Milwaukee, WI
Botanical Battle Royale
Embark on a Cocktail Adventure at the Second Annual Botanical Battle Royale!
Sunday, June 1st – 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Join us at Milwaukee’s charming Ivy House for a spectacular day of craft cocktails, gourmet bites, and vibrant competition. Hosted by Bittercube Bitters and Heirloom Liqueurs, in collaboration with the Two Birds Group, this event promises an unmatched showcase of Wisconsin’s finest bartenders.
Tantalize Your Taste Buds: A Seasonal Sensation
Dive into a sensory journey at each booth as top bartenders from around Wisconsin compete, each bringing their unique style to the forefront with concoctions that highlight the unique botanicals in Bittercube and Heirloom, paired with a selection of exceptional spirits.
Be Part of the Action
Your palate, your vote! Engage directly in the competition by voting for your favorite cocktail, and collect exquisite recipe cards photographed professionally, capturing the essence of each creation.
A Feast for the Senses
Experience the thrill as all bartenders present their signature cocktails on stage, each vying for the judges’ favor. Complement your tastings with delectable offerings from premier local food trucks, and don’t miss out on sampling the spirits, liqueurs, and bitters that inspired their creations.
An Art Exhibit to Inspire
Join us for a special exhibition featuring the talented artist and Heirloom collaborator, Josh Stover. As a guest judge at this year’s event, Josh will premiere the five unique posters he designed for each of the Heirloom liqueurs. Attendees will not only get a chance to view these captivating pieces but also purchase signed copies. In addition, Josh will showcase a variety of other artworks, adding an artistic flair to the cocktail experience.
An Unforgettable Experience Awaits
Whether you’re a cocktail enthusiast, a food lover, or simply in search of a remarkable day out, the Botanical Battle Royale is set to dazzle. Celebrate the artistry of cocktails, the beauty of botanicals, inspiration art, and the spirit of community at this one-of-a-kind event.
Secure your spot now for a day where botanical magic comes to life at the grand Botanical Battle Royale!
Participant List
- Agency – Milwaukee
- Bavette La Boucherie – Milwaukee
- Bryant’s Cocktail Lounge – Milwaukee
- Explorium Brewing – Wauwatosa
- Hill Valley Dairy – Milwaukee
- Lost Whale – Milwaukee
- Lowlands Group – Milwaukee
- Public Parking – Madison
- Pufferfish – Milwaukee
- Screaming Tuna – Milwaukee
- Station No. 6 – West Allis
- Wiscocktail – Baraboo
Judges
Robert Simonson
Robert writes about cocktails, spirits, bars, and bartenders for the New York Times. He has authored a number of award-winning cocktail books and has been nominated for multiple James Beard Awards. His work has also been featured in Vinepair, Punch, Imbibe, Saveur, Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, New York magazine, and Lucky Peach.
Toby Maloney
Toby was Sasha Petraske’s first hire at the legendary Milk & Honey in 1999. After years behind the stick at Milk & Honey and other New York cocktail emporiums, Toby opened The Violet Hour in Chicago, and is Bittercube founder Ira Koplowitz’s first mentor in the industry. Toby has won multiple James Beard awards for his cocktail programs, and continues to innovate in the industry. He recently authored his first cocktail book, The Bartender’s Manifesto.
Immortal Girlfriend
Immortal Girlfriend is an alternative electronic retrofuture band and production duo made up of brothers Kevin and William Bush. Their music, a captivating mix of synthesizers and cinematic influences, defines a genre all its own. As accomplished composers and producers, their work has graced some of the most popular TV shows and video games around the globe. As self-proclaimed foodies and cocktail aficionados, they bring a unique skill set and aesthetic to the judging table.
Mikel McGee
Mikel is a chai tea connoisseur and the proud owner of 414loral, a renowned Milwaukee florist specializing in seasonal floral designs. She is inspired by interesting color palettes, seasonal-locally sourced materials and the community connections that are created through floral design. She was awarded a 40 under 40 award by the Business Journal and has been featured in various publications in Milwaukee. Her love of all things botanical brings an interesting dynamic to the judging table.
Josh Stover
Josh is an artist and sign painter based in Richmond, VA. His work depicts part imagined – part seen environments and still life scenes. In his paintings and drawings, curvy rounded shapes and repetition are a nod to art deco design and the shapes of vintage signs. Josh has exhibited art in Portland, San Francisco, Tokyo, and many other cities. Commissioned by Heirloom Liqueurs in 2024, Josh created posters for each of the five Heirloom liqueurs, utilizing the stories, flavors, and botanicals from each product to develop the artwork.
Spirit Sponsors
- Great Lakes Distillery
- Great Northern Distillery
- Hatch Distilling Co.
- J. Henry & Sons Bourbon
- Knowlton House Distillery
- Ten to One Rum
- Rooster Rojo Tequila
- Wollersheim Distillery
West Allis Fire demonstrates using Narcan for opioid overdoses
West Allis Fire Department Assistant Chief Armando Suarez Del Real illustrates how a Narcan nasal spray kit is administered in the event of an overdose.
The number of Milwaukee County residents who died from a drug overdose fell for a third year in 2025, which county officials say is a promising sign that more money spent on harm reduction, treatment and prevention efforts is working.
New data released April 21 show 387 overdose deaths across the county last year, down about 43% from their peak in 2022.
“The work is paying off,” Dr. Ben Weston, Milwaukee County’s chief health policy adviser, said at a news conference, touting the county’s vending machines stocked with Narcan and drug testing strips, as well as a state-sponsored data collection system that helps local health departments understand when and where overdoses occur.
Still, the hundreds of county residents who lost their lives last year to a drug overdose means that work isn’t close to done, officials say – especially as the drug landscape continues to change, presenting new challenges.
