The biggest and most respected bartending competition in the country

 

The 26th National Bartenders Competition 2018 organized by Ceylon Hotel School Graduates Association (CHSGA) together with SLITHM & sponsored by Beverage Partner M/s. Rockland Distilleries, will be held from15th May up to 15th June 2018. The preliminary rounds of the competition which is a judge-exclusive event is already under way, with several bartenders vying for one of the spots in the finals.

 

Over the next few months, the bartenders will face the toughest of challenges, from making show-stopping creations that will shape the future of cocktail culture to shaking off their competition in the knockout NBT cocktail challenge.

 

A centrepiece of the of NBT 2018 will be the Training Sessions and the competition being held on two different days, allowing the contestants to come up with their own unique ideas and deliver an innovative cocktail classic for the competition. The two separate categories comprising of Creative / Innovative competitions will fall under ‘Classic Masters’ and ‘Flairing Cocktail’ Monin Cup. Another Special Feature of this year’s NBT Competition will be the creation of a separate category for Hotel School students. Training by Carl Anthony was already completed & there will be a separate category for the Competition as well, for the Hotel Schools sector.
The Trainer for the Classical Category, a Professional Bar Trainer from UK, Mr. Carl Anthony Brown has been appointed as the Brand Ambassador for “M/S Rockland Lanka Beverage products, who will be conducting the Training for all Bartenders in each region. Carl is an Award winning Bartender & Bar professional who has worked for one of the 10 best Bars in London, with a previous stint at Waldorf Astoria.

 

The following Regional Training sessions have been completed successfully in the Negombo Region with 62 Participants held at Jetwing Blue. Kandy Region with 36 Participants was held at Grand Kandyan. Down South Region with 55 Participants was at Eden Resort & SPA. Colombo Region with 70 Participants were held at Ramada Colombo. Hotel School sector Training (A separate category) was held at the Rockland Studio, which is a purpose-built Bar Studio & Lab.

 

The rest of the Regions, scheduled from 22nd March 2018 onwards comprise of; East Coast at Amaya Beach, Cultural Triangle at Aliya Resort, Hill Country at Araliya Green City and Deep Down South at Heritance Ahungalla.

 

With all competing for the title of ‘Bartender of the Year 2018’, each challenger is armed with the country’s finest luxury spirits courtesy of Rockland Distilleries, ready to create what they hope would be their stand-out cocktail.

 

The Semi Finals are scheduled to be held by the 2nd week of June. The Finals will be held immediately afterwards, with a Grand Finale & a Grand Cocktail for the Hospitality Sector. A total of 300 bar tenders or more will be trained during the competition.

 

The winners will be awarded a week’s training at the Association of Bartenders & Sommeliers, Singapore in view of the Asia Pacific Bartender of the Year competition.

 

The success of this event is hugely due to the inspiring efforts of the Chairman NBT Organizing Committee & Vice President CHSGA Mr Priyal Perera and the entire NBT 2018 team, who dedicated their total commitment & focussed attention towards this enhanced agenda; with a view to achieve the ultimate success of the competition.