By Ena Hadziselimovic
The month-long entry period for the local round of the Angostura Global Cocktail Challenge – with a top prize of US$10,000 – has been extended an extra five days. Submissions will continue to be accepted until the last minute before midnight, Sunday August 5.
To enter, bartenders should head over to the island2island Beverage Company Facebook page and submit two original cocktail recipes, with one containing five dashes of Angostura Bitters and one containing Angostura rum.
Recipes can only be submitted through a desktop or laptop computer, according to Nathan Forde, marketing manager for island2island. He said the entry application does not work on mobile devices.
"We will eliminate invalid entries and narrow it down to eight finalists per state to be announced in a couple of weeks. After competing in state finals, the winners – including two New Zealand finalists – will travel to Sydney and compete for the chance to become Oceania’s representative at the Angostura Global Cocktail Challenge final in Trinidad," Forde said.
The Oceania finalist will receive $2,000 and be flown to Trinidad for carnival week in February 2013 where they will compete for US$10,000 and a 12-month contract as Angostura global band ambassador.
"This is a cocktail challenge, not just a competition. We want to encourage bartenders to use Angostura Bitters and highlight the versatility of the product. We also want to create awareness around Angostura’s premium rums," Forde said.
"We want to emphasise the experience that comes with the competition so we also sent out 500 pairs of traditional Trinidadian ‘gold pants’ to get the bartenders’ attention in a tongue-in-cheek manner."
"We’re offering the winner more than just prize money. We’re offering the chance to experience everything that is Trinidad, carnival and Angostura. No other challenge gives you that."
VIDEO: Click below to watch previous competition winners speak about their experiences.