Don Julio StarBack 2023: Final Competitors

Meet the finalists for the #DonJulioStarBack 2023!

After six stops around the country we have found our finalists for the #DonJulioStarBack2023! The competition took place in Miami, Las Vegas, NYC, Austin, LA and Chicago, each competing in three rounds to find our winner.

The first round was a speed round where each competitor had to create three drinks…a Don Julio Blanco Margarita, Don Julio Reposado Paloma, and a Don Julio Anejo Old-Fashioned. For the second round, each competitor had to make their best and most creative margarita and then for the final round, they were allowed to make their most creative drink! The scores were tallied up, and a winner was announced. Each winner received a custom StarBack jacket and a custom cocktail kit!

The finalists are now on their way to NYC for the finals where they will wow the judges with their best Paloma, an original cocktail, and an Oscar Worth Cocktail!

We are looking forward to crowning a winner but in the meantime, come meet our finalists!

Miami Winner: Gustavo Rodriguez (@megustamixology)

Las Vegas Winner: Joe Arakawa (@thatguyjoe808)

NYC Winner: James DeFoor (@JustAnotherBartender)

ATX Winner: Veronica Flores (@artichokemedaqui)

LA Winner: Crystal Mendoza (@cocktailswcrystal)

Chicago Winner: Tia Barrett (@tee.bee25)

Meet our winners!

The Don Julio StarBack finals are set to take place at  Sweetbriar at the Park South Hotel, Monday 2/13, from 11:30 am – 3:00 pm!!

To find out who our winner is and going to assist Charles Joly in LA….Stay tuned to our Instagram for the live announcement and posts!

2023 Calendar

Now on the front page of bartender.com the 2023 BARTENDER® Calendar featuring 365 recipes from LYRE’S Non-Alc, Vermouth Giardino, The Quiet Man Irish Whiskey, Rhum Barbancourt, Partida Tequila, Coco Lopez® Real Cream of Coconut, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Ole Smoky Moonshine, Saint Brendan’s Irish Cream, Licor 43, Yellow Rose Premium American Whiskey and Ramazzotti Italian Liqueurs. To view free of charge visit http://www.bartender.com – sign up for e-news to unlock content.

Bartending for Dummies 6th Edition

Over the past 6 months, we have been working hard on the 6th edition of Bartending for Dummies. There are a ton of new additions and cocktail updates to help current and future bartenders (and home bartenders)! The 6th edition comes out September 7th and there is a link below to preorder on Amazon. Cheers!

Summer Issue

BARTENDER® Summer edition features: No-Alcohol Spirits Drive Growth of “Mocktails”, Featured Bartender Evelyn Sam from SF, CA, Featured International Bartender Bob Louison from St. Barth, Creating Cocktails with Coco Lopez®, Century Grand in Phoenix, BARTENDER “Hall of Fame”® & Bartenders’ Foundation® applications and more! To view the Summer issue of BARTENDER® free of charge please visit bartender.com – sign up for e news to unlock content.

Spring Issue

BARTENDER® Spring edition features: 100 years of the Bloody Mary, Magdalena in the Ivy Hotel-Baltimore, MD Sean Struss from Serafina in the Sky/UnPublished in NYC, Chris Dennis from Heads & Tails in West London, Cooking with Coco Lopez®, Mara Smith’s new tequila brand Inspiro plus Ranch Rider RTD, Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers, BARTENDER “Hall of Fame” ® and Bartenders’ Foundation® applications, Bar Tricks, Creative & Signature Cocktails and more! 

To view the Spring issue of BARTENDER® free of charge please visit www.bartender.com. Sign up for e news to unlock content.

Happy World Bartender Day

February 24th is World Bartender Day. BARTENDER® Magazine is thankful for each and every one of you!

2022 Calendar

Now on the front page of bartender.com the 2022 BARTENDER® Calendar featuring 365 recipes from Martin Miller’s Gin, Vermouth Giardino, The Quiet Man Irish Whiskey, Rhum Barbancourt, Altos Tequila, Coco Lopez® Real Cream of Coconut, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Ole Smoky Moonshine, Mozart Chocolate Coffee, Licor 43, Brown Sugar Bourbon & Catoctin Creek Roundstone Rye. To view free of charge visit www.bartender.com – sign up for e news to unlock content.

Fall/Winter Issue

Now on the front page of bartender.com BARTENDER® Fall/Winter  edition features: Blake Leonard leads Stew Leonard’s Wine & Spirits, Bartender to Brand owner Chris Moran’s Ghost Tequila, Sign of the Whale in Washington, DC, Max Solano from Vegas, Roxy Read from South Africa, Cocktail recipes and more!

Summer Edition

BARTENDER® Summer Edition features: NYC’s Goodnight Sonny, Espanita Tequila, Bartenders’ Aidan Demarest from Sofitel Beverly Hills, Thiago Augusto from Rio de Janeiro, Takibi in Portland, Jon Renthrope’s Cajun Fire Brewing in NOLA plus a look at Limoncello, Domaine Bousquet Gaia Rose, Signature Cocktails and more!

To view the summer issue of BARTENDER® free of charge please visit www.bartender.com. Sign up for E-News to unlock content.

The Bartenders’ Foundation

Congrats to Ryan Knee from Stafford, VA, who has been awarded a “Bartenders’ Foundation” scholarship to attend Clemson University in South Carolina! His mother Jennifer Knee has been a bartender for the past 28 years, currently at The Harbour Grille in Woodbridge, VA. Bartenderfoundation.com