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The results of Round 2 in GLI’s Bartender Battle Long Island 2024 have been certified. And four bartenders are still standing. The winners are listed below, along with some notables. But first, a glance back at last week’s Elite Eight bracket:
The winners
NASSAU
- Kevin Mundy of Mr Beery’s defeated Sam Fisher of Bar Grazie with 61% of the vote.
- Ernie Liebow of George Martin defeated Jeff St. Clair of Elsie Lane with 73%.
SUFFOLK
- Nicolle Leitke of Tres Palms defeated Jake Byrne of Joelle Barroom with 71% of the vote.
- Waylon Laird of Tommy’s Place defeated Jonathan Henderson of WhiskeyNeat with 68%.
Here were Round 2’s Top 5 vote-getters:
- Nicolle Leitke: 2,301
- Waylon Laird: 1,271
- Ernie Liebow: 1,088
Notables
The across-the-bracket blowouts this week absolutely shocked us, because had these exact matchups occurred in Round 1, each of the eight contests would have been decided within 1 to 3 percentage points.
All four winners, Kevin, Ernie, Nicolle and Waylon each out-performed their Round 1 vote tallies by wide margins.
This is the second week that Nicolle from Tres Palms in Babylon was was the top-vote getter. Not only that, she more than doubled her round-to-round vote tallies. She’s the clear favorite going into Round 3.
What’s next?
Voting for in the Bartender Battle’s Final Four will run from noon on Wednesday, March 27, until noon on Sunday, March 31, which also happens to be Easter.
It will be Kevin Vs. Ernie and Nicolle Vs. Waylon. Check back with Greater Long Island and follow @greaterlongisland on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok to follow along. We’re also @Greater_LI on X.
Polling will happen online-only until the Final Two bartenders compete in a live cocktail-off this April at Lily’s in Babylon. Those bartenders will be asked to create a Manhattan, margarita and an espresso vodka martini for judges who will determine who hoists the Golden Shaker for 2024.
Congrats to all the Round 2 winners! And thanks for voting.
