Coruba Rum kicks off in Las Vegas

Coruba Rum took over Wirtz Beverage's Alchemy room on Friday for the launch of their entire brand line in the City of Sin. Almost 100 people tasted the new coconut, pineapple, mango, spiced and dark flavors of Coruba.

Coruba Jamaica Rum is pot stilled and aged for at least two years in new barrels. This gives it a very smooth character when compared to similar rums such as malibu and cruizan.

WBN Alchemy room jumps off to a fantastic start!

The “Alchemy Room” the new training and education facility located inside the Wirtz Beverage Nevada offices is proving to be an extraordinary asset to the Las Vegas operations.

In the first 6 weeks since the kickoff, the Alchemy Room has played host to numerous trainings and events including 5 cocktail and sake trainings for the new Mandarin Oriental Hotel food and beverage team, 3 cocktail and spirit trainings for the new Aria hotel and casino (City Center), 6 brand kickoffs, and several other presentations for new accounts including the “Cabo Wabo Cantina”, “Munch” restaurant at Caesars Palace, and the highly anticipated “Smokin’ Aces” nightclub at the Venetian.

The room has received praise from industry professionals from all over the country. This is the first of it's kind and we are excited to see the dramatic impact it will have on our staff and the Las Vegas industry as a whole.

Domaine De Canton Bartender Contest

Domaine de Canton held the semi-finals of their national cocktail competition last week at the Alchemy Room inside the Wirtz Beverage Nevada offices. The eight semi-finalists represent some of the best mixologists in Las Vegas with entrants from across the city including Bellagio, Wynn, Venetian, Emeril‟s, Noir Bar and Nora‟s Cuisine. The three celebrity judges included Xania Woodman, the nightlife editor for Las Vegas Weekly, Crystal Fa-nale, Director of Sales for Domaine de Canton, and Tobin Elis founder of Bar Magic. The winner of the competition received an all expense paid trip for two to St. Martin in the Virgin Islands to compete in the National Finals and a chance to win $10,000!
Over 60 spectators filled the Alchemy Room to cheer on their favorite mixologists and enjoy great food and specialty cocktails created by Patricia Richards, Master Mixologist for Wynn & Encore. Drew Levinson of Wirtz Beverage Nevada organized the competition and assumed the role of Master of Ceremonies for the event. Drew entertained the crowd and described the specifics of the cocktails and processes utilized by the mixologists as they created their drinks.
When the dust settled, the three judges unanimously picked the “Canton Crusta” created by Noir Bar‟s Andrew Pollard. The cocktail is a variation on the classic Brandy Crusta cocktail, (see his recipe below). Antonio Trillo from Nora‟s Bar, (and the son of WBN‟s Nacho Trillo) took second place with his cocktail the “Ginger Basil Drop”. The overall feedback from those in attendance was extremely positive.

This is the first competition in the Alchemy Room and with its great success we see yet another application for, what many believe is, the best training bar in Las Vegas and the United States.
Congratulations and future good luck to Andrew Pollard!