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STIR CRAZY AT BATSON RIVER

A Month Long Celebration Of All Things Shaken, Stirred Or Poured

COCKTAIL CLASSES & DISTILLERY TOURS

Dive into the world of Batson River’s hand-crafted Maine spirits right here in Portland, Maine. Learn how to craft the perfect cocktail, how to make your own bitters and shrubs, and even take a deep dive into the art of Tiki.

ST. PATRICK’S DAY

Celebrate St. Paddy’s with Batson River! Featuring two special beer releases plus a menu of Irish-inspired fare. Join us on March 17th in Portland for an epic evening of live music and whiskey pairings, plus Brunch on the 18th. Check our calendar for more details!

RESTAURANT WEEK

All four locations are participating in Maine Restaurant Week from March 1st-12th. Then the deals continue in Biddeford for Biddeford Restaurant Week March 12th – 19th. 

ChopTails Returns!

 

Monday, March 27th | Portland, ME

Doors 5:30pm, Event 6pm – 8pm | Benefitting Maine Needs

What do you get when you take all the creativity, intensity, and competitiveness of your favorite cooking competition shows and give the contestants booze instead of food? ChopTails!

Join us for our second annual ChopTails Cocktail Competition on Monday, March 27th! Once again we are welcoming five allstar bartenders from the Southern Maine region, inviting them to square off in the ultimate test of mix mastery.

Your admission gets you a welcome cocktail, an up-close and personal view of our all-star cast of cocktail pros in action, passed apps, a buffet of snacks, and a sample of the Round 2 cocktail! Sip easily knowing this event is benefiting Maine Needs in their mission of helping local Mainers.

Come hungry and ready to cheer on your favorite bartender!

 

 

The Competition:

Round 1 – Classic Cocktails

Our five contestants will have ten minutes to create a classic cocktail of their choosing using Batson River Spirits as a base and present it to the judges. Judges will then vote and the contestant with the winning recipe will receive a special advantage for Round 2.

Round 2 – The Pantry

Contestants will be challenged to create a custom, creative cocktail using ingredients they select from The Pantry. There are no rules for these cocktails and creativity is the name of the game. The Pantry will contain unique ingredients such as spirits, fresh fruits/veg, bitters, syrups, shrubs, and more to help make unexpected and delicious cocktails. Do our contestants have it what it takes to come up with a perfectly balanced, innovative cocktail in just 30 minutes?

The Winner

Judge’s Choice: The cocktails in each round will be ranked in 5 categories; timing, presentation, taste, creativity/naming, and ingredient utilization. The contestant that earns the highest score will earn the 2023 Batson River ChopTails Champion trophy, bragging rights, along with a spot on our April cocktail menu!

Crowd’s Choice: Vote for your favorite cocktails and have a part in crowning the runner up!

But wait, there’s more – $1.00 of every ChopTail sold in April will go to the winning bartender’s charity of choice!

 

 

The Host:

Porltand’s favorite Drag Queen…Chartreuse!

 

 

The Judges:

Jon Quade, Head Distiller of Batson River

Jacqueline Cain, Boston-based food + drink journalist and editor of The Food Lens

Jordan Milne, Hardshore Distilling

 

 

The Contestants:

2022 ChopTails Winner Rob Roy returns to defend his title!

Rob Roy – of Primo

Jake Bosma – of Cocktail Mary

LyAnna Sanabria – of Papi

Sylvi Roy, of Twelve

Bailey White – of The Danforth

 

Bailey White of The Danforth

Jake Bosma of Cocktail Mary

LyAnna Sanabria of Papi

Rob Roy of Primo

Sylvi Roy of Twelve

2022 ChopTails Gallery