREY GOOSE® L’Orange, and GREY GOOSE® Le Citron Flavored vodkas, GREY GOOSE® VX spirit drink. www.greygoose.com
The GREY GOOSE vodka brand is part of the portfolio of Bacardi Limited, headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda. Bacardi Limited refers to the Bacardi group of companies, including Bacardi International Limited.
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©2018. GREY GOOSE, THE GEESE DEVICE AND THEIR TRADE DRESSES ARE TRADEMARKS. ALL OTHER MARKS ARE TRADEMARKS OF THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS VODKA 40% ALC. BY VOL; FLAVORED VODKAS 40% ALC. BY VOL. DISTILLED FROM FRENCH WHEAT; VODKA WITH A HINT OF COGNAC – 40% ALC. BY VOL. SPIRIT DRINK 95% VODKA AND 5% COGNAC.
