###Introduction

By now you've probably heard that DIY_eJuice now has it's own Discord Server - that's a chat server where you can interact with others in real time. You can find it here -> DIY_eJuice Discord. If you haven't already joined the fun, you should. Each day we get more and more mixers joining the party. More people increases the Fun Factor and provides more opportunities to learn.
 
In case you didn't already know - one of the more active channels on Discord is the Mixing Lab. There people gather to create or improve a recipe and work as a group to achieve a single goal. It's extremely helpful to those new to mixing and not experienced in creating their own recipes. You can get assistance from multiple people with a wide range of experience. Some great recipes have come out of the Mixing Lab - you can see some of them HERE.
 
To highlight the Mixing Lab (and have a little fun) we've decided to hold a mixing contest. We've recruited a few guinea pigs . . . er . . . I mean volunteers (grin) to put on an exhibition. Two teams will go head to head in a mixing competition and we'll judge the results. The winning team will win . . . (drum roll) . . . Bragging Rights! That and knowing that they helped others get a close up look at the recipe development process.
 
Even if you can't be there for the actual contest, you can see the recipes created and scroll back through the discussion and see the questions asked, suggestions made, and reasoning behind the ultimate choices that lead to the final recipe. Then you can join the fun and visit the Mixing Lab and create your on dream juice.

 

###Contest Details

• The contest will begin at 8pm (Eastern - GMT-5) this Thursday - May 9th
• Teams will be given a RULE - either a requirement or a restriction on the flavors they may use
• Teams will also be presented with an INSPIRATION (a photo, song, quote, etc) to base their recipe on
• At this point, the teams will go to their designated (and separate) channels and begin to develop a recipe
• The clock will start and teams have 30mins to complete their work
• Before the deadline, each team must post their finished creation as a reply to a Reddit post titled "Mixer Showdown - Finish Line" (to be posted shortly before the contest)
• The recipe must have a Name and a Description posted along with the list of ingredients
   
  At this point, the judging phase of the contest begins. Each Judge will award each recipe up to 25 points based on the following criteria . . .

|||| |---|---|---| |Taste|1-10pts|if it doesn't taste good, nothing else matters|
|Originality|1-5pts|is the recipes a remix of a tried and tested idea? or something never seen before?|
|Accessibility|1-5pts|are the flavors readily available and used in many recipes? or something obscure that few people know about?|
|Inspiration|1-5pts|how well does the juice capture the INSPIRATION for the contest?|

 
Everyone is invited to mix the recipes and give their opinions via comments and/or UpVotes. The judges' scores will be combined and added to the number of UpVotes each recipe receives (before 8pm Eastern on Saturday May 11th) to determine the final score. The team with the highest score wins!
 
Here's a look at the people who will be in the spotlight for the first contest.

####Contestants
Red Team
u/AlfredPudding - Mixing Prodigy and the creator of the 2018 Recipe of the Year 007 Cola
u/Vishousness - Newcomer and curator of the Starting % List Wiki Page
u/mlNikon - Noted Host, Mixin' Vixen, and all around sweetheart

Blue Team
u/HocusKrokus (aka kopel) - Bigfoot Impersonator and owner of a Possessed Dog
u/ben_gaming - Mixing Apprentice and in charge of corralling two frumpy teammates
u/ID10-T - Noted Host, Daddy of the 123 Recipe, and Mango Maniac

####Judges
u/kindground - author of Flavor RoundUps for lemon, blueberry, boysenberry and now wants to do more
u/EdibleMalfunction - DIY_eJuice Moderator, creator of Backwoods Lemonade & The Blueberry Trinity, and man of few words
u/Shyndo - "just another dude putting liquid into bottles" who makes good stuff like Mango Sticky Rice
 

###The Future The plan is make the Mixer Showdown a recurring event. Future contests will be held on different days of the week and at different times of day - so we can make it more accessible to our friends from all parts of the world. There are several variables we can tinker with to change things up. We could have more head-to-head contests or turn it into a Battle Royale with multiple teams competing at the same time. We could have Ladies Night, or Boys vs Girls. Perhaps we'll pit the Old Fogies against the Young Bucks. We could even pair first time mixers with experienced pros. The possibilities are endless. And the best part is - along with having a lot of fun, we can all learn something. And as an added bonus, we get treated to some good recipes.
 

###This Week's Assignment
As usual with this series of posts - there's an assignment. Today, we'd like to hear everyone's thoughts. Do you think it will be fun? Do you think you could learn something from it? Would you like to compete? Are you willing to judge? Are there changes to the rules or format you'd like to see? Do you have someone you'd like to challenge? Do you have a half-finished recipe that you want to take to the Mixing Lab? Do you have a recipe you've been dreaming about but don't know where to start? Please share your thoughts.
 

#Let's get ready to rumble!