Support Your Local Female Bartenders at Speed Rack This Weekend

For the fifth year, Speed Rack, the awesome speed-bartending competition that pits top local female bartenders against each other, is on tour and back in Seattle. Come watch this Sunday, January 31 at Neumos (925 E. Pike Street) from 3-7 p.m. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door, and the whole event is centered around raising money for breast cancer charities, so the money is going to a good cause – it has already raised more than $350,000!    

These top lady mixers compete in timed heats, making rounds of cocktails before the crowd and a talented panel of judges. Those judges include Anu Apte (owner of Rob Roy and beverage consultant), Kathy Casey (founder, Liquid Kitchen), and Paul Clarke (executive editor, Imbibe magazine). Plus, Top Chef alum Jason Stratton is going to be there DJing.

The winner of Miss Speed Rack Seattle 2016 gets a host of tasty prizes, including an honorarium to help her make it to New York in June for the finals. If all of this isn’t enough to get you there, check out the video from last year’s contest. The full list of bartenders competing (including shakers from Washington and Oregon, and a few others who didn’t have a Speed Rack in their area) is below. Get out and support your favorite this Sunday.

The Contenders:

Jennifer Akin – Alchemy Restaurant & Bar, Ashland, OR

Missy Berens – The Central Saloon, E. Smith Mercantile, Seattle, WA

Ashtin Berry – Herb and Bitter Public house, Seattle, WA

Julie Stocker Brigham – Sun Liquor, Seattle, WA

Becca June Conklin – Altabira City Tavern, Portland, OR

Halley Connelly – Paydirt, Portland, OR

Erin Gill – Rhythm and Rye, Olympia, WA

Alena Harbin – Tavern Law, Seattle, WA

Natasha Hill – Trio Club, Portland, OR

Haley Holman – Canon, Seattle, WA

Mindy Kucan – Hale Pele, Portland, OR

Jen Len – Jonathan Club, Los Angeles, CA

Talia Lliteras – Witness, Seattle, WA

Lauren Lowe – RiNo Yacht Club, Denver, CO

Bridget Maloney – The Sexton, Seattle, WA

Kate Perry – Rumba, Seattle, WA

Dori Prange – Raven & Rose, the Rookery Bar, Portland, OR

Megan Radke – Liberty, Bar NAKA, Seattle, WA

Anna Raymond – Stateside, Seattle, WA

Nikki Schultz – Oliver’s Twist, Rumba, Seattle, WA

Madisyn Scribner – Witness, Seattle, WA

Brianna C. Wilske – Liberty Bar, Seattle, WA