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Welcome to the FINALS round of Barr Hill’s first annual Royal Jelly Bee’s Knees Cocktail Competition - in honor of Bee’s Knees Week, the spirits industry’s largest sustainability initiative. Imaginative bartenders across the state will compete for the best Bee’s Knees cocktail recipe, while helping raise awareness for our pollinator pals.
But what is Royal Jelly? The best of the best, the cream of the crop, the bee’s knees (as some might say)! Royal jelly is a decadent, nutrient rich substance made by bees that's fed to a hive’s Queen Bee.
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About the competition
This competition was open to bartenders in Vermont only. 16 applicants total from around the state were chosen to compete in 1 of 2 semi-final rounds held in southern VT or northern VT.
The top 3 from each semi-finals round are invited to come make their cocktail in person for an esteemed panel of judges including the one and only “King of Cocktails” Dale Degroff, Kapri Robinson, and Justin Sajda, aka ThirstyWhale.
Each finalist will receive an overnight stay in Montpelier, dinner after the competition, and a day of educational field trips.
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OUR FINALISTS
Kate Valli - Black Back Pub / Doc Ponds - Waterbury / Stowe VT
Cocktail: “Caledonia Shadowbox”
Barr Hill Gin fat washed with bergamot and coriander seed, clementine and calamansi lemonade, Barr Hill honey, saline, dandelion and orange bitters, egg white, orange absinthe-
Jenny Sangkhanond - BKK in the Alley in Burlington VT
Cocktail: “Queen Bee”
Barr Hill Gin, lemon oleo saccharum, thai chili infused honey, fresh lemon juice, lemongrass-
Max Pogacar - Juniper Bar and Restaurant in Burlington VT
Cocktail: “Seven Rings”
Barr Hill Gin, Barr Hill Tom Cat Gin, Amaro Montenegro, lemon, honey ‘oatgeat’ passion fruit, Wolfpeach ‘Venus in the Fur’ shrub-
Gabriel Pessoa Monteiro - Summit Lodge and Sundance Lodge at Mount Snow in Dover, VT
Cocktail: Gilded Bee
Barr Hill Gin, Vermont Vermouth ‘Phoebus Golden’, black lemon bitters, propolis, honey-
Patty Burns - Kuya’s at One Main, Randolph, VT
Cocktail: Miss B. Hivin’
Barr sHill Gin, Tom Cat Gin, pineapple gum, Brookfield Bees wildflower honey, lemon juice, calamansi juice, saline, Fee Brothers Fee foam, wildflower pollen-
Olivia Lombardo - The Restaurant at Hill Farm, Sunderland, VT
Cocktail: A Day with a Friend
‘However Wild Honey’ beeswax infused Barr Hill Gin, lemon juice, lemon preserve, Pollinator Honey Cordial, Genepy
Tickets for the finals
Cheer on your favorite bartender and vote for people's choice. Secure your tickets today!
Meet our Judges


