Cocktail Competition: Who Is Open In 2026 And How To Enter
Three cocktail competitions with published deadlines are open now, run by Difford's Guide and Entree Magazine. The Spirit of Savoia call accepts recipes with a photograph through Difford's Guide until 21 November 2026, and the Italicus Cocktail Competition until 11 October 2026. Entree Magazine's Best Bartender final runs in Amsterdam on 16 November 2026, open to every bartender working in the Netherlands. Entry goes through each organiser's own page, never through a third party.
By BuyVotesForContest editorial desk · Updated
Who runs the open calls right now
Two of the open calls sit with one promoter. Difford's Guide carries both the Spirit of Savoia competition, which accepts a cocktail recipe with an accompanying photograph and closes on 21 November 2026, and the Italicus Cocktail Competition, which closes earlier, on 11 October 2026. The Italicus rules fix the build itself: every recipe must include at least 30ml of Italicus Rosolio di Bergamotto liqueur. That measure is the whole technical brief for the call, so the rest of the drink stays open design around one required ingredient.
The third call is regional and professional. Entree Magazine stages its Best Bartender final in Amsterdam on 16 November 2026, and its terms state the line plainly: every bartender working in the Netherlands is eligible to enter. Registration happens on the organiser's page, and nothing in the terms extends entry to bartenders outside the country.
- Spirit of Savoia: a recipe plus a photograph, through Difford's Guide, closing on 21 November 2026.
- Italicus Cocktail Competition: a recipe carrying 30ml of the required liqueur, closing on 11 October 2026.
- Best Bartender: an Amsterdam final on 16 November 2026, open to bartenders working in the Netherlands.
Rules, terms and eligibility to read first
Every eligibility line comes from the organiser, and the lines differ. Entree Magazine's contest covers bartenders working in the Netherlands. Brown-Forman went further in its Maryland rules for the Old Forester contest and required winners to be currently employed as a bartender, which closes the door on anyone who has left the trade. Recipe calls judge the drink rather than the job, but their rules still bind: the Italicus measure, the Spirit of Savoia photograph, and whatever deadline the promoter prints.
Read the terms before drafting, not after. The rules settle who can enter, what the entry must contain, and when the window shuts; anything the rules do not name is a question for the organiser, not an assumption made on the entry form.
- Who qualifies: employment, country and professional status are set in the eligibility line.
- What an entry needs: a recipe, a photograph where required, and the stated pour of any named ingredient.
- When entry closes: the deadline printed on the organiser's page, with no extension offered anywhere.
The cup and the score sheet
Latte art competition rules show how specific a technical rule gets. The 2026 World Latte Art Championship regulations require an official competition latte cup with a volume between 190ml and 300ml, and competitors must use the cups provided. Earlier versions of the same rules describe the cup as Tulip-shaped and 220ml, with a 90mm inner surface at the top, and they attach a penalty: use a different cup and that beverage scores zero on visual points. The cup size is never a stylistic choice. It is a scored requirement.
Cocktail judging works from a score sheet too. Brown-Forman's Portland face off scored eligible recipes on taste, creativity and appearance at thirty percent each, plus a fourth mark for the appeal of the name, and a panel of judges reviewed every entry. In the USBG's Shake It Up format, scores were combined and the top five highest-scoring entrants advanced to a national final, with the recipe portion evaluated anonymously.
Blind judging matters for anyone drafting an entry. The recipe is read without a name attached, so presentation and the drink itself carry the identity instead of a reputation.
- Cup: the official competition cup is fixed in volume and shape, and the rules attach a zero visual score to any substitute.
- Score sheet: taste, creativity and appearance carried equal weight in the Portland face off.
- Progression: combined scores sent the top five entrants to a national final in the Shake It Up format.
Themes and ideas organisers hand out
Themes do the structural work in most hosted formats. Perfectly Paired runs its competition on rotating themes, which the organiser lists as the type of liquor, a required mixer, a time of day, or a cocktail category; past rounds went breakfast cocktails, rum, champagne and then gin. The Next Dinner Party describes a contest party built on a local or seasonal theme. Cosmopolitan's camp-themed format hands entrants a setting and one secret ingredient that every drink must use.