“We can’t let our foot off the gas quite yet,” said Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley.
Drug mixing continues to drive lethal outcomes
Milwaukee County’s decline in overdose deaths is a trend mirrored across the state and the country, following years of climbing fatalities that were deemed a public health crisis.
The county will spend $111 million in opioid settlement funds over the next several years and is already putting what it has received to use, focusing on “reaching residents where they are,” said Jeremy Triblett, prevention integration manager with the Milwaukee County Department of Health and Human Services.
That includes initiatives like the harm reduction vending machines and also knocking on doors, providing county EMS workers with Narcan and seeking the opinions of people who use drugs to shape the county’s strategy.
But officials say they still see a concerning trend of combinations of drugs leading to overdose, particularly fentanyl being cut with stimulants such as cocaine. These mixes of drugs make it harder to reverse an overdose, said Dr. Wieslawa Tlomak, Milwaukee County’s chief medical examiner.
Nearly a third of all autopsies the medical examiner’s office conducted in 2025 were deaths by drug overdose, Tlomak said, and the majority involved multiple drugs. Data show the most common combinations were fentanyl and cocaine, cocaine and alcohol, and opoids and fentanyl.
Methamphetamines are also involved in more overdose deaths than a few years ago, Tlomak said.
For drug users, not knowing exactly what’s in the drug they are getting is one of the most dangerous elements of the current drug landscape, she said.
Fatal drug overdoses were most common among American Indian and Alaska Native residents in 2025, the data show, followed by Black residents. About two-thirds of fatal overdoses were in men, and the median age of death from an overdose was 49, a number that’s been climbing steadily since 2018.
Triblett said the county is focusing on how substances interact with cultural norms in different communities and that a community advisory board is convening to develop harm reduction messaging for specific populations. His team will also host a door-knocking event June 12 to reach new people across the county with prevention and treatment resources.
Madeline Heim covers health and the environment for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Contact her at 920-996-7266 or mheim@usatodayco.com.
Drone video shows dug‑up yard at former Michael Lock home
Drone video shows a dug‑up yard at a Milwaukee home once owned by Michael Lock, following a police search for possible homicide victims.
Milwaukee police on Monday, April 20, began digging up a home once owned by notorious Milwaukee drug dealer Michael Lock.
The dig marks another chapter in Lock’s long criminal history in Milwaukee, which has included convictions for homicide, drug dealing, kidnapping, torture and running a prostitution ring.
As of 6 p.m., April 20, police had partially dug up the concrete driveway and yard in Lock’s former home. Lock has been convicted of murders of other drug dealers whose bodies were found under concrete slabs at a different home he owned.
As the dig continues, here’s what to know about Lock:
Who is Michael Lock?
Lock was the head of a murderous criminal organization known as the “Body Snatchers” and one of the leading criminal operators in Milwaukee until his 2007 arrest.
Over the course of a decade, Lock’s organization sold large volumes of cocaine, tortured and killed other dealers, prostituted women across the Midwest and ran a mortgage fraud scheme.
A jury convicted Lock in July 2008 in the homicides of two drug dealers in 1999 and 2000, whose remains were found in 2005 under concrete slabs in the backyard of a home once owned by Lock at 4900 W. Fiebrantz Ave. He has also been found guilty of running a prostitution ring, various kidnapping and drug dealing charges and mortgage fraud.
Where is Michael Lock now?
Lock is is serving multiple terms of life in prison at Waupun Correctional Institution without the chance of parole.
Where are Milwaukee police digging on April 20?
Milwaukee police confirmed they are executing a search warrant at the home on 4343 N. 15th St. in Milwaukee’s north side. City tax records show the property is owned by Shalanda Roberts, formerly Shalanda Lock, Michael Lock’s former wife.
Why are police digging up the yard of Lock’s former home?
There has long been suspicion on the part of law enforcement that there are additional bodies buried under the yard. In 2011, police dug another Milwaukee yard looking for remains.
In that warrant 15 years ago, investigators said at least four victims are buried somewhere in Milwaukee. Before that, police had dug a half-dozen other yards. Police have found no remains in the other digs.
Who lives at the property now?
It is unclear if anyone currently lives at the North 15th Street property. Shalanda Roberts told the Journal Sentinel she owns the property where police are digging, but it is a rental and she lives out of state now.
She said she has no information on the dig and has not spoken to her former husband in years.
Read the Journal Sentinel’s past coverage on Michael Lock
The Journal Sentinel documented the case against Lock in a five-part investigative series, “The Preacher’s Mob,” published in 2009.
You can read the series below:
Marvin Bynum, adjunct professor at Marquette University Law School, was named to BizTimes Milwaukee’s list of Notable Leaders in Law.
Bynum, shareholder and real estate attorney with Milwaukee-based Godfrey & Kahn, teaches a course on real estate transactions at Marquette. He has experience with a range of property types, from sports facilities to manufacturing plants and office spaces, and works to help clients navigate transactions including development, financing, leasing, acquisitions, dispositions and low-income housing tax credit-financed projects.
Notable Leaders in Law is part of BizTimes Milwaukee’s Notable series, which recognizes leaders in the southeastern Wisconsin business community.
Six alumni were also named to the list:
- Jim Brzezinski, managing partner and CEO of Tabak Law
- Adam R. Finkel, partner at Husch Blackwell
- Jeremy Guth, shareholder and attorney at O’Leary-Guth Law Office S.C.
- Keith Kopplin, shareholder at the Milwaukee office of Ogletree Deakins
- Isioma Nwabuzor, associate general counsel and assistant corporate secretary at Modine Manufacturing Co.
- Joe Pickart, partner at Husch Blackwell
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