The first Trans-Tasman sustainability-focused cocktail competition, the 42Below Cocktail Earth Cup, will be held in Queenstown, NZ from today until 24th August.
Competitors were required to create and submit a cocktail championing environmentally sustainable practices, using 42Below vodka as the base.
The competition was enthusiastically contested, with entries including everything from the ‘Infinity’, which used pear cores that would otherwise be thrown away; a ‘From Tank to Table’, which uses rain water; and the ‘Let’s Get Tropical’, which claims to be a closed-loop or zero waste drink.
For the final, five Australian bar teams from five venues will fly to Queenstown and compete head-to- head with five of rival Kiwi bar teams.
42Below Brand Ambassador Sean Forsyth explained that the teams will be put through their paces learning waste eliminating bar practices, and sustainable cocktail methods, while also getting amongst the action in Queesntown.
“From bungee jumping to a ‘carbon footsprint,’ we will ensure the contestants will have an unforgettable experience in our spiritual brand home,” he says.
The victorious team will be granted the prize of returning to judge next year’s competition alongside “Vodka Professor Legend” and director of global trade advocacy for Bacardi, Jacob Briars.
This year’s judging panel will see Briars weighing up the entries alongside Steve Schneider, 2012 42Below Cocktail World Cup winner, and Bonnie Shearston, owner of Public in Brisbane.
We’re delighted to have Steve and Bonnie judging this year’s competition,” says Briars. “It’s so important we have such a highly regarded bartender and bar owner on the panel as we plan to make this the first step in 42Below shining a bit of a spotlight on some simple sustainable practices we can do behind the bar; which requires support from both bartender and bar owner. We know there are a good few people in our industry out there doing some great work already, and we’re simply providing a platform to share learnings and ideas amongst a great young generation of bartending talent.”
42Below has offset all carbon dioxide emissions from the Cocktail Earth Cup thanks to the Ekos Rainforest Carbon Boutique. These offsets come from New Zealand’s first and so far only internationally certified rainforest carbon project, located on Maori land in Western Southland.
The competing bars:
This Must Be The Place – Sydney – Jake Down and Elliott Bell
The Press Club – Brisbane – Matthew O’Sullivan and Steven Hubbard
The Halford Bar – Perth – Elise Godwin and Riccardo Baio
Quban – Geelong – Damien Kos and Gorge Camorra
The Collaroy Hotel – Sydney – Kurtis Bosley and Ben Varela
Bedford Soda and Liquor – Auckland – Lorietta Bahr and Phil Spector
Mea Culpa – Auckland – Darren Mynes and Jeremy Nivern
The Gin Room – Auckland – James Millar and Cameron Attfield
Cod & Lobster Brasserie – Nelson – Nick Widley and Pete Coates
LaLaLand – Wanaka – James Crinson and Chris Lehane
