From Neon Nights to Amsterdam, right here’s what bartenders have to know in regards to the Bols Cocktail Battle.
As cocktail competitions proceed to evolve, the main focus has shifted from technical perfection to one thing broader—creativity, storytelling, and connection. The Bols Cocktail Battle leans straight into that shift, providing bartenders a platform that extends effectively past the bar.
We caught up with Ignacio Llaneza, Vice President of Advertising for the U.S. and Canada at Lucas Bols, to study extra.
What ought to bartenders learn about Bols Cocktail Battle?
Bols Cocktail Battle is about giving bartenders a platform to specific their creativity on a nationwide—and in the end world—stage.
It begins with Discovery Occasions throughout the U.S., designed to showcase the complete Lucas Bols portfolio—not simply Bols liqueurs, however a broader vary of flavors, codecs, and types that bartenders can work with behind the bar. From there, entries are submitted by way of Difford’s Information web site, and we transfer by way of regional choice—East and West—towards two U.S. winners.
Past the competitors itself, it’s an actual visibility platform, with finalists and winners featured throughout Chilled Journal, Difford’s, and Bols social channels. And for us, this builds on the momentum from final 12 months—celebrating our 450th anniversary with the launch of Bols Blue 1575 and a takeover at Tales of the Cocktail—persevering with to put money into the bartender neighborhood in a significant means.
Speak to us in regards to the Neon theme, and East vs. West.
“Neon Nights” is about vitality—cocktails which might be vibrant, expressive, and visually putting.
At present, drinks don’t simply have to style nice—they have to be shared. We’re seeing a transparent shift towards cocktails which might be designed to face out, be photographed, and be shared.
Neon is a pure reflection of that—drinks which might be daring, memorable, and constructed for social events.
Fairly than a direct competitors between areas, the East and West construction permits us to highlight expertise throughout the nation. We’ll have finalists and in the end one winner from every area, guaranteeing we seize a broader vary of types, influences, and views throughout the U.S. bartending neighborhood.
Inform us a bit about Bols’ earlier competitions.
Bols has been supporting bartenders globally for years by way of competitions and schooling, significantly by way of the Bols Cocktail Academy.
Extra just lately, we’ve mixed that with cultural moments—like our 450th anniversary and the launch of Bols Blue 1575, which we dropped at life by way of a takeover at Tales of the Cocktail.
Throughout the business, competitions have develop into a key means for bartenders to achieve recognition, and we’ve been proud to be a part of that evolution.
The winner receives a visit to Amsterdam—what does that have appear like?
It’s what we name the “Cocktail Fever” expertise. Winners journey to Amsterdam and join with bartenders from around the globe for a totally immersive program centered across the Home of Bols and the Bols Cocktail Academy. Additionally they get to go to the Bols Distillery and meet Bols Grasp Distiller and The Bols Academy workforce.
It’s hands-on, it’s collaborative, and it’s designed to encourage—whether or not that’s by way of tasting, workshops, or just being immersed in one of many world’s most inventive cocktail cities.
Why is Amsterdam such an vital place for Bols and for bartenders to expertise firsthand?
Amsterdam is the place Bols was based in 1575, so it’s the place our story begins.
However what makes it significant for bartenders is that it’s not simply historical past—it’s a metropolis the place cocktail tradition continues to evolve. You see how custom and innovation coexist, which is precisely the steadiness bartenders are navigating right now.
What can bartenders anticipate to study or take away from that journey?
A deeper understanding of taste—learn how to construct steadiness, how liqueurs form a cocktail, how small changes change all the expertise.
However past that, it’s perspective. It’s stepping exterior your day-to-day setting and coming again with new concepts, new strategies, and a stronger perspective. They will even get to satisfy superb bartenders from around the globe, study from one another, and construct lasting relationships that may profit their bartending careers.
What ought to bartenders know when working with Bols merchandise?
Consider it as a taste toolkit.
Bols is designed to present bartenders precision and suppleness—whether or not you’re constructing a traditional, creating one thing extremely visible, or scaling a cocktail for service. The liquids are constant, vibrant, and constructed for efficiency behind the bar.
On the similar time, they ship a degree of high quality corresponding to many super-premium liqueurs, whereas permitting operators to handle value extra successfully—in the end supporting stronger margins with out compromising the visitor expertise. And importantly, that extends past liqueurs—the broader Lucas Bols portfolio provides bartenders a whole system to work throughout events and codecs.
What are you hoping to see from entries—technical precision, storytelling, daring flavors?
All of it—however it should join.
The strongest entries are those the place all the pieces feels intentional—the flavour, the visible, the story. When these parts align, the drink stands out instantly.
What would you say to somebody who’s on the fence about submitting?
Simply go for it.
There’s lots of upside—visibility, expertise, and the prospect to problem your self. Even being chosen as a finalist places your work in entrance of the business in a significant means.
How do Bols liqueurs match into right now’s cocktail panorama?
They’re extra related than ever. As cocktails develop into extra experiential and visually pushed, liqueurs are taking part in a much bigger function in delivering shade, aroma, and differentiation.
That’s precisely what we leaned into with Bols Blue 1575—bringing a contemporary, premium expression of an iconic class into right now’s cocktail tradition. That mixture of taste, visible impression, and industrial effectivity is what makes them so related for right now’s operators.
What makes an entry stand out to the judges?
Readability. When a cocktail has a transparent concept behind it—and each ingredient helps that concept—it stands out straight away.
When you may give bartenders one purpose to enter, what wouldn’t it be?
As a result of it’s an actual alternative to be seen. This can be a platform that connects you to the broader business—domestically and globally—and provides you the prospect to share your perspective in a significant means.
Concerned with discovering extra? Enter the Bols Cocktail Battle right here.
The put up A Platform for Discovery: Contained in the Bols Cocktail Battle appeared first on Chilled Journal.
