Grand Prize — Grant Jacobs

@grantjacobs_

Cocktail: Alouette

Grant Jacobs is the Head Bartender at Genever in Los Angeles, CA. Hobby baker, big time nerd and all around beer and spirits enthusiast.

Grand Prize — Sarah Troxell

@barcheftrox

Cocktail: 99 Aloha Shirts & a Tiny Umbrella

Sarah Troxwell has been working in hospitality for 16 years, basically since she was old enough to have a car and a job. Her dad told her if you have experience in a restaurant you will always be able to find a job - 16 years later, she has attended culinary school and worked just about every position in a restaurant. She fell in love with craft bartending and started pursuing it professionally about 8 years ago, combining her love for hospitality and guest interaction with the creativity of cooking and food and flavors. The most inspiring thing about food and beverage is that she will *never* know everything, but she is so hungry for all of the knowledge. She is a Speed Rack National winner and Bar 5 ready.

Grand Prize — John Ware

@glass.ware

Cocktail: Cognac / Camomilla

Originally from Denville, New Jersey, John Ware has spent his entire working life in the bar and restaurant industry. After moving to New York City in 2011, he eventually landed his first job as a bartender and began to dive deeper and deeper into cocktails. A chance meeting got him a job at Danny Meyer’s Maialino, where he fell in love with Italian wine, amaro and grappa. After that, he had the good fortune of training under cocktail titan Meaghan Dorman and then-head bartender Adam Minegar at The Raines Law Room, and the rest is history. These days, John can be found behind the bar at Forsythia, a beautiful little Italian restaurant on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Designing the program there represents a fusion of two his greatest loves: cocktails and Italian spirits and drinking culture.

Finalist — Justin Brody

@whoisjustinbrody

Cocktail: Alpine Wizard

After ten years of professional cooking and a growing love of tropical drinks, Justin Brody started experimenting with cocktails at home. He began his spirits and cocktail journey with blind spirits tastings with Adam Robinson after shifts at Deadshot in Portland, OR. He currently bartends at Takibi, a Japanese Izakaya focused on Pacific Northwest ingredients and producers. He was a part of the opening team there, working his way up to bartend under Lydia McLuen and Jim Meehan. He also operates a popup called Overcast in Portland alongside his partner, which serves nautical cocktails and charcoal-grilled Portuguese snacks. He continues to grow his understanding of spirits and cocktails and hopes to take his education as far as he can.

Finalist — Nat Froikin

@natfroikin

Cocktail: Volant Pardieu

Nat Froikin is a bartender and chef based out of Chicago, IL. Using his background in biochemical scientific research, Nat creates exacting, complex cocktails with an emphasis on ethical and sustainable production.

Most recently, Nat was the lead bartender at The Duck Inn, Bridgeport. When he isn’t behind the bar, Nat engineers spirits for his own company, Mashke Midwest.

Finalist — William Patton

@ramseydanger

Cocktail: La Mort d’un Roi

Will Patton is the Beverage Director of Bresca and Jônt, Ryan Ratino’s Michelin star concepts in Washington, DC. Will has been working with Chef Ratino for four years, helping construct the beverage vision of both concepts. Over that time, Bresca has been twice nominated for Cocktail Program of Year by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington as well as being recognized by an Award of Excellence by Wine Spectator and Best Cocktail Experience of 2022 by the Michelin Guide. He is a graduate of the BAR-5 Program and has achieved the WSET Level 3 Certification in Wine. Over the last decade, he has reached the National Finals of numerous cocktail competitions including Bacardi Legacy, Woodford Manhattan Experience and the Rémy Martin Bartender Talent Academy.

Finalist — Nicole Salicetti

@denadacocktail

Cocktail: Are We There Yet

Starting out in concession as a young teen and then hosting in various Manhattan restaurants, Nicole Salicetti found her love for working behind the bar in the late nineties and her passion still burns strong.  After acquiring a bar managerial position at a prestigious restaurant, she was given the much anticipated opportunity to express her creativity in the form of cocktail menus, featuring her own unique recipes. Her daily cocktail special was a favorite amongst restaurant guests, recieving recognition from her peers. Eventually Nicole began to really test her mettle against other industry pros by entering regional, national and even international cocktail competitions. She has numerous wins under her belt and is still competing.

Finalist — Mark Sassi

@sassim

Cocktail: Le Téléphone Arabe

Mark Sassi is the current bar manager at Rob Roy in Seattle, WA. He loves sharing the history of everything on the backbar and is always looking to expand his knowledge to continue to spread the love of cocktail culture. In his spare time, he explores the outdoors with his partner and his dog. He also is an avid musician and loves playing hockey whenever he gets the chance.  Should you find yourself in Seattle, don’t hesitate to stop by Rob Roy for an experience that is second to none. Mark would love to see you!

Finalist — James Wieland

@sentyun

Cocktail: Bonsoir to Cognac

James Wieland II is a bartender and amateur fermentor in his home town of Milwaukee Wisconsin. He graduated from UW- Milwaukee with a bachelors in Applied Linguistics and through the time since, he has also developed a deep appreciation for the technique and culture behind spirits and the preparation of them.

Through working in the food and beverage industry for half a decade, cultivating relationships and learning, he has grown fond of the knowledge, technique and relationship with the land spirits and fermentation play in concretizing culinary practices into culture. Just like language, there is a story to be told about a people and who they are in their relationship to the crops and botanicals of their environment, both in time and through time. Learning about and using spirits provides a lens into the past and present of a people’s palate and permaculture. The art of fermentation and its complex systems fascinate Justin in its role with humanity’s relationship to nature and our environment.

Finalist — Tara Yadgir

@tarayadgir

Cocktail: Against the Waves

Tara Yadgir has been bartending since 2015. After starting at a craft distillery in Pittsburgh, she moved to Arizona and has been bartending at a craft cocktail bar in Chandler.