When asked to help determine the best bartender, it’s important to volunteer.

Dave Faries here, looking forward to Monday.

Why? you might ask. Well, sometimes those of us at the Weekly are asked to take part in such events as panel discussions, candidate debates and other matters of significance—although when it comes to, say, the Leon Panetta Lecture Series, the features editor tends to be passed over.

I am, however, fit to be a judge for the Links Club’s Battle of the Bartenders in Carmel. This worthy series has been going for a few years, growing from a simple bracket to multiple championships leading to an overall title. Already this year, Brian Martinez from Bernardus Lodge claimed the Carmel Valley crown while the Links Club’s own Matthew Salazar topped the Carmel field…Hmm. No, it was probably on the up and up.

On Monday, June 1, Houston Hansen of The Tap Room pours off against Haley Halkias from The Bench, with the Pebble Beach title on the line. Links Club owner April Montgomery conceived of the series as one in which the audience could participate. Guests have the opportunity to sample the cocktails through each round (and she encourages judges to bring a designated driver).

Over a career writing about food and drinks, I have been asked to judge a number of competitions, from a martini matchup to a more consequential examination of cooking school graduates. Once I judged a chili cookoff between IndyCar race team chefs and ended up chatting with former Indianapolis 500 runner-up Scott Goodyear. When he asked about my work, I told him it was my task to go out six nights a week. His eyes widened and he said, “How do you get a great job like that?”

“You’re a race car driver,” I reminded him.

What do such events really prove? Bragging rights, certainly. A bit of fun on a Monday night, in Links Club’s case. A clever way to bring people to an establishment—that, too. But with rising costs and skyrocketing gas prices, it takes more effort for bars and restaurants to attract people inside. Jamie Wilson of Hatch Southwest Kitchen in Carmel told me recently that things were going steadily after the restaurant opened in February. But the day gas prices shot over $6 a gallon, the dining room was almost empty. 

I’ve always enjoyed judging such events. But in these days of induced inflation, reasons to gather and have some fun seem a bit more necessary.

So Monday—bring it on.