As bars and restaurants across the country pivot to takeout- and delivery-only concepts, service industry staff still find themselves out of work or under-employed. So, to help raise much-needed funds for bar and restaurant professionals, today Ghost Tequila launched the Ghost Cocktail Challenge, an effort that’s encouraging bartenders to compete for cash and prizes, all while raising money for the industry as a whole.
More than 100 bartenders from cities across the U.S. were invited to create a spicy Ghost Tequila cocktail using ingredients they have at home, and to then share a video of themselves preparing and explaining the drink. The videos and recipes are posted at GhostTequila.com/Challenge, where people can log on to vote for their favorites in a bracket-style tournament.
For every vote cast, Ghost will contribute $1 to the Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund, and invite donations to the organization through their GoFundMe page (Ghost will match contributions up to $10,000). Also, every bartender who creates a Ghost cocktail as part of the competition will receive cash and prizes at each round of the tournament, totaling more than $2,000 for the eventual winner.
“Ghost Tequila is growing because of the enormous support of bartenders and the hospitality industry,” says Chris Moran, Ghost Tequila’s CEO and co-founder, and a former bartender himself. “As a small company, we don’t have the millions of dollars that others are donating, but it was still very important to us to do our part to support this community and our friends in need.”
Bartenders are a strong community rooted in hospitality. Knowing that so many bartenders are stuck at home looking for ways to put their skills and talent to work is what led to this idea.
“The Ghost Cocktail Challenge is a way to do some good, and have fun at the same time,” says Moran.