Professional calls use the same device. The iichiko Saiten IRODORI competition named its theme as IRODORI × KOJI × CULTURES, and The Bar recommends deciding on a theme to add excitement and intrigue before anyone mixes anything.
Guest voting appears in hosted formats as well. Eventbrite's party guide suggests inviting area mixologists to create a signature drink and letting guests vote for their favourite, which turns the room into the jury.
- A liquor type, a required mixer, a time of day or a cocktail category.
- A local or seasonal theme tied to where the party happens.
- One secret ingredient that every team must build around.
- A setting, such as the camp theme, that shapes presentation and naming.
Winners and notification windows
Notification is stated, never implied. One organiser notifies selected entrants by email when they move on to the finale; another informed finalists by phone call and email on a named date. Both methods come from the terms themselves, which makes the contact details an entrant supplies part of the entry.
Prizes sit where the terms put them, and the published terms for these calls say little beyond progression and notification. What follows from that: the prize question goes to the organiser before entry, not assumed from the format or the announcement.
- Winners are notified by email, or by phone call and email together, depending on the organiser.
- Scores decide progression: the top five advanced to a national final in one United States format.
- No prize value appears in the terms covered here, so ask the organiser directly.
Where the terms stay silent
Published rules leave gaps, and each gap is an entry decision. None of the calls above names a prize value, a tie-break rule or a complete host-city list. A cocktail competition in Columbus, a round in Columbia SC or a latte art competition in Malaysia exists only where an organiser publishes it; no national register covers every call, so a missed announcement is a missed window.
Fresh juice is a good example of a gap. Nothing in the terms covered here sets a juicing rule; the Italicus brief fixes the liqueur measure and leaves the rest to the entrant. Where a term is missing, the organiser's contact route is the answer, not a guess made at the bar.
Entry terms also stay quiet on money in the calls listed here: no entry fee appears on any of the three, and that silence is the terms speaking. Confirmation still comes from the organiser, before an entry is drafted, never after.
- Prize values: absent from every term covered here.
- Tie-breaks: no published rule settles a dead heat.
- Host cities: named only where an organiser prints them.
| Competition | Organiser | Entry route | Key date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spirit of Savoia | Difford's Guide | Recipe with a photograph | Closes 21 November 2026 |
| Italicus Cocktail Competition | Difford's Guide | Recipe with 30ml of Italicus | Closes 11 October 2026 |
| Best Bartender | Entree Magazine | Registration, bartenders in the Netherlands | Final 16 November 2026 |
Step by step
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Match your status to the call
Read the eligibility line before anything else. Entree Magazine's final covers bartenders working in the Netherlands, and one Brown-Forman contest required winners to be currently employed as a bartender. A recipe call such as Spirit of Savoia or Italicus judges the drink, but its rules still bind every entrant.
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Read the whole rules page
The rules settle entry contents, deadlines and judging. The Italicus call fixes 30ml of the required liqueur, and Spirit of Savoia asks for a photograph with the recipe; both details sit in the terms, not in the announcement headline.
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Draft against the criteria
Build for the score sheet. Taste, creativity and appearance carried equal thirty-percent weight in one published format, so balance flavour work, presentation and a name that adds appeal instead of stacking all effort into one of the three.
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Prepare the file the rules demand
Assemble the recipe, the photograph where one is required, and the correct measure of any named ingredient. Check the closing date twice: 11 October 2026 for Italicus, 21 November 2026 for Spirit of Savoia. If nothing like this has been done before, start with the shortest brief on the list.
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Watch the contact route you gave
Organisers notify selected entrants by email, sometimes with a phone call alongside it. Keep the address on the entry active through the whole window, because a missed notice ends a run as surely as a missed deadline.
Questions
Do you typically have to be an active bartender to enter or are there competitions that allow freelance?
Some competitions require an active bartending job and some do not. Entree Magazine's Best Bartender contest is open to every bartender working in the Netherlands, while Brown-Forman's Maryland rules required winners to be currently employed as a bartender. Recipe calls such as Spirit of Savoia and Italicus judge the drink itself, so read the eligibility line of each rules page before entering.
