The Cincinnati Cocktail Competition, Art, and Music Festival
We are proud to announce that our partner for Cincinnati Alchemy Fest 2023 is Smoke Justis in Covington!
It goes down May 21st this year, with your favorite Cincy & NKY bartenders. We'll have repeat competitors and some will be new and rest assured - they will all astound you with their prowess and cocktail alchemy!
Tickets will be on sale soon so follow us on Instagram @cincinnatialchemyfest for the announcement.
Tickets will sell out so don't wait until the last minute!
Check out this award winning video filmed and produced by my high school buddy, Dr. Bill Bolduc from UNCW and his crew! Huge shout out to Thad and Will for making the 10 hour trek up with Bill to create this awesome video of our 2nd annual event!
Awards of Excellence: Cincinnati AlchemyFest 2022: Building Brands & Building Community; Thaddaeus Freidline & Will Matthews, University of North Carolina @ Wilmington
HERE ARE YOUR JUDGES FOR 2023
Returning Judge Molly Wellmann
Former owner of Japp's, author, master mixologist, and Cincinnati historian Molly Wellmann needs no introduction. She'll be a third time judge for Cincinnati Alchemy Fest and we're thrilled to have her back in the judge's seat again this year for another awesome competition.
Instagram @mollywellmann
Returning Judge Allie Martin
Allie Martin is a great friend to us at Cincinnati Alchemy Fest and we're very happy to have her back with us again for 2023. You might know her from her two radio shows as cohost of the KiddChris Show on WEBN and the JonJon and Friends show on KISS 107.
Instagram @alliemartin8
CAF 2022 Winner Jade Colwell
And look who's joining our two alums this year, none other than our Cincinnati Alchemy Fest 2022 winner, Jade Colwell! Jade is the bar manager at Smoke Justis, a brand new mom, and it will be very cool to have her lending her expertise in a judge's chair for 2023. Welcome Jade!
Instagram @hrecomesthesun
Tickets will be on sale soon so follow us on Instagram @cincinnatialchemyfest for the announcement.
Tickets will sell out so don't wait until the last minute!
Just like last year, here's what we do:
15 eager and crafty bartenders start by making batch cocktails for you to sample and vote on. Yeah that's right! You get to sample drinks and vote on your favorite. This is audience participation at it's finest! And I guarantee you've never had drinks like this before.
In three preliminary rounds of five bartenders, each round is sponsored by three of Kentucky's best distilleries - announcements coming soon!
Two bartenders from each round advanced to the final six, based on audience participation vote! Who are you going to come vote for and get to the finals?
The top 3 won in the money!
Competitor registration will be starting soon so ask your favorite bartender if they're going to compete so you can come and help them make it to the podium!
Our three distillery partners will be announced soon. One is committed but it's a secret for now.
Here's what it's all about!
Cocktail Competition
We bring together the community for a friendly competition and show Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky what incredible talent there is in our area.
You get to vote to get us down to the finalists and our judges lend their expert opinions for the finals.
Tickets for May 21 on sale soon. Watch for the announcement.
Music
We always like to have music at an Alchemy Fest and this year's DJ and band will be announced soon. Music is a form of Alchemy just like creating ferocious cocktails it and we do our best to bring you the best.
The band will play at a break, and at the end and I'm pretty sure you don't want to miss them perform.
In between and all throughout the competition you'll be listening to tunes from a prominent local DJ who'll be locked in soon.
Artists and Crafters
Upstairs we'll have 10 local artists and crafters that we hand-pick for the event. Some you'll be familiar with from past years and some may have seen at Art on Vine or other crafts fairs.
We'll be reminding everyone to go up and see them so please help us support our vendors and show them the Cincy/NKY love!
Food and Drink
You've been to Smoke Justis before, right? Then you know that they're one of the top bars and restaurants in the area. You'll be able to eat their tasty food and have whatever drink your heart desires from their cocktails menu.
And if you've never been, you're in for a treat! Can you imaging a cocktail competition that gives you more? I'll bet not!
Here are some scenes from the
sold out May 15 2022 competition.
© 2023, Cincinnati Alchemy Fest
Email us: jeff@cincinnatialchemyfest.com
Instagram: @cincinnatialchemyfest