2020 BARTENDER OF THE YEAR RULES AND REGULATIONS
Sponsored by Liquor.com and Heaven Hill
OVERVIEW
This is a search for the 2020 Bartender of the Year. This person will display total breadth and aptitude in their abilities as a professional bartender. Over the course of the three stages of the competition and across multiple varying challenges, these bartenders will display (for example):
- Creativity and innovation
- Knowledge of classics
- Knowledge of Heaven Hill Brands
- Ability to think on their feet and read their guests needs
- Ability to understand and create balanced cocktails
- Technical skill, cleanliness and barside manner
- Presentation style
- Genuine hospitality
CHALLENGE
There are three stages of the Bartender of the Year competition.
- Submit two recipes using Heaven Hill Brands.
- The recipes will be blindly judged by our panel of experts, and qualifying bartenders will move on to compete at one of eight regional semifinals.
- First-place winners from each regional semifinal will move on to compete at Half-Mile Farm in Highlands, N.C., June 15–18, 2020, for the chance to be crowned 2020 Bartender of the Year, win $15,000 in cash and be invited to judge in the 2021 Bartender of the Year finals competition, location TBD. Second-place winners will attend the finals should the first-place winner from their regional semifinal not be able to attend for any reason.
PRIZING
Regional Semifinals Prizes:
Liquor.com, Heaven Hill Brands and our three national judges will select six qualifying bartenders from the online submissions to be invited to compete at each of the eight regional competitions.
- Judges will select a first- and second-place winner who will each receive the prizes below. All other competitors will receive a $100 Visa gift card for their participation.
First-Place Prize:
- $1,000 Visa gift card
- Trip to Half-Mile Farm in Highlands, N.C., to compete at the national finals
- Chance to be crowned the 2020 Bartender of the Year
- Chance to win a grand prize of $15,000
- Airfare and lodging accommodation for three nights at the national finals competition
- Arrival date TBD
- All prizing, airfare and accommodations provided by Liquor.com
Second-Place Prize:
- $500 Visa gift card
- Chance to attend the finals at Half-Mile Farm in Highlands, N.C., should the first-place winner not be able to attend
- All prizing, airfare and accommodations provided by Liquor.com
FINALS PRIZES
The winners from each of the eight regional competitions will move forward to compete at the finals. There, one bartender will be chosen as the overall winner of the 2020 Bartender of the Year Competition. The winner will receive:
- Cash prize of $15,000. Taxes are the sole responsibility of prize winner. No substitution/transfer of prize permitted.
- Feature article on Liquor.com announcing the winner
- All prizing, airfare and accommodations
TIMELINE
- Sept. 15, 2019, 12:00:01 a.m.–Nov. 5, 2019, 11:59:59 p.m. PST: open for online recipe submissions
- January–April 2020: regional/semifinal activations in Atlanta; Austin; Chicago; Los Angeles; Phoenix; Portland, Ore.; Miami; New York City
GENERAL RULES
- All entrants must be professional working bartenders.
- “Professional bartender” is defined as someone employed by a bar, restaurant or catering service of sorts sometime in the six months prior to the start of the competition.
- Competitors must be at least 21 years of age.
- Competitors must be legal residents of the United States or Puerto Rico
- Competitors may not be “employed by” or “in an ambassadorship role” of any other spirit supplier or brand at the time of the start of the regional competition in January 2020.
PUBLICITY
- By entering this program, you are giving Liquor.com, Heaven Hill Brands and their affiliates explicit rights to use your photo, an image of your drink, drink recipe name and your drink recipe for publicity purposes, including but not limited to press, social media, digital activation and promotional activation.
SELECTION PROCESS
Phase 1—Online Entries:
For the purposes of determining the regional finalists, entries will be assigned to the closest applicable market, as determined by the sponsor. All complete entries submitted to bartenderoftheyear.liquor.com within the entry time frame will be judged against the below criteria based on the perceived qualities of the written recipes and essay entry.
Judges will not take into consideration current employer, time spent bartending or any other personal information in the selection of regional finalists.
Entry Criteria:
- Each competitor must submit the following:
- Two cocktail recipes
- One cocktail must be a clear representation of a classic (further description below) including the following:
- Image of cocktail
- Ingredients
- Preparation (including glassware, garnish, ice if applicable, and any additional information regarding how the cocktail should be prepared and presented)
- Written inspiration behind the cocktail
- One cocktail should be based on what inspires you (further description below) including the following:
- Image of cocktail
- Ingredients
- Preparation (including glassware, garnish, ice if applicable, and any additional information regarding how the cocktail should be prepared and presented)
- Written inspiration behind the cocktail
Sponsor brands include:
- Dubonnet Rouge Grand Apéritif
- Domaine de Canton Ginger Liqueur
- Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon
- Rittenhouse Rye
- PAMA Pomegranate Liqueur
- Sacred Bond Bottled-in-Bond Brandy
- Lunazul Blanco Tequila
- Lunazul Reposado Tequila
- Each cocktail must include a minimum of two of the sponsor brands.