But are there competitions geared more towards hobbyists?
Yes, several published formats suit hobbyists rather than working bars. Eventbrite's party guide suggests inviting area mixologists to create a signature drink and letting guests vote for a favourite. The Next Dinner Party describes a cocktail contest party for home hosts, and Perfectly Paired runs its rounds on rotating themes that any table can stage.
How do people know when to enter cocktail competitions?
Organisers publish the window themselves, on their own pages. Difford's Guide states closing dates of 11 October 2026 for Italicus and 21 November 2026 for Spirit of Savoia, and Entree Magazine names 16 November 2026 for its Amsterdam final. The entry window is never guessed; it sits on the organiser's page or nowhere.
Is there anyone who can share a list of competitions that are happening soon?
No central list covers every call, so the organisers themselves are the shared record. Difford's Guide lists both of its recipe calls with closing dates, Entree Magazine names its bartender final, and promoter terms pages carry dates for regional rounds. Each organiser's page, checked directly, shows what is happening soon.
Or perhaps a method to stay updated on new competitions throughout the year?
The dependable method is a fixed checking routine across promoter pages, because organisers announce rounds there first. Difford's Guide carries its recipe calls, Entree Magazine posts its bartender final, and Brown-Forman publishes its competition terms with dates on its own pages. Set a schedule that visits each promoter at least once a month throughout the year.
Any advice for a first cocktail competition?
Build the entry around the stated criteria before anything else. Brown-Forman's Portland face off scored taste, creativity and appearance at thirty percent each, plus a fourth mark for name appeal, so a first-time entrant balances flavour, presentation and naming instead of stacking all effort into one showpiece technique. Submit early, and remember the photograph requirement attached to Spirit of Savoia.
I've never done a competition but I always thought you had to juice fresh on the spot?
Fresh juicing is a rule only where the organiser writes one, and nothing in the terms covered here sets it. The Italicus brief fixes the liqueur measure instead, at 30ml per recipe, and leaves the rest of the build open. Where the rules say nothing, ask the organiser rather than assume.
What is the overall experience of tasting an entire cocktail in small sips?
Judges work through each drink in small measures rather than finishing it. Score sheets from the Portland face off weight taste, creativity and appearance at thirty percent each, so every sip is scored for flavour while presentation and the name carry their own marks. The overall experience is a structured walk through a score sheet, one measure at a time.
Sources
- diffordsguide.com. diffordsguide.com/competition/1258/spirit-of-savoia/2026.
- diffordsguide.com. diffordsguide.com/competition/1300/italicus-cocktail-competition/2026.
- entreemagazine.nl. entreemagazine.nl/en/best-bartender.
- static1.squarespace.com. static1.squarespace.com/static/65fb773fac2112270b71798a/t/68e6b8f6143df370b6695c96/1759951094843/2026+World+Latte+Art+Championship+Rules+and+Regulations.pdf.
- legal.brown-forman.com. legal.brown-forman.com/terms-and-conditions/us-of-maryland-competition-november-2025.
No page on this site can promise a win, a placing or a prize. The organiser decides eligibility, judging, notification and every detail the terms leave open. No entry fee appears in the calls listed here, but that silence is not a guarantee; confirm with the organiser directly. Nothing here substitutes for the rules page itself.
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Contest voting has a rhythm of its own. The Arizona State Fair includes live audience voting on every qualifying night, and the Ernie Ball contest measures online activity throughout its contest period. A count that builds across the window, from separate voters, matches that rhythm. None of this is a method for passing an organiser's checks, and an organiser can still disqualify an entry it doubts.
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The part of an order that never reaches the contest's own count is refunded once the organiser's voting has closed. America's Favorite Pet calls its dates approximate and lets its operator extend deadlines, so that moment is the organiser's to set. A result, a disqualification and a voided vote are never refunded. At IODC, public votes and engagement do not by themselves decide the winners, and no refund changes how a contest weighs them.