(Newswire.net — May 14, 2015) — William Batson, owner of The Bar Hops, a mobile bar beverage catering company, was declared the winner of a competition sponsored by Avion Tequila. The competition coincided with Cinco de Mayo and was held at Humphreys Downtown, a popular bar located in Huntsville, Alabama where bartenders, judges and fans gathered to watch as five of the top bartending professionals in Alabama competed for top honors.
The art of mixing drinks has increasingly gained attention in the United States as interest in handcrafted classic cocktails from the 1950s began making an appearance again in recent years. Batson, who wrote the book Classic Cocktails for Classy People and Other Interesting Characters, created the Bar Hops in 2010 in an effort to fill a need for professionally trained, licensed and liquor-liability insured cocktail craftsmen for private events. Since that time, the company has become known for its creation of signature cocktails for weddings, fundraisers and other large and small private events.
“Crafting cocktails requires a blend of knowledge and creativity to produce a new drink that appeals to a lot of people.” said Batson. “I enjoy experimenting with unusual flavors and ingredients such as the smoked chili salt and grilled pineapple used for this margarita to create signature cocktails for wedding clients and private events. Competitions like this one helps me to use that same creativite process.” he continued.
Avion Tequila, the sponsor of the competition for Alabama bartenders, specializes in small batch production of quality tequila.
A founder of the Birmingham Chapter of the United States Bartending Guild, a Master Accreditation Program for professional bartenders, William is currently President of the organization. The chapter members work toward increasing professionalism in the bartending industry by offering information and education to the local community. He was the first certified USBG “Spirits Professional”in Alabama.
Continuing education is offered to bartender professionals across the U.S. through USBG Conferences and
online. At a recent conference in Orlando, one such course by The Consejo Regulador del Tequila (CRT), a regulatory agency that monitors quality specifications and authentication of tequila in Mexico and abroad provided the opportunity to learn the history, properties and requirements for quality production of authentic Mexican tequila as well as earn CRT certification. Batson recently became the first Alabama bartending professional to earn the CRT certification in Alabama.
For more information on the winning cocktail or to reach William Batson and The Bar Hops visit the website or their Facebook page.