Do you have the winning formula?

Esteemed ladies and gentlemen of the bar, masters of the muddler, heroes of the highball, it is once again incumbent upon us to issue you with a challenge. Namely, that you take up arms (or shot glasses at least) in that annual battle of bartending brilliance, otherwise known as the 42BELOW Cocktail World Cup.

This year, seven teams of expert mixologists from around the globe will be placed under the microscope at the 42BELOW laboratory in New Zealand. We will test them to the known limits of cocktail science and possibly beyond. Only the best of the best can entertain hopes of victory. The rest will have to make do with a load of cool free stuff we’ll be organising as well. Sound good? Read on…

The height of good taste

New Zealand: land of the long white cloud, the world’s finest vodka, and some film about hobbits. From September 3rd– 9th, it will also play host to a groundbreaking experiment in mixology.

We’ll be asking our seven teams to create a bewildering array of cocktails, including their “signature” creations. They will be judged by an elite panel of experts who will mark for taste, innovation, creativity and dress sense. OK, maybe not the last one. The competition will be fierce and the standard high enough to induce nosebleeds.

White knuckles with the White Russians

The 42BELOW Cocktail World Cup is different. It’s the only cocktail competition that’s a team event. And every team needs a little bonding.

That’s why, along with the mixing, we’ll be throwing in a good measure of heart-pumping, stomach-churning mayhem. You know the kind of thing: all those brilliantly stupid activities New Zealand is famous for. By the end of it our teams could be mistaken for a unit of Navy Seals… Cocktail-mixing Navy Seals.

A meeting of mixological minds

The chance to be crowned the world’s best bartenders and win a large lump of swamp wood. Ok, so our wooden trophy isn’t the main reason to enter the 42BELOW Cocktail World Cup.

You’ll also be able to swap tips, recipes and stories with fellow mixology masters, and hear from some of the biggest names in the industry. It’s the most prestigious event in the cocktail calendar. Don’t miss it.