Submission Guidelines

Each entrant must submit one original cocktail recipes:

  • Sponsored by Campari USA, this round’s submissions must feature Campari.

  • Each drink must include at least 1.5 oz of the featured spirit

  • Additional spirits and modifiers are allowed

    Important Dates

  • Online Submission Deadline: Tuesday, November 6th at 11:59 PM

  • Live Finals (Open to Public): Wednesday, November 19th, 2025

We’re back for Round Three. This fall, we’re raising the bar, literally. The Alchemists’ Garden invites bartenders to step behind the stick and show us what they’ve got under pressure.

For this round, your canvas: Campari. Bitter, bright, and herbal, how you use it is up to you…

Celebrating Craft, Community, and Creative Expression

Evaluation Criteria

This round focuses on technique, poise, and performance. Finalists will compete live, bartending directly in front of the judging panel.

You'll be evaluated on:

  • Creative Expression – Get weird. Surprise us.

  • Fall Seasonality – Capture the season’s bounty and soul.

  • Speed & Cleanliness – Efficiency meets grace.

  • Professionalism Behind the Bar – Confidence, composure, and showmanship.

Timed Format:

  • 8 minutes to serve judges' cocktails

  • 8 minutes to serve crowd tasters

  • All tools down and station reset at the buzzer.

  • Excess time = potential disqualification.

Awards

  • Judges’ Choice - 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place

  • People’s Choice - selected by guest voting during the finals

Each rounds winner will receive an invitation to compete in our 2026 Grand Finals.