After subzero wind chills, frozen pipes, 4 pm sunsets and months of gray skies, it's time to ask yourself: Wanna get away?
If you're searching for a tropical getaway but flights aren't really your thing right now (thanks, Boeing), consider a different kind of escape. The Knitting Factory is about to transform into a balmy oasis filled with bottles upon bottles of Don Q. Think desert island with Jack Sparrow, except the rum is definitely not gone.
This Sunday, a dozen of Spokane's craft cocktail bars compete in the Rum Rumble Tiki Off, a cocktail competition where the only requirements are lots of escapism and plenty of rum. Veteran and novice bartenders alike are putting the finishing garnishes — like pineapple spears, grapefruit husks and flames — on brand-new tiki drinks created just for the event. Each bar is also designing its own tiki hut to create a convincing "you're not in Spokane" experience. A ticket gets you your very own cocktail passport, granting entry to each booth and a 3-ounce sample of each tiki drink. Don your most obnoxious floral shirt, soak in the exotic flavors and good vibes, and then sail off to sleep in your own bed.
The Tiki Off is the brainchild of local bartender Dakota Goldman, bar manager at Lorèn and founder of Padrino Events, a consulting company for special events, collaborations and menu design. Last year, she helped coordinate the Bloody Mary Bash and Agave Fest at the Wonder Building. A lot of Rum Rumble participants joined the Tiki Off because of how much fun they had at these previous competitions.
"I have a huge passion for bringing the bartending and restaurant community together," Goldman says. "This has been a really great way to do that. They're all very competitive, but I don't think it's in an animosity kind of way. Everybody wants to win — don't get me wrong — but it's not gonna stop anyone from being friends at the end of the day."
It's time to meet the contestants. At least 20 bartenders are competing, and some of them took precious moments out of their prep to tell us what to expect from the Rumble. There will be a people's choice award alongside a judge-picked winner, so get a head start on picking your favorite!
BIJOU
Team: Kiefer Geary and DeAndra Perrigo
How long have you bartended?
Geary: Three months.
Perrigo: Three years.
Favorite spirit?
Geary: Gin. You have so many more opportunities to use different things with it.
Perrigo: Gin!
Why join Rum Rumble?
Geary: I've done cooking competitions before — four of them. I love doing competitions and trying to do the best that I can on certain things.
Perrigo: Knowing that Kiefer's newer [to bartending], I thought it would be a good opportunity.
Edge over competitors?
Geary: Our ability to play with things here [at Bijou].
Perrigo: What we've learned working at Bijou, like making syrups from scratch, really helps. We want it to be an experience with every cocktail, a beginning, middle and end. It tells a story.
What can people expect from your entry?
Geary: I really like tiki drinks, and I like finding the out-there, weird ones that people don't really think of. So I just found one that I've enjoyed in the past and then added things that I wanted in it.
Perrigo: It's thoughtful and it's layered. There's a lot of elements, but you taste each one and at different times.
Favorite cocktail you've ever made?
Geary: I make my girlfriend this Christmas margarita. The main parts are tequila and cranberry, and coconut cream to make it thick.
Perrigo: The Battle Royale which I entered in Agave Fest. Using fernet [means] it changes flavor in the first three sips.
THE DISTRICT BAR
Team: Tessa Wilcox and Aubrey Layton
How long have you bartended?
Wilcox: Eight years.
Favorite spirit?
Tequila.
Why join Rum Rumble?
I wanted to do the tequila competition, and I didn't end up doing that one. So I wanted to do whatever next one came up.
Edge over competitors?
Homefield advantage!
What can people expect from your entry?
My favorite fruit.
Favorite cocktail you've ever made?
I fat-washed some tequila with coconut milk, and I really liked the way that tasted. I was making coconut pineapple margaritas with that.
EMMA RUE'S
Competitor: Zach Thomas
How long have you bartended?
Thomas: A little over two years now.
Favorite spirit?
Rum!
Why join Rum Rumble?
I mean, Emma Rue's is one of the best bars in Spokane. I feel like we have to represent, we have to let Spokane know what's out there, right?
Edge over competitors?
I specialize in rum and tiki. I love the craft not only of bartending but just the rum scene and the tiki legacy. I know a lot about it. I've studied it. I've studied the greats like Donn Beach, Trader Vic's, Steve Crane. I know all the little secrets, the Donn's spices — I have a very niche interest in this stuff.
