THE IBG COMPETITION – Cocktail Week India

Most Innovative Bartender Cocktail Competition

This Program is available to all qualified residents of India, Nepal, Sri Lanka. The Program is void wherever prohibited or restricted by law.

The individuals acting as Judges will be selected by IBG in its sole discretion. The number and identity of the individuals acting as Judges and deciding the IBG National Champion shall be determined and may be changed at any time with or without notice, by IBG in its sole and absolute discretion.

The Program will involve an Entry to be completed and submitted as set forth below on or before November 1, 2024. All submissions will include an Original Cocktail Recipe, a recorded Cocktail Demonstration, and a 1 minute inspiration story. Two panels of judges will review each submission with The recipe portion being evaluated anonymously. The scores will be combined, and the Top 5 highest-scoring entrants will advance to the The Most Innovative Cocktail Competition National Final which will take place during the Cocktail Week India in Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj on Saturday, November 23, 2024. The National Challenge will require all Competitors to use an assigned spirit to present an original cocktail. The highest-scoring competitor will be named the 2024 IBG National Champion (the “Champion”) and will represent the IBG at the IBA World Cocktail Championship in Fall 2025, date and location TBD. The second highest-scoring competitor (the “Runner-Up”) will represent the IBG at the Regional Championship, in Fall 2025, date and location TBD.

Minimum Qualifications: Eligible individuals completing an application to the Program (each, an "Entrant") must meet the following minimum qualifications to be considered for the National Final:

Be 21 years of age or older to participate;
Be a current Bar Professional member of the IBG;
Not be currently employed or engaged by liquor companies or distributors as full-time employees or consultants;
Employees, contractors, paid staff, and their immediate family members (parents, children, siblings or spouse,
regardless of where they live, or persons living in same household, whether related or not) of IBG
Entrants whose Entries are selected for the The Most Innovative Bartender Cocktail Competition National Final will additionally need to travel to and participate in the relevant finals to continue to be eligible to win

In order to be considered, Entrants must electronically submit a full-completed Entry by 11:59 PM PT on November 1, 2024, ("Entry Deadline") through the application link set forth below. No late submissions will be accepted. If the Program cannot be run as planned for any reason, including, but not limited to, computer viruses, pandemic or other local, state, or national restrictions, tampering, technical or other problems that damage its operation or integrity, IBG reserves the right to cancel, delay or modify the Program in its sole discretion.

Program Entry - To qualify for the The Most Innovative Cocktail Competition (the " National Final " or "Final"), all applications will be evaluated based on the application detailed below:

Application Entry:

Submit must submit one (1) original cocktail recipe and one (1) recorded digital video demonstration/1-minute inspiration story via the application link, which can be found here: (the "Application Entry" or "Entry"). Follow the directions to enter the Program and provide your Entry. Entrants will be required to complete the entry form by providing certain information, such as name, address, contact information, and recipe.

Submit an original signature cocktail recipe.
Homemade ingredients and syrups are not allowed.
The maximum number of alcoholic and non-alcoholic ingredients in the recipe shall be limited to six (6) including dashes, drops, and rimmed glassware.
Garnishes must be edible and can be placed on the rim of glass. Garnishes in the glass or touching the liquid will be considered an ingredient if it affects the flavor of the drink, i.e., slated rim.
Drinks may be stirred, shaken, built, or thrown.

Recipe shall not include blended or hot beverages (coffee, tea, etc.)
Due to permitting restrictions, use of open flame is prohibited. Matches are not considered “open flame.” Flaming garnishes will be allowed.
Drink names including rude, lurid, sexual words or words associated with narcotics or motor vehicles, are prohibited.
Recipes will be scored as follows: Flavor Analysis/Perceived Taste (20 points), Originality (20 points), Craft (10 points), Technical Presentation (40 points), and Inspiration (10 points).
IBG reserves the right to ensure/modify cocktail name and ingredients to comply with Program terms.
IBG reserves the right to feature the cocktail recipe, in whole or part, in any and all IBG-owned properties, without attribution or compensation.

Conditions of Entry

Restricted to one Entry per Entrant. Multiple Entries may result in disqualification. The first and last name provided by Entrants will be the identity of the Entrant and, if selected and qualified for a prize, the identity of the winner. The use of a fake name or email address will disqualify an Entrant. Use of agencies or robotic, repetitive, programmed, or similar entry methods is prohibited. All Entrants agree to abide by these Terms & Conditions and waive any right to claim ambiguity in this Program or these Terms & Conditions. Uploading of an Entry is not an indication that the Entrant has won a prize or is otherwise eligible for a prize. By entering the Program, Entrants represent and warrant that their Entry is their sole, original work and that it does not infringe upon the rights of any other party, including, but not limited to any intellectual property, trade secret, or other proprietary rights of any other party. All Entries become the property of IBG and will not be acknowledged or returned. All Entries must be completed, including uploading of the Shake It Up Cocktail recipe and digital cocktail demonstration/1-minute inspiration story, during the Entry Period to be eligible for the Program. All federal, state, municipal, and local laws and regulations apply. IBG reserves the right to verify all eligibility qualifications. Void where prohibited by law.

