George Ultra Lounge was the host of the 2010 Mixlympics held on February 21^st with 6 international, 4 Canadian bartenders- competing head-to-head in a black box style event.

George bartender Shaun Layton invited some of the best cocktail creators in the world to mix it up at George Ultra Lounge during the Olympics.  With so much bartending talent in one place, it just made sense to turn it into a competition.

After 3 hours of excitement, the winners announced were in 1^st place GOLD Mark Brand of Vancouver (Bartender/Co-owner of Boneta & The Diamond); in 2^nd place SILVER David Grieg of London, UK (Bartender at All Star Lanes) and in 3^rd place BRONZE Jay Jones of Vancouver (Bartender/Co-owner Pourhouse).

The other competitors from Canada and around the world were:

Joe Stokoe – Bar Manager for all three All Star Lanes, London, UK

Abdul Kpekawa – Bartender, All Star Lanes, London, UK

Ola Carlson – Bartender, Box 101, Stockholm, Sweden

Nicolos de Soto, Bartender, Experimental Cocktail Club & Curio Parlour, Paris, France

Charles Tan – Bartender, China Club, Paris, France.

David Wolwidnyk – Bar Manager, West, Vancouver

Darryl Macdonald – Bartender, Port, Toronto

The extremely talented judges who had the enviable job of tasting the cocktails and choosing the best were:

Rebecca Bollwitt – Vancouver Blogger, Miss 604

Jay Garnett – President, Whitefish Group

Shaun Layton – Bar Manager, George Ultra Lounge

Andrew Morrison – Editor, Scout Magazine

Neal Mclennan – Editor, Western Living Magazine

George Oliphant – Host, NBC LX-TV

Joanne Sasvari – Freelance Journalist and Mixology Expert

This competition was exciting to watch, all eyes were on these talented bartenders to see what kinds of drinks they could make using the surprise ingredients from the black box. Each competitor had to use the Black Box ingredients in the drinks they were too create.

By: Richard Wolak