- You may not use any of the sponsor brands more than once. A total minimum number of four different sponsor brands should be used across the two drinks.
Cocktail Descriptions:
Classic:
- This cocktail should be clearly and unmistakably related to a version of a classic cocktail. Any variation from the classic recipe that this is based on should be clearly explained in the written description of the drink. We recommend you use or incorporate the name of the classic into the naming of this drink. While variations are welcome, they should be thoughtful, intentional and clearly related to the original classic recipe. We want to see you display your understanding of classics and how (even when modified) they are able to maintain the integrity that made them timeless.
Innovative (What Inspires You):
- Heaven Hill recognizes the strength and importance of the bartender community. As a family-owned company, Heaven Hill is committed to supporting and helping to build this bar community, as well as the passion and inspiration that drive it.
- For this cocktail, we would like you to create something based on what inspires you. This can be anything from your own family, bar community or bar team or the larger state of your community or the world. Dig deep and create from the place that means the most to you.
- We ask that you submit a written statement on the inspiration behind this cocktail.
Additional Requirements:
- Recipes must be original. An original recipe is the product of one's own mind and is not a copy or imitation.
- Recipes must contain no more than 2 1/2 ounces (at 40% ABV) total combined alcoholic ingredients, and the total volume of the ingredients shall not exceed 6 ounces.
- Recipes must not exceed seven ingredients, including drops and dashes. (This does not include garnishes.)
- Ingredients must be expressed in fluid ounces (1/2 oz., 1 oz., 2 oz., etc.), with dashes and drops being the smallest quantities.
- Preparation and mixing instructions must be included with your recipe.
- Limit one full entry per person.
- A blind-judging panel will review and score the entries. Initial scores will be based on the judges’ interpretation of the written description submitted. In some cases, judges may recreate the cocktails to settle closely ranked submissions.
Scoring:
Classic Cocktail (50 points):
- Cocktail name (5 points)
- Appearance and presentation (perceived based on description) (5 points)
- Balance of flavors, aromas and character (15 points)
- Clear representation of the classic it’s based on (or a direct version of) (15 points)
- Creativity (10 points)
Innovative Cocktail (What Inspires You) (50 points):
- Cocktail name (5 points)
- Appearance and presentation (perceived based on description) (5 points)
- Balance of flavors, aromas a character (20 points)
- Written inspiration and explanation of the concept (10 points)
- Creativity (5 points)
- Product knowledge (5 points)
Judges’ scores will not be available to contestants at any stage of the competition. Participants will be contacted via email regarding whether they will be moving on or not at least two weeks prior to the first regional event.
Phase 2—Regional/Semifinal:
For the purposes of selecting semifinalists, regional events will be judged by local panels, as determined by the sponsor, with the assistance of Liquor.com. The regional competition rules and judging criteria will be created by Liquor.com and will be shared with all regional participants prior to the regional competitions.
Regional competitions will be held in January through April of 2020 in eight markets:
- Atlanta
- Austin
- Chicago
- Los Angeles
- Miami
- Phoenix
- Portland, Ore.
- New York City
Bartenders chosen to participate at a regional semifinal competition are responsible for their travel expenses to the regional events (if applicable).
Bartenders will be chosen by a blind panel based on their recipe submissions. Qualifying bartenders will be invited to compete at one of the eight regional competitions. At each regional:
- Six bartenders will compete across three distinct challenges.
- All participants will receive a Visa gift card.
- Judges will select a first- and second-place winner
Phase 3—Final:
A total of eight finalists will be selected from the regional event winners and will compete at the finale event June 15–18 at Half-Mile Farm in Highlands, N.C. For the purposes of selecting the winner of 2020 Bartender of the Year, a panel of well-respected industry experts selected by Heaven Hill Brands, Liquor.com and Bon Vivants will judge the competition. Rules and judging criteria will be created by Heaven Hill Brands, Liquor.com and Bon Vivants and shared with all finalists a minimum of two weeks prior to the final competition.
