Entries Are Open for the 2022 Licor 43 Bartenders & Baristas Challenge

Licor 43, the Spanish liqueur brand that celebrated its 75^th birthday last year, will return to in-person local and global finals for the sixth edition of its Bartenders & Baristas Challenge.

Entries for the annual competition designed to explore coffee cocktail creativity opened on May 9, and the Grand Final event is set to take place in Licor 43’s coffee home-away-from-home, Gran Canaria, on October 19.

Every year, Licor 43 calls on cocktail and coffee professionals around the world to showcase their expertise and imagination as they pair Licor 43 and coffee, and this sixth edition will return to an in-person format once the regional finalists have been chosen.

Returning to the global judging panel is International Barista Champion Merijn Gijsbers, who has worked with the competition since 2019. Joining him for 2022 is Thalita Freire, the 2021 Bartenders & Baristas Challenge Champion from Brazil, and acclaimed bartender Lynnette Marrero, known for co-creating the world’s first all-female speed bartending competition, Speed Rack.

Nine countries will participate this year—UK, Estonia, Mexico, Spain, Germany, US, Australia, Brazil, and Colombia—and each with have local judging teams that will choose who moves on to the Grand Final event. The 2022 global winner will receive a bursary to put towards professional equipment and career development courses, they will serve on next year’s judging panel, and they will become the Licor 43 Coffee Master for 2023, appearing with the brand at key international events.

“We are just so excited to get back to running this event in person,” says Julian Fernandez, Zamora Company’s Global Marketing & Innovation Director of Spirits. “We’re seeing a growing consumer interest for Licor 43 and coffee-based cocktails, so with this sixth edition of the Bartenders & Baristas Challenge, we are aiming to help the coffee mixology culture develop even further.”

Entries for the 2022 challenge are open at licor43.com, with applicants invited to submit videos showing them making and talking about their cocktail creations.  Each national round will see one winner to go on to the global final stage. 

Head to licor43.com for more details and to enter.