Buckhead Bartender Wins Competition

Trip Sandifer, beverage manager at The Painted Pin in Buckhead, recently won a regional bartending competition held in New Orleans.

The competition was called the Bombay Sapphire’s Most Imaginative Bartender southern regional competition held in New Orleans, and Sandifer brought home first place.

Drinks were judged on appearance, aroma, imagination and taste, according to the AJC. Sandifer's cocktail, Still Life on Mars, payed homage to David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust and song “Life on Mars,” took home the prize.

“This competition inspires you to think about the entire experience of the cocktail: the tactile four-dimensional essence of imbibing,” Sandifer said. “To be with the best bartenders in the country, judged by both your peers and mentors, and to be deemed the best in the show of those whom you regard as incredible is an extremely unparalleled experience.”

Sandifer will compete in August in London against nine other North American bartenders for the chance to be crowned North America’s most creative cocktail slinger. The grand prize includes a trip to Tuscany.