Any entries attempted through the use of agencies or robotic, repetitive, automatic, programmed or similar methods will be void. Any attempt by a person to use multiple email accounts or identities to gain more entries than permitted by these official rules shall result in disqualification at the sole discretion of the sponsor. In the event of a dispute regarding the identity of the person submitting an entry, the entry will be deemed to be submitted by the "authorized account holder" associated with the email address at the time of entry, which must comply with these official rules. The authorized account holder is defined as the natural person who’s assigned an email address by the service provider or other organization that’s responsible for assigning email addresses. Potential winners may be required to provide evidence (to the sponsor's satisfaction) that they’re the authorized account holder of the email address associated with a winning entry. In the event a dispute regarding the identity of the person who actually submitted an entry cannot be resolved to the sponsor's satisfaction, the affected entry will be deemed ineligible. Entries and other submitted material become the property of sponsor and will not be acknowledged or returned. Refer to the additional requirements below for more details regarding the rules for your entry.
POST-FINALS—WINNER REQUIREMENTS
The 2020 Bartender of the Year must be available the day after the finals for internal interviews and with reasonable accommodations make time to be available in the following week for media interviews. Travel accommodations will be made for all finalists to accommodate this requirement.
The Winner of the 2020 Bartender of the Year competition will participate in at least three Heaven Hill Brands promotions and/or events as the 2020 Heaven Hill Brands Bartender of the Year.
- These appearances are subject to availability.
- Heaven Hill Brands will provide a minimum of four weeks notice prior to any request to attend an event.
- All costs associated with travel and accommodation for these events will be provided for the winner.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR ENTRY
Entries must be in English. Entries must not allude to the overconsumption or irresponsible consumption of beverage alcohol. Entries that do not include all required information and do not adhere to the foregoing and following requirements will be considered void and not be considered in the judging of this contest. Entries that are deemed by the sponsor in its sole discretion to be illegal, obscene, profane or not in keeping with the sponsor's image will be disqualified.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
By submitting an entry, you warrant that:
- You are the creator of the entry.
- The entry is wholly original (with exception of the classic cocktail).
- The entry does not infringe the intellectual property, privacy, publicity rights or any other legal or moral rights of any third party, including any current or former employer, and does not defame any person or identify any person by name or other identifying information.
- The entry has not previously been entered in any other contest.
- The entry has not been previously published in any medium (with exception of the classic cocktail).
- The entry does not violate any law or regulation.
- The sponsor's determination as to whether any entry potentially violates the rights of any third party is final.
ELIGIBILITY
Employees of Heaven Hill Brands, Liquor.com, their affiliates, liquor wholesale licensees, advertising/promotion agencies and their immediate family members and household members of each, and retail license holders are not eligible. This promotion is void wherever prohibited, taxed or restricted by law. In the event that the contest is challenged by any legal or regulatory authority, the sponsor or administrator reserves the right to discontinue or modify the contest or disqualify participants residing in the affected geographic areas. In such event, the sponsor and administrator shall have no liability to any entrants who are disqualified due to such an action. You must be a resident of the United States or Puerto Rico and at least 21 years of age to be eligible. Contest void wherever prohibited or restricted by law.
By accepting a prize, any winner (a) releases Heaven Hill Brands, Liquor.com and their affiliated companies and licensed alcohol wholesalers and retailers from any and all liability claims, action or proceedings arising out of or for injuries or damages sustained while involved in any promotion activity or connection with the use of the prizes and (b) consents to the use by Heaven Hill Brands and Liquor.com for promotional purposes in connection with this promotion of their name and/or likeness and/or voice without further compensation where permitted.
The sponsor and participating promotional companies are not in any way liable for damages, loss or injury resulting from computer malfunctions, misdirected or incomplete entries or acceptance and use of the prize. Heaven Hill Brands and Liquor.com reserve the right in its sole discretion to cancel or suspend this contest should viruses, bugs or other causes beyond the control of the sponsor corrupt the administration, security or proper play of the contest. The sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion to disqualify any individual who tampers with the entry process and to cancel terminate or suspend the contest. The sponsor assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communication line failure, theft, destruction or unauthorized access to, or alteration of, entries. CAUTION: Any attempt by an entrant to deliberately damage any website or undermine the legitimate operation of the game is a violation of criminal and civil laws, and should such an attempt be made, the sponsor reserves the right to seek damages from any such attempt.
Entrants will be automatically opted-in to receive messages from Liquor.com. (Entrants may unsubscribe from the list at any time.)
I acknowledge that I have read and understand the rules and regulations pertaining to 2020 Bartender of the Year Sponsored by Heaven Hill Brands.
Heaven Hill Brands is a registered trademark used with permission.
