Martini Groove

Dos Lunas Tequila recently ran a contest for some home made videos that promote their product. The videos were voted and commented upon on their website and the winner got $5000, with runners-up getting various prizes. The winning video is below, you can see the rest of them here .

Congrats to Brianna who will be sipping Zins by the lake on a gorgeously warm day in Lodi. Her story was heartfelt and was for a good cause. It didn't have as much nudity as I was hoping for but you can't win 'em all. Have fun at Zinfest Brianna! Also, thanks to the awesome Anna at Lodi Winegrape Commission for the tickets and taking care of the ever-loyal Martini Groove. Lodi Zinfest

The Lodi Zinfest is coming!   Lodi Zinfest is one of the most fun wine events in existence.  It doesn't just focus on great quality wines but it also focuses on approachable events and having a lot of fun.  This one is for the wine lovers, not the wine writers who want to tell the wine lovers that they shouldn't be there and that it's only for ridiculously, ridiculously good looking people. The event is May 16-18 and I have two general admission tickets that I want to give to you.   Requirements: All you have to do is e-mail a story about who you're going to take and why THE PERSON YOU'RE GOING TO TAKE DESERVES TO GO.  I don't care why you want them, I want to see some selfless love going here.   E-mail entries to rick@martinigroove.com and put the subject "Zinfest!"  Deadline is Tuesday, May 13.  I will then FedEx the tickets ot the winning story.   Good luck!

Chow, the food, drink, fun site, is sponsoring a Cocktail Square Off Competition in conjunction with Imbibe Magazine and Square One Organic Vodka. The competition has been ongoing and they've narrowed it down to an amateur and a pro mixologist based on the receipes they've received. They recently announced the semifinalists and will pull from that group to get the best from each category. The finalists will be flown to San Francisco and compete on September 25 at the SF Ferry Plaza building. They'll make their submitted rink as well as a drink based on something they get that day from the Farmer's Market in the building. They'll then go on and make a 3rd drink based on a "mystery ingredient." I hope it's Bacon. Follow the results or buy tickets now. Chow's Cocktail Square Off

Year two of "America's Hottest Bartenders" is currently going on over at AOL's Cityguide. You can vote for your favorite in specific cities including: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, D.C., Vegas, L.A., Miami, San Francisco, and New York. Might I suggest Andrea? A lovely bartender from SF who works at the ultra-cool Ambassador and actually pronounces "Glenmorangie" correctly, plus she makes a killer gimlet and has a great customer-centric attitude even when she's slammed at the bar. Winners from each city go on to the national finals. America's Hottest Bartenders: Season 2

I admit to absolutely adoring bar bands. They play mostly other people's songs that I love and they do it louder and in a place that I don't have to pay $200 to get in to. Boru Vodka has announced their "Defend the bar band" contest which will give US$10,000 to a lucky bar band and a contract from Roadrunner records. Voting will be done online and even the voters can get a piece of the action by winning US$5,000, a Boru branded jukebox, or even daily music downloads. The contest will extend to Maxim Online, Blender, and Fark.com as well, so voting could get pretty interesting. Boru Vodka

Make a video to this remix of "Day-O" for Malibu Banana Rum and you could win a cool US$25,000 or a lush tropical banana grove. So yeah, take the money. The contest runs through the end of June, click on the video below to get all the details.

Some of the lady readers of this blog are probably Daily Candy subscribers, the daily e-mail newsletter that talks about what's hot in fashion, beauty, and other things that girls seem to care a lot about. It's actually through one of our female readers that subscribes to Daily Candy that I found my favorite bar, Bourbon and Branch. Well men, no need for vagina envy, Thrillist has you covered with a daily newsletter about stuff YOU care about, like food, drinks, gadgets, and grooming. Well, I've met some of you, grooming may not be that high up on the list. And unlike the mail sitting in your inbox which is mostly about making money on real estate foreclosures or someone trying to get your password to your favorite porn sites, this is an e-mail you may actually read. They even have a nice incentive for you to sign-up. Sign-up right now and you'll be added in to their contest to win a few bottles of booze to help stock your bar in their weekly "Win-A-Bar" s...

If you can think of a yummy drink that uses any of Bailey's flavors, then you may very well be on your way to drinking stardom. The Bailey's Drinkable Dessert Recipe Contest let's you submit that drink you've been making for friends on the side and gives you a chance to have it published in Gourmet magazine. If you're a pro bartender, you also get to be part of local promotional efforts, though they don't say exactly what. Amateur's seem to get a nice prize as they fly you out to New York City and put you in a class with Gourmet magazine's Chef, Jennifer Day. You have until December 15, so get moving! Bailey's Drinkable Dessert Contest