‘Twas The Punch Before Christmas: A Contest

RumDood.com and Malo Cantina are proud to announce our first ever LIVE punch competition!

That’s right, a LIVE competition, sponsored by Kraken Rum – and you can win up to $500!

My obsession with punches is apparently contagious and Malo Cantina on Sunset Blvd here in LA shares the fever that can only be cured by big blocks of ice in bowls full of strong, sweet, sour, and weak.

The Details:

• Punches must be original recipes containing citrus, spice, spirits, sugar, and some sort of “weak.”  I know, basic punchology 101 stuff.  A quick note, even though I’m involved, and Kraken Rum is sponsoring our shindig, and we all know that rum is the single greatest spirit on the planet, your punch does NOT need to include rum.  Use tequila, whiskey, gin, mezcal, sherry…go wild!
• Punch recipes must be submitted by 11:59:59 PM on Nov. 30, 2009.  Recipes should be submitted to either contests [at] rumdood.com or rhachel [at] sbcglobal.net.
• Contestants or  a representative must be able to attend a live competition at Malo Cantina on the evening of December 10th.  If you cannot attend, you can have a friend or colleague represent you at the event, but SOMEONE has to be there to serve your punch.
• The top six submitted punch recipes will be selected by Rhachel Shaw of Malo and yours truly to participate in the live punch party/contest at Malo on December 10, 2009.  Malo will provide punch bowls, ice, and any ingredients needed other than homemade ingredients and rare liqueurs (we’ll work with you on those to the best of our ability).
• Contestants will be competing for prizes for both “Most Popular Punch” – voted on by all attendees – as well as “Judges’ Favorite” – voted on by a panel of judges including me and other cocktail writers and local bartenders and cocktail celebrities.
• The winner of the “Most Popular Punch” will be awarded $150
• The winner of the “Judges’ Favorite Punch” will be awarded $500
• Punches will be judged on taste, originality, and presentation

More details are on the way.  And if you don’t want to or can’t submit a punch but really want to attend the event and see what our contests cook up, the contest will be open to the public at Malo on December 10th.  Ticket and prize information will be released SOON.