Two unique drinks earned Marmora resident and bartender Marisa Holt the title of “Bar Boss Champion 2024,” $20,000 and her photo on the cover of April’s Food and Beverage magazine.
Bartending since graduating from Ocean City High School in 2014, the now 28-year-old combined master mixology with flair, fun and creativity to win the competition. She used social media to garner the online votes to stay ahead of the pack of 24,000 contestants and eventually end up as one of eight finalists.
“The judges said it was her creative use of ingredients and flair while she was bartending that set her apart,” according to a spokesperson for Colossal, a professional fundraising company and sponsor of the competition.
The competition benefits Folds of Honor, a nonprofit dedicated to providing educational scholarships to the families of military personnel and first responders who have been disabled or died.
The Bar Boss finalists were in Nashville, Tennessee, in February, where they competed using the sponsors’ products. After hours of intense competition, Holt came out on top with two unique drinks: The Smoky Desert, a mango-jalapeño cocktail featuring Hiatus Tequila, and the Sweet Dragon, featuring Owen’s Craft Mixers. The recipes will appear in an April special edition of Food & Beverage Magazine that will feature Holt on the cover and be available online and at certain locations.
“The Sweet Dragon was actually inspired by the movie ‘Shrek,’ which I love,” she said. “It’s fiery and sweet, powerful. The Smoky Desert is paired with desert flowers to give it a sweet, tropical look. Bartending has really become an art now.”
Growing up at the Jersey Shore, Holt has bartended at a number of local places, including The Reeds in Stone Harbor, the Black Cactus in Avalon and other establishments in Sea Isle City and nearby. She grew up in the hospitality and food service business, as her parents own a bagel and deli shop in Marmora.
“I’ve been a part of the hospitality and catering industry all my life,” Holt said. “I’ve served people, been a waitress, watched bartenders make drinks, and I’ve seen them do it with flair and tricks. I took a bartending course for the basics, and then it’s open for creativity. It’s just so much fun.”
After taking mixology classes in New York City, she’s brought her own creativity and flair to her jobs. She’s made five drinks in five minutes, presented drinks on roller skates and with other tricks, and she’s “had fun” becoming better and better.
The competition began on Dec. 9, 2024, when public voting helped reduce 384 initial random groups of 63 competitors in each group to the top 20, then top 15, 10 and 5, through Jan. 9, 2025. Group finals, a wildcard round and the semifinals brought the number down to the eventual eight who competed in the finals.
Friends, family and the public voted online for their favorite bartender. Even though they could only vote once a day, if voters donated to Folds of Honor, they could cast their ballots more than once.
Through the 2024 Bar Boss competition, Colossal raised $580,857 to support Folds of Honor. With more than 52,000 educational scholarships awarded since 2007, the nonprofit empowers people from every walk of life through education and the opportunities it creates. The organization seeks to honor those who protect our freedoms and assure their families that they are not forgotten.
Participants in the Bar Boss competition accessed workshops from spirits educators, cocktail photographers and industry greats to help refine their craft and elevate their service behind the stick.
Jon Taffer, renowned as a hospitality expert and the star of the hit show “Bar Rescue,” was head judge. Other judges included Michael Politz, founder of Food & Beverage magazine; Alli Torres, an award-winning bartender, consultant, TV personality, writer and hospitality professional, and Michael Chandler, a mixed martial arts specialist and partner with Hiatus Tequila.
Sponsors were Hiatus Tequila, a company that set out to make tequila traditionally through a family-owned distillery in Mexico, and Owen’s Craft Mixers, nonalcoholic drink mixers made with less sugar and a variety of flavors.
Holt said she is “still in limbo” about new job opportunities that have come up as a result of winning the show, but “has always wanted a mobile bartending business,” so she expects that she will start one up as a result of winning the $20,000.
“I’m looking at this as becoming my career,” she said about the bartending business. “I’m also considering being a sales rep for one of the sponsors, so there are some new opportunities out there for me. It’s a great chance to do something I enjoy and have fun at.”
Contact the reporter, Karen Knight, at kknight@cmcherald.com.
