Rumple Rumble Season 22
Updated: Dec 29, 2022
Another Not Too Sweet Production, Rumple Rumble kicked off on Monday, December 5th 2022 at The Studio at Warehouse Live in Houston. Eleven bar teams entered for the chance to be crowned the Rumple Champs.
During the inaugural run of the Not Too Sweet Presents Rumple Rumble Sponsored by Diageo Hospitality teams converged in The Studio Room at Warehouse Live for a night of cocktails and festivities. Not Too Sweet brought in several vendors for the night:
- Fat Cat Creamery with their Bailey’s Frozen Coffee Ice Cream
- APDAT Print Company with our branded “Support Your Local Bartender” Tees
- Shannon LaVigne from Houston Heights Tattoo and Piercing with her Flash Tattoos
- Chef Adrianne Maldonado and Roxanna Lopez from Space Cowboy with the Tacos and Sliders
- Flight Concerts with the Custom Event Projection
- Houston United States Bartenders Guild who manned the “Merch” table
Bar Teams where selected from entries received and the Top 11 were selected to compete. There was a great turnout in entries and the selection was made via random drawing. The team’s and their members were allowed to be from separate bars located in the Houston Area. Once teams were selected, Not Too Sweet hosted a pre event call to review the competition deck and then an educational session with the Diageo Hospitality Partnership team. This season’s team were:
- “Moist Boys” – Jahi Adams and partner from Komodo Pub
- “Shooting from the Hip” – Robert Trimmer and Kristen Farmer from Neil’s Bahr
- “Two Guys with Tins” – Jubin Shah and Fredy Nunez from Clarkwood
- “We Just Met” – Caden Gracia and Philip Breaux from Bayou Heights Bier Garden and Flora Restaurant
- “North Pole Hustlas” – Ed Warner II and Justin McClendon from Hilton Medical Center and Ready Room
- “Rumpled, Not Stirred” – Jamal Williams and Zachary Newman from Bludorn Restaurant
- “Jean Jacket” – Adam Scott and Lacy Williams from Moon Rabbit Restaurant and Sassafras
- “Minze Condition” – Lynzie Holland and Daniel A. Rocha from Johnny’s Gold Brick
- “Steam Punkadelic” – Crisia Arujo and Ryan Perry from Navy Blue and Julep
- “The Minze Dalorians” – Rise Rooftop
- “Warehouse Live” – Warehouse Live
Teams arrived at the venue before the event to find out what their challenge would be for the competition. The challenge for this season was “Operation Bow Tie – Are you ready to Rumple?” Utilizing each team’s “on the fly” skills, they were given 45 minutes in the green room to create a signature serve and then competed head-to-head in groups of two teams for this challenge producing one cocktail for each judge on the judging panel. Not Too Sweet provided a full green room for the group with sponsored products, produce, syrups, bitters, tinctures, and production equipment. All teams were shown the green room at the same time and given a workspace to create their serves. Teams were additionally allowed to bring in two house made non-spirited ingredients for their round to utilize in their serves, assigned a working sponsored brand base spirit, and minimum of .25 oz Rumple Minze. From there it was go time for the event!
Excitingly our judges were ready to taste all the creations with the delicious minty goodness of Rumple Minze. Our judging panel consisted of several local industry vets in Houston and the Austin market. They were:
- Jesus Verde from Here Nor There/In Plain Sight Austin
- Kristen Nguyen from Bad News Bar Houston
- Chris Morris from Aya Sushi Houston
- Lindsay Rae from Two Headed Dog Houston
In addition to the judging panel, our production crew was also on site from the day. Our collective members who assisted for this event were: Zach Churbock, Tiffany Kirk, Esteban Reyes, Luis Vasquez, Jessica Diaz, Trystan Foret, and Thomas Marsella. Nicholas Denver and Brianna Amparan from Diageo Hospitality Partnership were also on deck to assist with any questions for the competitors.
With that the stage was set and the team were ready to battle it out! Cocktails were made and tasted. It was a surprising mix of styles as the bartenders flexed their creative muscles with their serves. Each team had 5 minutes to setup their stations and 7 minutes to create their serves but there was a twist! Teams was tied together with ribbon and could only use one arm each. Judges tasted, scores were tallied, and the Top 2 were selected.
Our top two teams who proved their versatility using Rumple Minze were:
- “Two Guys with Tins” – Jubin Shah and Fredy Nunez from Clarkwood
- “Rumpled, Not Stirred” – Jamal Williams and Zachary Newman from Bludorn Restaurant
They moved onto the last challenge which was a Speed Round Session. Each team had to make a Margarita with Don Julio, Tom Collins with Tanqueray, Daiquiri with Captain Morgan, and Moscow Mule with Ketel One. We threw in a twist though, one team member had to be blindfolded and the other could only provide direction plus hand bottles to their partner. Each judge was assigned a cocktail and scores were again tallied. Time was of essence, but taste was weighted higher in their overall total. After a brief deliberation, the winners were announced. The team that took home the Golden Rumple Ski and title of “Rumple Champs” for Season 22 were “Two Guys with Tins” – Jubin Shah and Fredy Nunez from Clarkwood.
Great job to all the competitors in this season’s competition! We will see you in 2023 for Season 23.
