30 Maine Bartenders Competing For Slots At 2nd Annual Cold River Bartenders Bash On February 28th

The spirit of healthy competition is alive and well in Maine's mixology world, according to partners at Maine Distilleries (www.mainedistilleries.com and www.facebook.com/mainedistilleries). Partners today announced their list of 30 Maine bartenders now competing in a two-month contest for the 15 coveted mixology slots at its upcoming "2nd Annual Cold River Bartenders Bash." The Bash, to take place at Portland's Ocean Gateway on February 28th from 5 - 8:30 p.m., will pit 15 well-known Maine bartenders against each other in a friendly "shaker-to-shaker" competition to create "The Ultimate Cold River Cocktail."

The 30 participating restaurant and hotel bartenders are: James Ferguson from 50 Local; Josh Caron from 555; Zeus Hannah Suzette from Azure Cafe; Chris Pillsbury from Back Street Bistro; Zara Edwards of Caiola's; Carly Lowell of Clementine Restaurant; Cindy Doxsey from District Grill; Megan Schroeter from East Ender; Benantonio Forgione from Eastland Park Hotel; John Myers from Fish Bones American Grill; Bob Murphy of Figa; Jeremiah Davis of Foreside Tavern; Evan Walsh from The Frog & Turtle; Pete Darby of Fuel; Barry McEvoy from Grace; Sarah Mason from The Great Lost Bear; Wade Apgar of Havana South; Kate Pelletier of Henry and Marty Restaurant; Anita Aker of The Hilton Garden Inn; Roxanne Dragon of Hugo's; Bobby Hoye from Gritty McDuff's Freeport; the team of Nathaniel Meiklejohn and Jess Joseph from Local 188; Tobey Moulton from Nosh Kitchen Bar; Leah Chamberlin of Old Port Sea Grill; Tracy Rousseau of Solo Bistro; Spencer Albee from Sonny's; the team of Ben Bragdon, Mike Barris and Simone Burdet from The Portland Regency; Josh Edlund from The Salt Exchange; the team of Scott Doherty and Guy Streitburger of Vignola; and, Steve Lovenguth of Walter's.

The 30 restaurant bartenders now in the running for the Bartenders Bash's 15 competition slots were selected by Maine Distilleries based on their ongoing, noteworthy support of Cold River spirits. The 30 mixologists have each created a unique, specialty Cold River cocktail, which is now being featured in each respective restaurant during the current two months leading up to the February 28th Bartenders Bash. The 15 bartenders with the most popular Cold River cocktails during that timeframe then will move on to compete at the February 28th Bash event itself, which will award 1st-, 2nd- and 3rd-place prizes to bartenders who deliver the ultimate cocktail made with Cold River spirits, to be decided on at the event by "People's Choice" votes.

"We've been so fortunate that our Cold River gin and vodkas have taken off in so many states, and as far away as western Canada and London," noted Bob Harkins, managing partner and director of sales and marketing at Maine Distilleries. "But particularly in Maine, we continue to see healthy growth. We know this is in no small measure due to the great amount of support Cold River spirits have received from so many Maine restaurants and bars. Our Bash party on February 28th is an obvious - and really fun - way for us to thank our supporters, and showcase the talents of some incredible bartenders in the process."

"Like all of our Cold River events since our 2005 launch, we figured our second Bartenders Bash event in Maine would be a big draw, but what's been amazing has been how many restaurants and bartenders really wanted to be involved in the months leading up to the Bash," added Chris Dowe, head distiller at Maine Distilleries. "We can't say thanks often enough for this tremendous amount of interest and enthusiasm from so many Mainers."

The Bash: Additional Details

Tickets ($35) for the 2nd Annual Cold River Bartenders Bash are available for point-and-click purchase at http://tinyurl.com/28rmueg . (This is a 21+ event.)

Along with the event&#