Ten finalists locked arms, drew mystery ingredients, and shook up cocktails in front of a crowd that hadn’t gathered at Napa Valley Distillery in two years. The Iron Shaker cocktail competition culminated last Thursday, with San Jose bartender Janessa Yanez taking home the trophy and $1,000 cash prize in what doubled as the distillery’s first major public event since a devastating fire shut it down.
The competition, held at the distillery’s longtime home at 2485 Stockton Street in Napa, unfolded over three rounds designed to test both teamwork and improvisation, according to The Napa Valley Register. In the first round, contestants worked in teams, locking arms and using only one hand each to craft a Napa Valley-inspired signature drink built around Distillers Blend whiskey. Yanez, who works at Paper Plane in San Jose, teamed with Ian Avery of Cooperage in Santa Rosa to create Buzzin’ La Vida, a drink that used frozen vineyard grapes in place of ice cubes, and the pair earned the most points of the round.
From Ten Finalists to a Final Five
The second round pared the field down further. Each bartender had seven minutes to prepare four classic cocktails with no variations allowed, a stricter format than round one, and it advanced five finalists: Yanez, Markley LaPointe and Ivan Bondarau of Press in St. Helena, Mahlik Blake of Lemon Drop in Alameda, and Valentina Nakic of The Pro in Palo Alto. LaPointe and Bondarau’s round-two entry, called The Timeless, used dry ice and Napa Valley Distillery’s Meyer lemon variety to make a quick ice cream, a technical flourish that stood out among the final field.
The last round put the remaining five bartenders on the spot, requiring each to draw and incorporate a mystery ingredient into their drink. Those surprise ingredients ranged from avocado and pickle brine to chipotle paste, Cool Ranch Doritos, and Sour Patch Kids. When the shaking stopped, Yanez claimed the win, with Blake finishing second and Bondarau taking third…