{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Episode 264 - World Class Aspirations","description":"In this inspiring conversation with bartender Mike Vander Horn, some of the topics we discuss include: Mike\u2019s personal journey, from his humble origins as a \u201crum and diet\u201d drinker, to the cocktail competitions that would ultimately lend him the authority to step behind the bar as the head bartender at the newly opened Queen Jayne\u2019s Lounge & Royal Drinkery in Somers Point, NJ. The different types of cocktail competitions that exist in today\u2019s world, ranging from the purely digital, to the lavish, \u201cfly-you-into-a-big-city-to-compete\u201d affairs put on by the world\u2019s largest brands. Then we walk through his journey at this year\u2019s Diageo World Class US event, where he competed against 29 of the best bartenders in the country without ever having bartended professionally. Of course, that leads logically to his latest project over at Queen Jayne\u2019s Lounge, which requires a thorough discourse on the drink culture in South Jersey, which is one of my favorite places, but it\u2019s a little difficult to understand unless you\u2019ve spent a good deal of time there. Along the way, we cover the best resources for learning about and entering cocktail competitions, the daunting widowmaker of an event called \u201cthe speed round,\u201d how to pronounce Snoop Dogg\u2019s Gin, and much, much more. This episode is brought to you by Near Country Provisions. If you live in the Mid-Atlantic and want to enjoy ethically raised (and delicious) meat from local farmers delivered to your door every month, then you need Near Country in your life. Head over to NearCountry.com and enter the code BARCART when you sign up for your subscription to receive 2 free pounds of bacon or ground beef in your first delivery. ","author_name":"The Modern Bar Cart Podcast","author_url":"https:\/\/www.modernbarcart.com","html":"