Pre Mix-Off Mai Tai Winners Announced with help from judge Sammy Hagar

By Chilled Magazine

Rocker Sammy Hagar helped judge a Pre Mix-Off Mai Tai competition at the Royal Lahaina Resort on Kaanapali Beach to select three entrants for the upcoming Fourth Annual Don the Beachcomber Mai Tai Festival. Several hundred onlookers and fans saw Christopher Nevins of the Four Seasons Maui take the top spot, with runners up Blair Anderson from Mala Ocean Tavern, and James Shoemaker from Moana Café, Paia.

All three will venture to the Royal Lahaina’s sister property the Royal Kona Resort on Hawaii’s Big Island August 18, 2012 for the main event that will pit them against up to 30 mixologists from around the world at the Fourth Annual Don the Beachcomber Mai Tai Festival. Any one of the combatants could win the $10,000 grand prize and prestigious title as maker of the “World’s Best Mai Tai.”

Maui’s pre mix-off featured the skills of 12 working bartenders from Maui, who incorporated the newly-released Sammy’s Beach Bar Rum in their Mai Tai recipes. Nevins’ winning recipe for his “Kipahulu lulu” added orange curaçao, orgeat, Coruba Jamaican rum, and a few, secret ingredients he is saving to introduce at the finals on the Big Island.

Nevins, who grew up in Greensboro, NC, moved to Lake Tahoe in 2000, met a girl and took off for Maui in 2005, and has been making Mai Tai’s ever since. He says, “I love representing the Four Seasons! In the middle of the Pacific, news travels fast and each of our 800-plus employees has already congratulated me on this great win. I’m heading to Big Island along with Blair Anderson and James Shoemaker to bring home the title! Special thanks to Thomas Steinhauer for creating a truly inspirational work environment at the Four Seasons.”

All three Maui winners will be staying at the Royal Kona Resort, courtesy of Hawaiian Hotels & Resorts, and will be entered into the Fourth Annual Don the Beachcomber Mai Tai Mix-Off. The all-day Mai Tai Festival on the Big Island August 18 features a pool party with entertainment by Island favorite Henry Kapono, the signature “$10,000 World’s Best Mai Tai Mix-Off,” “Battle of the BBQ” cook-off with some of Hawaii’s best chefs, and Big Island Mai Tai Marketplace.

For more info, see the Fourth Annual Don the Beachcomber Mai Tai Festival event listing on chilledmagazine.com. Click here.

For Royal Kona Resort Mai Tai Festival event tickets, call 808-329-3111. Further information can be obtained online at HawaiiHotels.com.

For more information and hotel stay reservations, call toll-free 800-22-ALOHA (222-5642) or visit online at RoyalKona.com.

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