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Some of Los Angeles' top bartenders will be facing off next month to create their best original cocktails, and the audience will get to sample the entries. The May Mix-Off takes place at The Mixing Room at JW Marriott Los Angeles L.A. Live each Wednesday through May. L.A. bartenders will battle head-to-head, shaking and stirring up unique, on-the-spot cocktails. The event is free, and guests will have a chance to sample the concoctions.
Competitors include Aaron Alvarez (Alcove), Josh Yerkey (EMC), Brian Quint (Ace Hotel), Dylan Snyder (ACME Group), Gia St George (Tacoteca) and Melaney Schmidt (The Standard). Bartenders will compete for three rounds, the first two using a featured liquor and the last using a mystery spirit. Winners from each week advance to the next round and the finalist will win a trip to industry cocktail festival Tale of the Cocktail in New Orleans. Bartenders will be judged not only on the quality of the cocktail, but performance and presentation, so some Tom Cruise, Cocktail-style bartending isn't out of the question. Previous competitions have seen bartenders incorporate fire, flowers and liquid nitrogen into their recipes.
May 6 will feature a 'meet the mixologists' event, but May 13, 20 and 27 will be competitions.
May Mix Off. The Mixing Room at JW Marriott Los Angeles L.A. Live. 900 W Olympic Blvd., DTLA. May 6, 13, 20 and 27. 7 to 9 p.m. Free.
