Monkey Shoulder Shoulders Bartending Championship
Speyside-based blended malt Scotch whisky Monkey Shoulder has collaborated with Tales of the Cocktail Foundation (TOTCF) to present the Ultimate Bartender Championship (UBC), which begins in Chicago on February 24, 2026.
The UBC is a bartending skills-based competition assesses participants in five categories – general spirits knowledge, professional service, speed, precision and sensory expertise – and showcases those categories via six challenges, including the perfect serve [create cocktails under a time deadline while maintaining quality and technique], head-to-head challenge against the clock, general knowledge quiz, pouring accuracy, blind spirit nosing and tray service.
The general knowledge quiz will be held online and will be used as the qualifying round to determine those who will advance to the live competition rounds. Qualified bartenders will then participate in 20-minute live competition rounds at so-called Tales on Tour events at various cities across the USA. The top-scoring bartender from the USA will advance to an international grand final.
Montreal bartender Marie-Louise Roy-Bilodeau won the 2025 UBC Americas competition.
The Tales on Tour and UBC schedule:
February 24: Chicago
March 24: Dallas
April 14: Los Angeles
September 22: Washington DC
October 27: Miami
December: Global Championship Trip
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