Barrymore "Bud" Shaw, the bar manager of The Montauk in Old Town Scottsdale, has been crowned the winner of this year’s Coramino Cup.
The contest, which features Gran Coramino tequila, was held at Resorts World in Las Vegas on Labor Day Weekend. 950 bartenders participated from all over the nation. After advancing to one of only six finalist positions, Shaw succeeded in wowing the judges with his accuracy, speed and charisma to secure first place.
Gran Coramino is the brainchild of actor and comedian Kevin Hart and multi-generation tequila maker Juan Domingo Beckmann. It has won an impressive list of awards since its inception including Platinum Winner of the 2023 Ascot Awards by the American Spirits Council of Tasters, and Platinum for Best of Glass, as well as Concumer’s Choice for the 2023 Sip Awards.
Shaw has been acquiring and refining his bartending skills for about 16 years, culminating this win for the craftsman.
“I started at Buffalo Wild Wings, actually," Shaw says, explaining that he got into craft mixology about nine years ago during a stint at Ocotillo where he rose to head bartender. "I just fell in love with creating and pairing everything when it comes to food.”
All of that experience led Shaw not only to participate in, but to keep advancing in the competition. Despite his knowledge and acumen, Shaw says he was surprised at how well he performed relative to the hundreds of competitors.
“I was very surprised, actually,” he said about making it to the finals. “They flew out to each location for everybody, and basically put us through different tests."
Practicing to compete for the event was a challenge in and of itself, Shaw says.
“They look for accuracy, speed, charisma and ultimately the quality of your drink,” he says.
With regard to speed, “you either have it or you don’t,” Shaw says. Working at such a popular, high volume restaurant as The Montauk helped him prepare for this aspect of the competition.
Creativity was also essential to Shaw's success. His favorite drink of the competition, and one that ultimately helped him win, was a “patio puncher” of centrifuged berries into Liquor 43, fresh lemon juice, Grand Coramino Reposado and simple syrup, shaken and poured over a large ice cube.
All drinks for the competition were made using a variant of Gran Coramino, either Crystalino, Reposado or the Anejo. Knowing the nuances of each variety of tequila was essential to wow the judges with each creation. Winning the Coramino Cup was a momentous occasion for Shaw.
“Honestly, it means the world to me. I kind of manifested it, I had a lot of dreams about it," he says. "When I got selected to to be top six and fly out… I felt like it was my year."
Shaw participated in the competition last year, but didn't make it to the end.
Shaw has no shortage of plans for the future, including more competitions such as the legendary Phoenix-based Last Slinger Standing.
"I feel like people judging you locally, I feel like is harder than on a national stage," he says. "Cause no one knows you nationally. Locally, people know you, so I feel like it’s a little more pressure.”
In addition to a $10,000 cash prize, Shaw will have multiple opportunities over the coming year as a featured bartender at Gran Coramino events. He will be working with Kevin Hart, who he met during the competition.
“He’s super cool. He’s exactly like his movies,” says Shaw, “I’m looking forward to working with him. It’s gonna be a fun year.”
