Douglas Ankrah, the inventor of the Pornstar Martini and creator of Soho’s LAB Bar has sadly passed away.

Aperitivo cocktail bar Archivio, based in Verona, will host bartender Jad Ballout this August to showcase his latest bar concept, Dead End Paradise.

The World’s 50 Best Bars has created the Siete Misterios Best Cocktail Menu Award which will be announced at the live awards ceremony on 7 December at London’s Roundhouse.

James Grant from Canada has been crowned the 12th winner of Diageo World Class following a first ever virtual event for 2021.

Digital platforms that can predict your favourite cocktail, sustainable socialising and the rise of at-home mixologists will reshape the drinks industry, according to Diageo.

Praphakorn Konglee from Thailand’s Find the Locker Room bar has won the Bacardí Legacy Cocktail Competition 2021 with is drink ‘Out of Sight’.

For the first time, London Cocktail Week has announced a one-off Warm-Up festival, taking place 05-11 July 2021.

Internationally awarded London bar Coupette has announced the launch of its Apples cocktail in RTD form from Saturday 29 May.

Kahlúa has unveiled a new label design, inspired by the coffee culture of the brand’s native Veracruz, Mexico.

While the pandemic has been felt universally, the unevenness of lockdown restrictions has lent wildly different experiences to bar owners and cocktail drinkers around the globe.

London Cocktail Week has announced that the 2021 festival will once again be extended to the full month of October and not host The Cocktail Village.

A new premium cocktail delivery service called Canvas has launched across the UK this February in partnership with a series of top end bartenders.

In May 2020, when the lockdown was still at its strictest in India, Sidecar bar in New Delhi received the good news that it was the only Indian bar to have made it to the coveted 50 Best Bars in Asia list.

Ibiza-based mobile bar company Southside Bars is now offering online cocktail masterclasses.

Renowned bartender and vermouth producer Giancarlo Mancino has created the world’s first Vermouth Day to celebrate the fortified wine.

Three bartenders have surged through to the British regional final of Diageo’s World Class mixology competition after impressing judges with their portable cocktail creations.

Bartenders can win cash prizes by entering the Grow Your Own Cocktail web challenge launched by Irish whiskey brand Jameson.

Bacardi has launched a number of initiatives to help bar owners and retailers make the most of a new era of summer socialising.

Premixed cocktail specialist World of Zing has launched 18 new bottled cocktails and pouches in time for the summer.

Following a grant awarded to the charity by the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation in July, The Benevolent is inviting bartenders and hospitality workers to their Minds Matter mental health workshops.

While amaretto may have a long and somewhat idyllic history, it has done little to capture consumers’ imaginations in recent times. But cocktail culture could be key to changing all that, finds Angel Brown

London Cocktail Week organisers have announced that it will be moving The Cocktail Village to a new bigger venue on Brick Lane.

Trends rely on different groups of people to evolve and gain traction. Angel Brown tracks the movement of cocktail fashion

Altia, the leading Nordic and Baltic wine and spirits company has come up with Danish cocktail to celebrate the Eurovision Song Contest which takes place in Copenhagen tomorrow (May 10).

Nightjar has apologised for featuring a whale skin infused drink on its menu.

Cocktail special

29 October, 2012

Lucy Britner probes cocktail experts on how to track trends and succeed in competitions

Rum cocktails

12 September, 2012

Lucy Britner mixes with the best

Angostura is on the lookout for bartenders to take part in the national heats of its Global Cocktail Challenge 2013, a competition which culminates in the selection of its global brand ambassador.

Tequila cocktails

30 July, 2012

Lucy Britner on livening up tequila

Pernod Ricard USA will launch Malibu Melon Margarita in May, an addition to its off-trade-focused Malibu Cocktails pre-mixed range.

Cocktail Ingredients & Mixers

24 February, 2012

It’s not just about the spirit when it comes to making great cocktails. Jaq Bayles celebrates the other essential elements

The Bols brand is calling for entries into its Bols Around the World global bartending competition.

French syrup maker Monin will celebrate its 100th anniversary this year by embarking on a UK cocktail tour.

Malta: The Maltese Bartenders’ Guild (MBG) has appointed a new president. Wine and spirits retailer Joseph Farrugia took the post in October.

Jack Daniel's has crowned the UK champion of its Tennessee-based Birthday Cocktail Competition 2011.

French aperitif brand Lillet is looking for entries for its Twisted Vesper Cocktail Competition. 

Mikey Allan of The Raconteur, has triumphed at Broker’s Gin Cocktail Challenge in Edinburgh, beating off an all-Scottish field of bartenders.

Pernod Ricard brand Olmeca has announced a partnership with tequila ambassador and Mexican restaurant-bar owner Tomas Estes.

The UK heat of the Gin Mare cocktail Competition took place this week at the Imbibe show in London.

 

Now in its twenty third year, Drinks International’s Cocktail Challenge is one of the longest running cocktail competitions in the world. It has built a reputation for its independent, sponsor-free approach. This year we are in search for a new creative and innovative serve that will excite our panel of judges from the World’s 50 Best Bars. The annual competition pits global spirits and liqueur brands’ best cocktails against each other in a blind tasting to  nd the Cocktail Challenge Champion for 2016. Brands are invited to submit their recipes into the Aperitif, Long Drinks and A er Dinner categories. Cocktails will be made and judged by bartenders from the World’s 50 Best Bars.

Categories

Aperitif Cocktail - White Spirits
Aperitif Cocktail - Brown Spirits
Aperitif Cocktail - Liqueurs & Specialities
Long Drink Cocktail - White Spirits
Long Drink Cocktail - Brown Spirits
Long Drink Cocktail - Liqueurs & Specialities
After Dinner Cocktail - White Spirit
After Dinner Cocktail - Brown Spirits
After Dinner Cocktail - Liqueurs & Specialities

Click here to enter the 2016 awards

For enquiries contact:

Rick Beaumont on +44 (0) 1293 558130 email rick.beaumont@drinksint.com 

Or

Jo Morley on +44 (0) 1293 590044 email jo.morley@drinksint.com

 

Click below to see the archive of previous winners.

20132012, 20112010200920082007

Drinks International has announced the category winners of the 18th annual Cocktail Challenge.

Bacardi has crowned the winner of the first Superior Rum Global Legacy Cocktail Competition, in Barcelona.

Two of London’s bartenders drew swords in San Francisco in the final of the No. 209 Gin Duel.

Team Italy has won the 2011 42 Below Cocktail World Cup.

Angostura has crowned the winner of its 2011 Global Cocktail Challenge. Andy Griffiths from Cookie bar in Melbourne, Australia, took home the US$10,000 prize as well as a one year brand ambassadorship.

Amaretto brand Disaronno has hosted the final of its first Mixing Star cocktail competition in London.

Jack Daniel’s celebrated the 160th birthday of its founder this month, with the fourth edition of its UK cocktail competition.

Whisky liqueur brand Drambuie has created a cocktail to celebrate the announcement of Prince William’s engagement to Kate Middleton.

The Marie Brizard Belvédère Group hosted 43 bartenders from 27 countries at the 27th International Bartender Seminar (IBS).

London Cocktail Week begins

11 October, 2010

The inaugural London Cocktail Week (LCW) has begun - a seven-day event of shows, pop-up bars, parties, classes and tastings.

Digital Edition

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Ben Branson

Ben Branson on the future of non-alc spirits

In his inaugural column for Drinks International, Branson takes a wider look at the overall non-alcoholic spirits sector to identify which brands will thrive and which won’t survive.

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