Rules

Art of Mixology Bartender Rules

We are so excited to launch our first ever VIRTUAL Art of Mixology! Enter to win trophies and prizes -- and one winner from each of five spirit categories will have their recipe turned into a cocktail kit sold to the broader community throughout the month of October -- featuring you!  We are partnering with SaloonBox, experts in curating cocktail kits.

You may enter up to 5 cocktail recipes. Be sure to follow the guidelines below.

RECIPE GUIDELINES AND FACTS

  • Your recipe must use one or more spirits from our supporting sponsors:
    Tahoe Blue Vodka
    St. George Terroir Gin
    Banks 5 Island Rum
    El Mayor Tequila
    Breaking & Entering American Whiskey
  • You may include additional non-competing spirits if you like (e.g. Amaro, Campari, absinthe, a liqueur, etc.), but no competing spirits.
  • Competing spirits include any gin, rum, tequila, vodka, or whiskey other than the sponsor brands listed above.
  • Please keep in mind that the winning kits will be for sale along with bottles of the spirits you use. For that reason, you should keep the number of bottles required to a minimum (one or two is ideal). Otherwise, the cost of the full kit plus spirits may become cost prohibitive for the customer.
  • Keep ingredients to 6 or less. These will need to be ingredients we can source from vendors -- we will not make syrups or repackage anything. We will source ingredients locally as much as possible to support local businesses.
  • When writing your recipe, keep in mind that first-time mixologists will be reading and following the instructions. Be clear with concise measurements and easy to replicate steps.
  • The recipe should not be a classic recipe that people will already know. It should be something original that would be fun to recreate at home.
  • When turning a recipe into a cocktail kit, flexibility is key. We may read through your recipe, recreate it, and realize that something will need to change slightly to work within a kit. In that situation, we will reach out to you and find a solution that you agree with. If there is no flexibility, we won't be able to turn your masterpiece into a kit for everyone to enjoy, and we won't be able to include your recipe in our list of finalists.

INGREDIENT DOs:

  • Juices that don’t require refrigeration prior to opening
  • Syrups/cordials/shrubs
  • Bitters/tinctures/extracts
  • Coffee/tea/cold brews
  • Ciders/Switchels
  • Sodas, sparkling waters, tonics, colas, mineral waters
  • Ginger ale, coconut water and beer
  • Vinegars
  • Acids (phosphate/tartaric/malic/etc.)
  • Oils
  • Preserves/marmalades
  • Nut milks
  • Honey/molasses/agave/maple syrup
  • Salts/sugars
  • Dried fruit
  • Shippable herbs
  • Hot sauce/Worcestershire/soy sauce/etc
  • Ginger/turmeric/other roots
  • Spices
  • Creamer/Coconut cream/coconut milk (so long as it doesn’t require refrigeration)
  • Rose water/orange blossom water
  • Spices/tea/dried fruit for spirit infusions
  • Eggs (won’t be included in the box, but we can ask customers to add one)
  • Pickled/preserved ingredients
  • Reductions

INGREDIENT DON'Ts:

  • Perishable items. Keep in mind these will be packaged and sold, so they must be able to last a few days within the box.
  • Anything too large that we can’t source or easily package into a smaller size.
  • Anything that can’t be packaged without crumbling or smashing
  • Fresh fruit (use syrups, shrubs, dried fruit, preserves, etc. instead)
  • Dairy, fresh juices, or anything else that would need refrigeration before opening

JUDGING:

Judging will be based on the following criteria:
Taste: 1-40 points
Creativity: 1-30 points
Sight: 1-20 points
Smell: 1-10 points

Please keep these in mind when creating your cocktails!

Good luck!