Award-Winning Bartenders from 10 Cities Battle it Out at Cochon 555’s Grand Finale Spirits Competition Featuring Breckenridge Bourbon
Cochon 555 and Breckenridge Bourbon announcedMaria Polise of Ela (Philadelphia) as the National Punch Kings Champion on Sunday, June 29 at The Curtis Hotel. The event brought together the ten winning barkeeps of Cochon 555’s regional competitions for a boozy-showdown featuring an all-star lineup of barkeeps, judges and sponsors. Along with her new title, Polise won a 3-day trip to a Heritage BBQ festival in the city of her choice, where she will feature her winning punch. For photos of the winner and the event, click here.
A pack of notable judges, including Jess Hunter of Eater, Becky Creighton of Culinary Connectors, and Raquel Tully of Old Major had the arduous task of selecting the ultimate winner to the Golden Gloves. In the end, Polise’s drink, titled “Porcine Pick-Me-Up Punch,” took the cake. Her punch included Breckenridge Bourbon, Dolin Rouge, Champagne, Lemon Hart 151, Clove, Cinnamon, Allspice, Lapsang Souchong, and Orange Oleo Saccharum.
A special Denver-based punch competition also took place at the event, where Nick Snyder of The Corner Office won the local title. His “Mommy’s Medicine” featured Breckenridge Bourbon, coconut water, basil and raw sugar simply syrup, mint and lime.
In addition to outstanding libations, guests experienced over 500 pounds of heritage pig in Cochon 555 format from top chefs Rich Byers of The Corner Office, Jeff Bolton of Kachina, Jason Brumm of Second Home and Jae Lee of The Curtis Hotel. The Corner Office served a knock-out ramen dish and had a Breckenridge Bourbon Pork Belly Bar, ultimately taking top honors amongst all the great dishes from Sage Restaurant Group.
The evening concluded with an epic after party at The Corner Office with $5.55 special-priced cocktails and snacks, bringing guests together for an authentic industry experience.
About Cochon 555
Cochon 555 was created in 2009 by Taste Network’s Brady Lowe in response to the lack of consumer education around heritage breeds. The festival is a national event series that takes place in 17 major markets. In addition to its flagship event, Cochon 555, the Cochon brand now offers a variety of experiences each year in the family of events. The events with national followings include Heritage BBQ, Heritage Fire, EPIC Cochon, All-Star Cochon and Cochon Island. Since its launch in 2009, Cochon 555 and its programs, such as Chef’s Course, have supported responsible family farming across the country by allowing 50,000 people to taste heritage pigs and by donating more than $300,000 to charities and more than $500,000 directly to great farmers across the country. For more details about the events, visit www.cochon555.com or follow @cochon555 on Twitter.
