Photo: Ellie Crew
The highly anticipated PATRÓN Perfectionists Cocktail Competition is back, which is great news for Tequila lovers in South Australia.
While this is a national/global competition, last year South Australia’s hospitality scenes submitted more entries than any other state- so it’s safe to say that in the coming months Adelaide’s bar scene will be flooded with Tequila-based creations on offer.
The competition’s new virtual format that will enable bartenders to express their creativity from the safety of their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic across the world. The online competition is now open for entries until the end of May 2021.
PATRÓN Perfectionists calls on mixologists from 20 countries across the five continents to submit a cocktail
recipe that reflects their journey as they strive to perfect their craft. This year’s brief is for entrants to present a
cocktail using up to eight accessible ingredients to encourage consumers following the competition to recreate
cocktail recipes at home. The judging criteria for the ultimate cocktail will look to flavour, appearance,
inspiration & engagement, and originality to decide on the winning selection. The ethos of the competition
builds on Patrón Tequila’s core values of creativity, quality, and versatility.
For the very first time, the Perfectionists Cocktail Competition will see consumers play a pivotal role in the
competition as they are called to cast their vote on a shortlist of 30 cocktails published online via drinks website
Difford’s Guide. The rise of the home cocktail hour during the pandemic has armed drinkers with a newfound
knowledge of spirits and cocktails and an appreciation of the bar scene and bartenders’ talent, makes them the
perfect judges for this year’s competition.
The competition will see 10 mixologists per country take part in a national final in September which will be
judged by a panel of four global expert judges and broadcast globally, providing further opportunity to spotlight
their craft and connect with consumers.
One lucky Australian winner will be flown to Mexico in January 2022 – to compete against the other national
finalists in the global final at Hacienda PATRÓN.
Bacardi-Martini Australia Brand Ambassador and 2017 & 2018 PATRÓN Perfectionist finalist, Joseph Chisholm,
recommends fellow Australian mixologists to enter this year’s competition. “The PATRÓN Perfectionists
competition is all about the strive for excellence and innovation. It was an excellent opportunity for me to
showcase what I love doing, which is experimenting with flavours and ingredients to find something that excites
the senses.”
“The competition helped to build momentum in my career and take it to the next level. We’ve got unbelievable
talent down under, so I encourage anyone who loves to push the boundaries like me, to enter and showcase the
world-class creativity coming out of Australia,” he said.
Over the past seven years, the PATRÓN Perfectionists Cocktail Competition has grown and nurtured a global
network of bartenders who are part of the Familia PATRÓN. With a prevailing commitment to supporting this
community, PATRÓN has executed a series of activities to keep the trade and Perfectionists at the forefront of
the brand’s work, even during the pandemic.
Testament to this commitment, recent initiatives such as PATRÓN Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead), Margarita
Perfection and the PATRÓN Pantry have been launched to keep the bartenders inspired and active at home
during the first lockdown.
Matthew Sykes, Senior Director, Global Marketing for PATRÓN and founder of the PATRÓN Perfectionists
Cocktail Competition, commented, “The PATRÓN Perfectionists has brought together a community of creative
and passionate bartenders who continue to push the boundaries of mixology and demonstrate the credentials
of artisanal tequila to consumers. For 2022, we have envisioned a new format that will enable bartenders to
express their talent and share it with the public globally. Over the past year, digital platforms have become
more important than ever, having allowed the trade to keep their work forefront of consumers’ minds and
inspire drinkers to raise their cocktail game at home. We cannot wait to roll out the new competition format
and showcase brilliant bartenders and their creations as they join our Familia PATRÓN.”
The PATRÓN Perfectionists Cocktail Competition entries will be open until 31st of May 2021.
For updates, follow the progress of the competition on Facebook and PATRONPerfectionists.com
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