What can people expect from your entry?
Expect a good amount of wintry spices but still the warmth that tiki exudes.
Favorite cocktail you've ever made?
It was rhum agricole, green chartreuse, lime juice, pineapple juice, lime, oleo saccharum and Polynesian bitters. I worked so hard along the way, and I finally got dialed in.
HOGWASH WHISKEY DEN
Team: Erin Fasbender and Simon Moorby
How long have you bartended?
Fasbender: Twenty-one years.
Favorite spirit?
Whiskey, which I think is probably pretty obvious.
Why join Rum Rumble?
To challenge ourselves again. It's a lot of fun. It's a lot of chaos right before. Usually you don't get enough sleep, and it's probably your only day off. It's basically everything that bartenders thrive on anyway. It's so masochistic.
Edge over competitors?
I don't know that we have [one]. Simon does have a little bit of a background in tiki — he trained in some tiki bars in Seattle years ago. But for me personally, I don't feel like I have an edge.
What can people expect from your entry?
Infusions! We're infusing our base, we're making everything from scratch of course, and we're making our own cream of coconut, pineapple gum syrup and carrot cordial.
Favorite cocktail you've ever made?
One of my favorite cocktails is a Trinidad Sour, which is a little bit of rye whiskey with a whole bunch of Angostura bitters. It's just a fantastic cocktail, and you don't you don't really see it very often.
ITTY BITTY BUDDHA BAR
Competitor: Jason Overdorff
How long have you bartended?
Overdorff: Two months.
Favorite spirit?
Definitely gin.
Why join Rum Rumble?
I've gotten really into this whole bartending thing. It started off as just trying to get some experience and having fun helping Kadra [Evans] out. Now it's turned into something I actually really enjoy. So she asked me if I'd be interested in the competition, and I was like, absolutely. I think it's really cool.
Edge over competitors?
We're really big on presentation. Our big thing is garnish everything. We're really good at making drinks that not only taste good, but look good. We try to cultivate a whole experience around it.
What can people expect from your entry?
It's gonna be on fire. It's probably going to change people's lives. Think of Jesus in a tiki mask.
Favorite cocktail you've ever made?
We have a drink called the Thai Garden Party. It's a gin-based drink with lots of citrus and different types of simple [syrups].
VOLSTEAD ACT
Competitor: Noah Carter
How long have you bartended?
Carter: Six years.
Favorite spirit?
Agave and rum.
Why join Rum Rumble?
It's because of the community. Mental health in the service industry is terrible. Anything that gets a bunch of people that work behind a bar or a restaurant together to go do something all together is just good.
Edge over competitors?
Attention to detail. I'm not a half-asser. I'm really all or nothing when it comes to a project. So luckily at the moment, I have the motivation to full-ass this thing.
What can people expect from your entry?
You've crash landed a spaceship in this intense crazy alien jungle. We're going super Twilight Zone with it.
Favorite cocktail you've ever made?
It'll be back on the Valentine's Day menu this year. It was the "Late Night Invitation." We custom printed some sweet hearts and instead of something adorable, it says, "You Up?" That's the garnish on top. It's an egg white cocktail with a dusting of sugar, and then you torch it so the sugar brulees. You get this beautiful marshmallow-y vanilla thing, but the cocktail itself is spicy and fruity.
ZONA BLANCA
Competitor: Dominic Rage
How long have you bartended?
Rage: About six years.
Favorite spirit?
Tequila and mezcal.
Why join Rum Rumble?
We did the Agave Fest earlier last year and we took first place [crowd favorite] for that. So we figured, why not?
Edge over competitors?
I know some of the guys we're going up against, and they are very knowledgeable. I'm just working with a variety of fruits and ingredients that hopefully other people aren't using, and I'm hoping for the best.
What can people expect from your entry?
A bright vibrant cocktail. Something that's boozey, citrusy, sweet — something you can drink on a beach all day long.
Favorite cocktail you've ever made?
Probably my cocktail that I made for the Agave Fest. We call it Agua Dorado. It was a rum tequila split, and I used Sungold kiwis to make a syrup.
Bartenders from Bon Bon, Garden Party, Le Catering, North Hill on Garland and Summit Kitchen & Canteen will also be vying for glory. Ready your passport and be prepared to crown Spokane's true tiki master! ♦
