How do I compete? How does it work?

First you must apply online. Then you must prepare with the goal of winning the crown! This is a competition about speed and accuracy. Yes, it is called Speed Rack, but it is about making GOOD DRINKS, as speedily as possibly.

 
 

Step 1: apply online

We open online applications to gather people from across different regions. It is important to fill out ALL of the application and to submit a video in order to compete. You must be a practicing bartending working at least 2 shifts a week behind the stick in order to compete.

 

Step 2: Prelims

After online applications are completed, 20 - 25 competitors will be selected to compete in their regional competition. Unfortunately, we do not have travel stipends to provide lodging or transportation to the event for folks from out of town.

Upon acceptance, competitors are sent an email with all pertinent information regarding the event as well as the official Speed Rack recipes of classic cocktails. You will have the next weeks to practice and familiarize yourself with these recipes so that you can compete efficiently onstage.

The competitors will be given Preliminary Cocktails in this acceptance email: six cocktails from which we will select four that will be made for the preliminary round. The Prelims is where we cut all competitors down to eight: after penalties and total time, the eight fastest competitors will make it on stage for the main event! The preliminary round is different than on stage, it is truly about making drinks quickly. But there are penalties for Balance, Dilution, Missing or Wrong Ingredients and more. While you should be quick, the drinks need to have in them what they are supposed to have in them and nothing more!

 

Step 3: On Stage Competition

After prelims, we have our top eight competitors who will compete in a bracketed round robin style competition onstage, making rounds of four drinks for a panel of esteemed judges.

This round is truly about making amazing drinks, with amazing style and poise, quickly. “Fly like a butterfly, sting like a bee.” This is about being in front of 500 screaming fans and the competitors are asked to make drinks to the best of their capability. The drinks must be balanced, look beautiful and be made with grace behind the bars. The winner of the round goes onto the next round.

Watch some of these videos below about creating drinks for Speed Rack by Speed Rack alumn, Lacy Hawkins.

There are seven round on stage: the quarter finals, semi finals and finals. At the end, in the final round, the competitors have to make four drinks again but in the final round there are two Dealer’s Choice cocktails where we try to see how the bartenders can think creatively on the fly and make a unique drink using the ingredients we have available.

At the end there is only 1 WINNER.

 

Step 4: National Finals

Depending on the market, regional winners will join us for the National Finals where we will follow the same format with slight alterations: Prelims, On Stage with Top Eight and then at the end there is only 1 WINNER.