On Monday, Inked and Tuaca held the national finals of the Tuaca Drinks & ink competition in New York City. The event was the culmination of a series of competitions held across the country to find the boldest and best bartenders. Evan Harkins of Atlanta beat out 8 other bartenders to win his first national bartender competition and win a Tuaca photo spread in Inked Magazine.

The National Finals were judged by a star-studded panel, including:
• Tattoo artist & TV personality Corey Miller of Six Feet Under Tattoo Parlor
• Cocktail authoritarian Gary Regan of Ardent Spirits
• Todd Weinberger, Creative Director at Inked Magazine
• Jason Littrell of New York Chapter of the USBG.

Local competitions took place from February to March in Atlanta, Baltimore, Breckenridge, Columbia (SC), Denver, East Lansing, Jacksonville, Phoenix and Seattle.


Hawkins won his first national bartender competition with his Pura Vida bold shot recipe and a tattoo featuring a sugar skull with the words "Pura Vida" under it. Pura Vida means pure life in Spanish and the skull is a candy given out on the "day of dead" ceremony in Mexico. For Hawkins, it means to celebrate your life and live the best you can before the end comes.

Check out his winning recipe below:

Pura Vida

1.5 oz of Tuaca
.5 oz Lemon Juice
.25 oz of agave nectar
3 dashes of orange flower water
egg white
.5 oz of cream (half/half)
Shake and strain top with homemade lemon vanilla soda vanilla bean straw to drink out of and a sugar skull candy garnish