The Pinnacle of Bartending 2004
Vancouver, BC
Another year of mayhem, another year of debauchery, another year for the Pinnacle of Bartending. With much anticipation, the time was right, and the lights were on, the birds were chirping, and the cameras were a’rollin.
Everyone rolled into town on Sunday, July 24, for yet another legendary Meet and Beat party. In typical Pinnacle style, we started with a few Beers and a light meal and then off to the Boat cruise for a scenic tour of Beautiful Vancouver, BC. Questions were answered, competitors’ time slots were handed out, and the good times were kicked off. By the time we were all back to the dock, the bar was dry, our palate’s were wet, the owner of the yacht was vivid, and yet surprisingly only one person ended up overboard. The night was just heating up nicely. Back to Granville St. we went for the remainder of the evening… It is a good thing that the cameras were rolling, because the rest of the night ended up a bit fuzzy for the majority of the troops. One word explains how a king size beats concrete any day of the week…. “Tanked!!” (Bottleslinger II will tell the tale)
The qualifying day got under way in the cellar nightclub at 1pm. Close to 30 bartenders from all over the world battled for the chance at a finals position and a chance to be crowned Pinnacle Champion. On qualifying day each competitor had 4 minutes to make one martini, one tall drink, make 3 shooters and open one Coors Light. In the finals it was the same drink list, with 6 minutes, and a drink of the competitors choice. The day was a good one, and the scores were so close that we ended up taking 12 competitors to the finals.
The big night was finally here, the stage was set, the room was buzzing, and the anticipation was building. The doors opened to the Roxy Night Club, people started pouring in for the show, and we were set to begin. Some amazing performances were put on by such Flair bartenders as Katsumi From Japan, who has an incredibly high amount of difficulty. Local Celeb bartenders like Pistol Pete Glavas, Ryan Baldwin, and Brad Thompson, who are always amazing to watch came out and awed the crowd with shows that were entertaining as ever. More incredible shows were put on by Steve MacLavish, Ivan Cheu, Tyler Tronnes and Dave Simpson, a bunch of good Canadian kids who all made the trip in from out of town to light up the finals stage with brilliant performances. Flying in from Tampa and Las Vegas were the likes of Dorian ‘ Pinia Pacenia’ Oldan, Levi ‘Great White Ropes’ Donaldson, Tony ‘give me your panties’ Cogburn, and the always-entertaining Shawn ‘Big Daddy’ Oana. What an amazing night of Flair Bartending…
Flying in from Las Vegas to Emcee the event is not a stranger to the Flair Bartending World… we were lucky enough to have the master of the microphone, the savvy stallion with the skills to control any room. It was a pleasure to have and to watch Mr. Chico Garcia as the voice of the Pinnacle of Bartending 4.
Here is how it all ended up,
Pinnacle Champion – Shawn Oana
2nd Place – Dorian Oldan
3rd Place – Tony Cogburn
Cleanest Round Award – Shawn Oana
The Flairco and FBA Big Ass Move Award – Katsumi
Bottleslinger Award – Levi Donaldson (very impressive)
Best Cocktail Award – Trevor Roald
The Pinnacle of Bartending 4 was a huge success and we rose close to $1000.00 for The Christopher Alexander Kucher Fund.
What an amazing event. Big thanks Grant Riel and Nick Rossi who as co-organizers helped me put together this event. To all of our sponsors, Bols, Malibu, Go Fast, Coors Light, barproducts.com, Flairco & the FBA. To our judges, Mike from Flairco, Ryan Newman, Marc Mital, and Brian Dougherty. Thanks to all the competitors, Chico Garcia, Granville Entertainment and the Roxy, Our barbacks Stacy Ruff and Greg Black.
Thank you.
Until next year,
Chuck McIntosh.
Pure Style Productions Inc.
Pinnacle of Bartending 2004
PSP Clothing