Chris Conatser won the Paris of the Plains Bartending Competition

• Twitter: PopfestKC
• Conatser shouldn’t look so surprised. His drinks are on point.

Every year he has competed, he has ended up on the podium. And at the end of the Paris of the Plains Bartending Competition last night at the Uptown Theater, there was no finer cocktailian in the land than Chris Conatser.

The bartender at the Justus Drugstore bested a field of 11 other mixologists, thanks to his take on a Manhattan. The Rieger’s Jenn Tosatto was second, and Extra Virgin’s Alberto Santoro (who Fat City visited last week) took home third place. It was a Kansas City sweep with Matt Seiter of Sanctuaria in St. Louis taking home the fan favorite award. If you want to go to tonight’s closing gala from 6 to 9 p.m. at the American Restaurant, there are still tickets ($100) available.