Shady Lady Saloon will add a new white whiskey to its menu called Original Moonshine Clear Corn Whiskey, and to help introduce it, a cocktail competition will be held at 6 p.m. Monday. White whiskey is different from other whiskey in that it hasn’t been aged in the barrel, or if it has, it’s not for very long, Shady Lady co-owner Jason Boggs said. There are no guidelines for the competition – just that the bartenders use the Moonshine corn-based whiskey as the main spirit. Three judges will decide which cocktails win first, second and third prizes, with rewards of $500, $300 and $200, respectively. The three judges are Chris Dooley, head spirits director  bar manager at Ella  L Wine Lo

Lounge on 20's second cocktail competition was held Wednesday, June 3 at around 6:30 p.m. But this time instead of gin, French liqueur Domaine de Canton, took center stage, and sponsored the competition. The ginger-flavored drink was popular during the French occupation of Southeast Asia. The contestants included Ken Lipska of Crush 29, Vincent Laform of Lounge on 20, Rene Dominguez and Chris Dooley of Ella Dining Room and Bar, Eric Giardina of Tres Agaves, Steve Gontarz of Capitol Garage, and Nicole Tyler of Hangar 17.  Judges included Garrett Van Vleck of Shady Lady Saloon, Chris Tucker of L Wine Lounge (the winner of the first Lounge on 20 cocktail competition), Alma Martinez of Tres

A mouthful of gin spews into an open flame sending a ball of fire several feet into the air and the heat from the blast can be felt from the audience. With the fireball's deafening sound, Kris Laidlaw, bartender from GV Hurley's, draws the whole room's attention as well as a round of applause. Earlier, this article previewed Wednesday night's cocktail competition, which took place from 6-8 p.m. at Lounge on 20. To add to a base of Broker's London Dry Gin, the competitors used ingredients as diverse as frozen papaya to Peruvian chili peppers to edible flowers. Ali Mackani, owner of the Lounge on 20 MC’d the event and interviewed the 10 competitors for the nearly 100 people who showed up.

Anything goes Wednesday night when eleven area mixologists will mix drinks in a cocktail competition with only one rule: the drink must include Broker's London Dry Gin. But aside from that, contestants will be putting in anything and everything else to express their creativity and win a cash prize. The event host, Lounge On 20, will open doors at 5 p.m. and the competition will begin at 6 p.m., with a specially priced cocktail menu being served all night. It is sponsored by Broker's London Dry Gin and company Director Andrew Dawson will be one of the four celebrity judges along with Joe Anthony Savala of Z´calo, Darryl Corti of Corti Brothers, and Mike Heller of the Heller Company. Alma