By Sacha Delfosse
The seventh annual Bols Around The World competition has been launched and local bartenders are being encouraged to enter and regain the world champion title that was first won by Australian Naren Young in 2007.
Following Young’s victory at the inaugural Bols Around The World championship, other notable local bartenders such as Luke Redington and Dan Gregory have represented the country as finalists.
The competition attracts bartenders from 60 countries, with the 20 best entrants then chosen to compete in an intensive four day semi-final in Amsterdam.
From there, the top 12 will be chosen to go head-to-head in the finals, which are judged by industry heavyweights such as Hidetsugu Ueno, Helmut Adam, Jeff 'Beachbum' Berry, Jared Brown and Anistatia Miller.
The winner of the world championship will be rewarded with an eight-day global bar tour that will allow them to visit the best cocktail bars of their choice in four of the major cocktail capitals in the world, as well as a one-year Bols Platinum Ambassadorship.
The other 11 finalists will receive a one-year Gold Bols Ambassadorship that includes a training trip to Amsterdam as well as an honorary contract to represent the brand in their home country.
For the 2013 Bols Around The World contest bartenders need to make it through four different heats to qualify for a chance in the finals. The first heat tests bartenders' skills at creating an iconic cocktail that is emblematic of their country. The deadline for the first heat is March 1. For more information visit www.bols.com
Did Dan Gergory not also win this comp?