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Dallas’ bar industry unites to raise $70,000 to help victims of area’s Oct. 20 tornadoes

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Cocktails for a cause.

Updated Nov. 6: Revised with amount raised at the event and additional sponsors.

Dallas’ hospitality industry rallied to raise $70,000 to help those affected by the tornadoes of Oct. 20, whose $2 billion in insured damages alone made it the priciest weather event in North Texas history.

On Sunday, Oct. 27, bartenders throughout the area – including some local pioneers rarely spotted behind the bar anymore – gathered at The Standard Pour in Uptown for a benefit event dubbed the “NTX Tornado Relief Bar-Raiser.”

The event was organized by former bartender Stephen Halpin, now manager of trade education for Patrón Tequila, whose home was directly affected by the storm. The tornadoes, wielding winds of up to 140 mph, left a 16-mile trail of damage from northwest Dallas to Richardson.

“Luckily, I have insurance,” Halpin wrote on Facebook, “and it’s just stuff. But thousands weren’t so fortunate, and I knew that I had to do something to help.”

He called together a few others, including Naomi Ayala, president of the U.S. Bartenders Guild’s Dallas chapter and Susie Oszustowicz of SusieDrinks, to organize Sunday’s “Bar-Raiser.” The name is a play on American barn-raisings of the 1700 and 1800s, in which communities constructed (or reconstructed) barns for a resident in need of help.

Along with Halpin, those shaking up drinks at the event included brand ambassadors Charlie Moore of Woodford Reserve and Jesse Powell of Greenhouse Gin, as well as Gabe Sanchez, owner of Black Swan Saloon. Standard Pour owner Eddie “Lucky” Campbell even made an appearance behind the bar in a giant T-Rex costume.

In short, there was no shortage of entertainment: Specialty cocktails were offered for $10 apiece, and Patrón matched every dollar raised at the event. Other event sponsors included National Republic Distributing, Aberfeldy Whisky, Beam Suntory, Bushmills Whiskey, Elijah Craig Bourbon, Grey Goose Vodka, Hendrick’s Gin, Jack Daniels Whiskey, Noble Oak Bourbon, Plantation Rum, Remy Cointreau, St. Germain and Tito’s Vodka and Teeling Whiskey.

Even if you didn’t make it to the event, you can still support the effort at the campaign’s GoFundMe page: https://www.gofundme.com/f/ntx-tornado-relief-barraiser

Alternately, checks can be sent to the Altrusa International of Downtown Dallas Foundation, P.O. Box 600218, Dallas, TX 75360.

Altrusa will oversee the funds’ distribution to those in need.

NTX Tornado Relief Bar-Raiser, 6 to 9 p.m. Oct. 27 at The Standard Pour, 2900 McKinney Ave., Dallas.

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Mustache seesaws and vodka ice cream: Bar squads vie for Ultimate Cocktail crown at 8th annual benefit event

Mustache seesaws. Vodka ice cream. A magical wall through which seemingly disembodied hands offer cocktails for the taking. It might sound like something out of an Alice in Wonderland fantasyland, but that’s what you’ll find on the evening of Sunday, Oct. 13, at Deep Ellum’s Harlowe MXM and its adjoining sister bar, Trick Pony.

The event is the 8thannual Ultimate Cocktail Experience, which in its previous seven years has raised nearly $1 million total for Dallas-based Trigger’s Toys, a non-profit organization aiding hospitalized kids and their families.

Ultimate Cocktail Experience 2018
2018’s Ultimate Cocktail Experience took place at The Bomb Factory. Image from video footage produced for the event.

“It’s one of those days when everybody comes together,” said Naomi Ayala, president of the U.S Bartenders Guild’s Dallas chapter, at a recent group workshop. “It’s for the kids.”

Originally known as the Fantasy Bar Draft and then Cocktails for a Cause, the Ultimate Cocktail Event has snowballed since its initial runs at The Standard Pour in Uptown and Henry’s Majestic in Knox-Henderson, held more recently at massive venues like the Bomb Factory and Klyde Warren Park. This year’s move to Harlowe/Trick Pony takes the party back to its roots while maintaining its spirit and spectacle.

“We’re toning it back down,” says Brian McCullough, among the event’s original organizers. “Everyone will feel the whole thing a little more.”

Ultimate Cocktail Experience
The Ultimate Cocktail Experience, now in its 8th year, has raised nearly $1 million for Trigger’s Toys.

The Ultimate Cocktail Event runs from 6 to 11 p.m. and capitalizes on the Harlowe/Trick Pony complex’s two-story design – a perfect setting for the gala’s traditional five-way battle of pop-up bars staffed by more than a hundred bar industry pros from DFW and beyond.

Every year, five teams of bartenders conceive an imaginary bar and spend time developing the drinks, concept and clever marketing campaigns in pursuit of the coveted people’s choice prize. This year’s event is an all-star reunion, bringing together each of the last five year’s winners for a bid at the ultimate crown.

“We’re even bringing back Ampersand and Ampersand,” says Stephen Halpin, Dallas-based manager of trade education for Patron Tequila, referring to the cheeky name of 2014’s champ.

But as Ayala said, it’s all about the kids. It was Bryan Townsend, vice president of global sales for spirits producer The 86 Co., who launched Trigger’s Toys 11 years ago after witnessing the positive effect that his dog, Trigger, had on an antisocial child at a local care facility.

This year’s move to Harlowe MXM/Trick Pony takes the annual benefit back to its bar roots. Image from video footage produced for the event.

Now, in addition to providing financial support for kids and their families facing long-term hospital care, Trigger’s Toys every year buys holiday-season gifts for them and their families and funds therapeutic care for kids with autism, cerebral palsy and other conditions through an organization called Bryan’s House.

“It has just evolved and evolved,” Townsend says.

Joining “& and &,” helmed by the Statler Hotel’s Kyle Hilla, will be 2018 champ Elevate, captained by Megan McClinton and Jason Pollard of The Usual in Fort Worth; 2017 champ Cuba, led by Nicholas Grammer of The Mitchell; 2016 winner American Carnival, headed by Andrew Stofko of Te Deseo; and 2015 champ Zoom Zoom, led by Zach Smigiel of Billy Can Can.

Tickets are $65 and are available here.

Harlowe MXM, 2823 Main Street, Dallas

NOTE: A previous version of this post stated that Ravinder Singh of Sloane’s Corner would be leading team Cuba; Nicholas Grammer has since stepped in to take his place.