Moving gingerly toward the finish line

Showing off their ginger liqueur prowess at the semifinal round of the second annual Domaine de Canton Bartender of the Year Competition will be Andrew Pollard of Noir Bar, Max Solano of Table 10, Darren West of the Bellagio, Darby Kelly of the Wynn (currently representing Las Vegas on LXTV’s On the Rocks), Alex Velez of Sushi Avenue/Crescent School of Bartending, Sean Mayhew of Nora’s Cuisine, Mariena Mercer of Agave and Antonio Trillo, also of Nora’s Cuisine.

Of the eight Las Vegas semifinalists, the lone winner will be sent to French St. Martin to compete in the February 2010 finals, where the winner will be crowned 2009 Domaine de Canton Bartender of the Year and walk away with a cash prize of $10,000. Among this year’s judges are Tobin Ellis of BarMagic of Las Vegas and the Weekly’s own Xania Woodman.

But we’re not just bragging: The cocktail-loving public is invited to this, the penultimate showdown, November 16 from 4-6 p.m. at the spankin’ new Wirtz Beverage Alchemy Room (1849 W. Cheyenne Ave.). Food and cocktails will be served, a DJ will provide the soundtrack, and creativity will be richly awarded.

Mix on, brave soldiers, mix on.

On the Rocks, straight up and straight to online

Bringing you all the drama, tension and triumph found in the many weeks of a traditional reality-TV show distilled into just three short episodes is LXTV’s bartending battle On the Rocks, airing right after Saturday Night Live November 7, 14 and 21. But seeing as the local NBC affiliate opted not to carry the show, we feel obligated to encourage you not to miss all the hot bartender-on-bartender action at lxtv.com/ontherocks. Or the looks on the judges’ faces when they’re sipping on something they hate …