Void Program Entries

Entries that are deemed by the IBG, Judges, or Cocktail Week in their sole discretion, to be offensive, immoral, obscene, profane, defamatory, not in keeping with the image of the Sponsor or IBG, or in violation of these Terms & Conditions will be void. Further, all Entries that contain copyrighted or other proprietary materials for which the Entrant has not obtained appropriate assignment of rights, as well as any content which disparages or portrays the IBG or Cocktail Week in a negative light, or otherwise violates these Terms & Conditions will be void. Furthermore, neither IBG nor is responsible for lost, incomplete, stolen, damaged, garbled, corrupt, illegible, late, or unintelligible entries, or other errors appearing in these rules or other Program materials, misprints or errors in other Program-related information, garbled communications, failures or malfunctions of internet connections, phones, phone lines, telephone systems, technical or mechanical malfunctions, or other malfunctions, problems or errors, whether caused by equipment, programming used in this Program, processing errors, human errors or otherwise. IBG, Cocktail Week, and/or Judges reserve the right, at their sole discretion, to void any Entries from Entrants whom IBG are believed to have attempted to tamper or have tampered with the administration, security, or fairness of this Program. Entries must be unpublished and must be the work solely of the Entrant.

National Final

Valid Entries will be evaluated by Judges upon the criteria described in these Terms & Conditions in the exercise of their own judgment. The Top Five (5) entrants from across the India will be selected as “the National Finalists” and will advance to The Innovative Bartender Cocktail Competition at Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj November 23-24, 2024. Entrants that have been selected to proceed to the National Final will be notified on or around November 15, 2024.

The National Final will be held in Delhi at the Cocktail Week Cocktail Village on November 23th, 2024. The IBG will arrange roundtrip coach airfare for each National Finalist from the airport closest to each Finalist’s primary residence to Delhi and will provide a travel allowance of INR 2500 upon arrival. Cocktail Week will arrange for and pay the cost of hotel accommodations for the National Finalist’s during those dates at the hotel selected by Cocktail Week. If a National Finalist lives within 50 kms of the host city, ground transportation may be substituted for airfare.

There will be one (1) Competition Challenge during the National Final. This challenge will require all Competitors to use an assigned spirit to present an original cocktail. The winner of the National Final will be determined as follows

Tasting Judging

Appearance – Max 15 Points
Aroma – Max 10 Points
Taste – Max 30 Points
Garnish & Decoration – Max 10 Points
Accuracy – Max 10 Points
Overall Impression –
Max 10 Points –
Tie Breaker Points Only

IBA Technical Judging

Starts at 350 Points
Deductions:
Station Set-Up – Max 50 Points
Bar Utensils – Ice Handling – Max 50 Points
Pouring – Max 65 Points
Bartending Techniques – Max 105 Points
Recipe, Garnish, & Decoration – Max 45 Points (potential DQ if recipe does not
match what was submitted)
Dress Code – Max 25 Points
Time Limit – 15 Points will be deducted per every 15 seconds over 7 minutes Cocktail Presentation Judging
Content of Speech – Max 65 Points
Attitude – Max 35 Points

Garnish Prep

Starts at 50 Points
Deductions:
Station Set-Up – Max 50 Points
Time Limit – 10 Points will be deducted per every 15
seconds over 15 minutes

The highest-scoring competitor will be named the 2024 IBG National Champion and will represent the IBG at the IBA World Cocktail Championship, Fall 2025, date and location TBD (the "Prize"). The second highest- scoring competitor will be named the Runner-Up and will represent the IBG at the Regional IBA Cocktail Championship, Fall 2025, date and location TBD (the "Prize"). All Finalists must have a valid passport and be eligible for international travel. The IBG will arrange roundtrip coach airfare from the airport closest to the Champion’s primary residence to the World Cocktail Championship and pay the cost of hotel accommodations. In addition, the IBG will arrange roundtrip coach airfare from the airport closest to the Runner-Up’s primary residence to the Regional IBA Championship and pay the cost of hotel accommodations. All decisions by the Judges are final. In the event that a potential winner is disqualified or ineligible for any reason, the potential winner(s) forfeits the Prize and IBG will award the prize to the next highest scoring National Finalist.

Prize and Approximate Retail Value

The estimated retail value of each Prize is INR 2,00,000. A Prize may not be upgraded, and no substitutions by the Winner will be allowed; except IBG reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to substitute a Prize for one of equal or greater value if the designated Prize should become unavailable for any reason. The Winner may waive his/her right to receive the Prize. All taxes on the Prize are Winner's sole responsibility. By accepting the Prize, Winner waives the right to assert as a cost of winning said Prize, any and all costs of redemption or travel to redeem said prize and any and all liability that might arise from redeeming or seeking said prize.

Entrant Representations and Warranties

By submitting an Entry, Entrant further represents and warrants that: (a) the Entry has been previously licensed or transferred, and that Entrant unconditionally assigns and transfers to IBG all worldwide rights, title, interest and claim, which Entrant now has or may in the future have to their Entry or any element(s) thereof including, but not limited to, all intellectual property rights and each Entrant hereby waives all rights Entrant has or may have in their Entry or any element(s) thereof; and (b) any person(s) referenced has given his or her express written consent to the reference and use as contemplated by these Terms & Conditions and that Entrant has obtained written permission for such use from any such person. Submission of an Entry grants IBG the right to use, publish, adapt, edit and/or modify the Entry in any way, in whole or in part, and to use such Entry, and any ideas or concepts contained therein, in commerce and in any and all media now known or hereafter discovered, worldwide, including but not limited to IBG's website, without limitation or compensation to the Entrant and without right of notice, review or approval of any such use of the Entry.