Aussie bartenders are given a shot at a US cocktail competition by the elderflower flavoured liqueur

James France, of Vanguard Luxury Brands, announced last month that the St-Germain liqueur is offering one Australian bartender the chance to win a trip to New York City and have a cocktail judged by industry luminaries including the legendary Dale de Groff. This same winner will also then go on to spend several days working at a top bar in the US on a bartender exchange program.

Entries to the competition are made by bartenders submitting original St-Germain cocktails via www.lebarstgermain.com. If you don’t take out the top honours it’s worthwhile knowing that top recipes each month will receive American Express gift vouchers to the value of $300, $200 or $100 (USD) for first, second, or third place respectively. Furthermore, if an Aussie bartender wins the top award one month between now and April, they will fly to New York to have their cocktail judged at the Second Annual Can-Can Cocktail Classic in June with the winner of that competition attending the St-Germain Harvest Party in New York to celebrate the annual elderflower harvest which takes place in France in late spring. After that, the lucky bartender will head to Boston to spend several days working behind the stick in one of the country’s most innovative bars. 

Mr France commented: “Rob Cooper, St-Germain’s creator, realises the importance of the Australian market on the global drinks stage. He has generously offered one lucky bartender the opportunity to win this fantastic prize in recognition of Australian bartenders’ ability to make world-class cocktails.” For more information, see www.stgermain.fr