It's easier than ever to get a well-crafted cocktail in St. Louis.
Our Go! cover story this week highlights drinks from eight bartenders, who came up with cocktails inspired by the frequently used winter-weather phrase, "Wintry Mix."
And you'll be able to catch some of those bartenders in action next month as they compete for the right to represent St. Louis in a national cocktail contest.
DonQ Rum and the St. Louis chapter of the U.S. Bartenders' Guild are inviting the public to this year's local competition, from 2 to 5 p.m. on March 4 at Blood & Sand (1500 St. Charles Street) downtown. Tickets cost $25 and include appetizers and samples of the competition drinks; proceeds benefit the local guild and Stray Rescue of St. Louis.
To RSVP or for more information, email usbgstl@gmail.com.
TJ Vytlacil and Ted Kilgore won last year's local competition; Vytlacil, co-owner of Blood & Sand, went on to win first place in the national contest, good for $1,000 and a trip to Puerto Rico.
Evan S. Benn is the assistant editor of Go! magazine. He also writes about beer and food, and he is author of the 2011 Post-Dispatch book "Brew in the Lou: St. Louis' Beer Culture - Past, Present and Future," available here. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.
