Westland Distillery Cocktail Competition 2024 @ Restaurants around Seattle

Do you like to celebrate Washington Spirits Month? Just kidding. That’s a rhetorical question. In honor of the September occasion, a competition that began on August 5th will culminate on September 30th with an official grand prize winner. Seattle’s top bartenders will head to Westland Distillery on closing night for a live competition, battling it out for the honor of “best whiskey cocktail.”

Here’s the full schedule:
September 5th • Voting begins
September 23rd • Finalists announced
September 30th • Finalists compete for grand prize

Since August 5th, bars in Seattle and beyond have been hard at work developing brand new cocktails using Westland Whiskey and adding it to their menus. Starting in September, patrons (that’s where you come in) can drink those cocktails at participating restaurants and begin casting votes for their favorite libations. Which you can do here. These votes will determine the “finalists” list, and to close out the month, finalists will compete live at Westland Distillery where a panel of judges will determine the best cocktail created.

Three judges will rate each cocktail out of 100 points. Here’s what they’ll be judging on: taste and balance (35 points); creativity and originality (30 points); intelligent use of Westland Whiskey (15 points); presentation and appearance (15 points); and creativity, relevance and appeal of recipe name (5 points).

Don’t worry, you’ll be part of the final judging process, too—in addition to the judge’s selection, a “Crowd Favorite” prize will also be awarded. So come with your judging cap on and be ready to taste the best of the best. Bottoms up!

Westland Distillery creates single-malt whiskey inspired by the Pacific Northwest. Visit their facility in the heart of Seattle’s SoDo neighborhood.

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