Last week, we finished up our Jersey City Mystery Mixology competition in collaboration with Have A Night JC.

The first Mystery Mixology event was at Porta with bartenders Ed Snyder (Ed & Mary’s), John Polkowski (Gringo’s), TJ Annese (Ani Ramen), and Ray Haas (Hamilton Pork). They used Maestro Dobel Diamonte, 1800 Tequila, and Jose Cuervo Tradicional for their drinks, and incorporated mystery ingredients: gummy bears and, later, bacon. TJ from Ani Ramen was the winner of the night.

 

The second event was at The Hutton with bartenders Joe Donohue (Low Fidelity), Tom Conboy (The Hamilton Inn), Tom Linstrom (White Star Bar), and Bill King (The Hutton). They used Hanger 1 Rosé Vodka, Tincup American Whiskey, and Old Camp Peach Pecan Whiskey with secret ingredients: blackberries and, later, chipotle adobo sauce. The winner of the night was Tom from White Star Bar.

The third event was at Miss Wong’s with bartenders Christian Cintron (Hudson Hall) Andrea Morin (LITM), Caine (Mathews), and Michelle DeSantis (Talde). The special ingredients of the night were hibiscus syrup and hot chili oil, and the bottles used were Three Olives Vodka, Kraken Rum, ad Gran Centenario Tequila. Michelle from Miss Wong’s won for the night.

Our final event was at Hudson Hall with the winners of the last three rounds: TJ from Ani Ramen, Tom from White Star Bar, and Michelle from Miss Wong’s. The winner of the night, and the ultimate winner as Jersey City’s 2018 Mystery Mixologist with a grand prize of $2000 was Tom from White Star!! It was a close race, but well deserved to a seasoned Mixologist. Special thank you to everyone who came out to show love, to all the venues who took part of this awesome event, to all the judges, and of course to the amazing contestants who proved that the JC cocktail scene is in a class of its own. Good job everyone! We will definitely be back for Season 2!