Monkey Shoulder’s Ultimate Bartender Championship returns

William Grant & Sons-owned Monkey Shoulder has revised the format of its Ultimate Bartender Championship for 2016, with regional heats under way shortly.

Described as a “one-of-a-kind” championship, the Ultimate Bartender Challenge (UBC) tests bartenders on knowledge, mixing, pouring, and nosing, as well as back of house skills including stock take. Testing on Tray Service and Round Building will also be included as part of the regional heats.

For 2016, bartenders will not be required to sign up as a team. Instead all assessments will be made on an individual basis, with entries from professionals and amateurs over the age of 18 welcomed.

This year’s edition of the UBC will feature more regional heats, with the first kicking off in Aberdeen on 17 April. The Monkey Shoulder UBC tour bus will then travel to towns and cities across the UK throughout April and May.

To “raise the stakes”, all entrants will be scored and ranked on a national leaderboard hosted publicly online.

The top five scoring bartenders according to the leaderboard will secure an all-expenses-paid trip to the Ultimate Bartender Championship final at Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans in July 2016.

Once crowned, the UK Champion will then be awarded a week-long pop-up bar during London Cocktail Week in October 2016.

Last year, over 150 bartenders from all over the country took part in the championship, with the Dead Parrot team from West Sussex walking away with nearly £13,000 in takings at their London Cocktail Week bar.

“This year’s UBC is going to be epic! We’ve made it easier than ever to sign up, and we’re running even more heats than last year so that more people will have a chance to compete,” said Grant Neave, Monkey Shoulder brand amBADASSador.

“Think of it as a mash up of Tough Mudder, Britain’s Got Talent, The Apprentice and Eurovision for the bartending community – but much more fun and rewarding of course. It really supports and nurtures the next generation of bartenders so we encourage anyone who loves bartending to enter, either to springboard a burgeoning career in the industry or as a platform for showcasing already awesome bar skills.”

See the video below for more.