Calling all devotees of local bars, spirits and great cocktails (hopefully that equals everyone reading this)! There are three awesome upcoming spirited events in the next week that you won’t want to miss. Check out the details below.

See Rob Roy’s Jesse Cyr Compete in the Bols Around The World National Finals: In its ninth year, Bols Around The World celebrates the best bartenders from near and far, while also educating and spreading the word about lesser-known classic spirit Genever, the juniper-flavored tipple from Holland which is the precursor to gin. This bartender competition is one of the largest internationally and Rob Roy bar manager Jesse Cyr has made it all the way to the national finals, which consist of an event at each of the three finalist’s bars. Cyr’s event takes place Tuesday evening, March 14th, at the Rob Roy, and it’s open to the public! That night, Cyr will be making a special menu of cocktails (which I’ll bet will include the drink that got him to the national finals, the Stay the Course, with Bols Barrel Aged Genever, orange clove syrup, Angostura bitters and Cardamom bitters), doing Genever education and being his charming self, all in front of folks like you and the global judges. As he’s representing not only himself and the bar, but Seattle’s bar-awesome-ness, too, get out there, drink it up and cheer him on. 

Sip at the South Sound Spirits Gathering: For the second year in a row, March is a great time to sample a bunch of delicious local distillery products in Tumwater, thanks to the South Sound Spirits Gathering, hosted by the Washington Distillers Guild. Happening on March 11th, from 4 to 9 p.m., the gathering is at the Olympic Flight Museum. You can see the museum’s collection of antique planes and memorabilia as well as learning about local spirits and liqueurs, distilling and more from 20 distilleries, including Black Rock Spirits, Copperworks Distilling Co., Heritage Distilling Company, Salish Sea Organic Liqueurs, Sidetrack Distillery, Skip Rock Distillers and others. Not only will you be able to taste the liquid wares and chat with owners, but you can also purchase bottles on site. Plus, if you want to get even more knowledge about distilleries, there’s a South Sound Distillery Tour on Friday, March 10th, from noon until 6 p.m. Space is very tight, so pick up your tickets soon.

Head to Drinking School in Edmonds: 190 Sunset restaurant and bar in Edmonds is kicking off a new series of Drinking School classes on March 11th, from 3 to 5 p.m. Each class features cocktails to sip, naturally, but also education from bartender Niles Peacock, who will talk about classic cocktails with history and fun facts and more thrown in, like a special guest distiller to talk about their products and the distilling process. For this class, that distiller is gin-errific Scratch (who we recently profiled), whose distillery is right next door. And there will be snacks from Executive Chef Clive Gomez. If that wasn’t enough to get you back in school, I’ve been told that “students will receive their diploma of drinking.” Fun stuff! There’s limited space, so call today to enroll: 425.329.3669.