island2island is looking to attract the cream of the bartending crop in its revamped Angostura Global Cocktail Challenge, announcing tough new rules and increasing the prize money to $10,000.
Angostura brand manager Auriane Bourdin said island2island wants to prove that Australia has some of the world's most talented bartenders in the global finals of the competition.
"The stricter entry rules as well as the new judging criteria will leave less room for error. This year, when you submit a cocktail, you need to be absolutely sure it’s a winner," she said.
The Australian heats will run between July and October of this year and will look to find just one representative to compete at the global finals in Trinidad.
Bartenders can take up the challenge and enter via the island2island Facebook page from 1 July.
In past years, the challenge has seen some of the most influential bartenders in the industry compete for the title of 'Angostura global ambassador'.
Previous Australian winners include well-known bartenders such as Marco Nunes from Canvas in Brisbane, Joe Sinagra from Bobeche in Perth and Andy Griffiths from Melbourne.
Both Andy and Marco took out not just the Australian title, but also the global title in Trinidad; Marco in 2006 when the competition first began and Andy in 2011.
This year the stakes will be higher as the prize for winning the Australian finals has been boosted to $10,000 in cash and a trip to Trinidad to compete in the global finals, plus $5,000 worth of stock for the winning bartender's venue.