Bols Around the World to be broadcast live

The grand final of the Bols Around the World 2014 bartending championship will be broadcast live for the first time on 20 May, giving audiences across the globe the chance to vote for their favourite bartender.

Bols Around the World will be broadcast live this year for the first time

Taking place in Amsterdam, the global cocktail competition will whittle down over 3,000 entries to just one winner at a live final attended by hundreds of spectators.

And for the first time this year, it will be broadcast live on www.bols.com to allow spectators at home the opportunity to vote for their favourite bartender to win the Audience Award.

The Dutch liqueurs brand has now picked the 18 semi-finalists who will head to Amsterdam in May for a four-day intensive training experience at the Bols Bartending Academy. Throughout their time, their skills will be scrutinised by a panel of six judges – including last year’s winner Rusty Cerven and Dead Rabbit Grocery & Grog owners Jack McGarry and Sean Muldoon – who will choose just 10 to go through to the grand final on 20 May.

The overall winner, a “visionary bartender, an innovator focused on creating the next trend in bartending”, will win a 10-day global bartending tour plus a guest shift in four cocktail capitals around the world.

“We have evolved Bols Around the World significantly this year, intensifying the level of competition yet further,” said Ara Carvallo, Lucas Bols global brand manager.

“Creativity in the bartending community, as evidenced by the commitment and passion of participants, seems to know no bounds and we are therefore very excited to welcome the final 18 to Amsterdam in May and to share the grand final live through the webcast for the first time, sharing the creativity of bartenders working with Bols to an even wider global audience.”

The 1.5-hour show, which will feature the flairtending skills of duo Tomek And Marek, will be broadcast from 8pm CET.

The 18 bartenders through to the semi-finals of Bols Around the World 2014 are:

Canada: Frederic Lafontaine
USA: Kate Gerwin
Brazil: Jéssica dos Santos
Argentina: Rodrigo Pascual Tubert
UK: Elliot Ball
Finland: Pekka Valitalo
Germany: Christian Kern
Italy: Paolo Baccino
Austria: Dominik Wolf
France: Sami Mersel
Netherlands: Airto Cramer
Estonia: Andrei Kazakov
Russia: Katerina Babich
Poland: Arek Stefaniak
United Arab Emirates: Christian Pineda Aguacia
Japan: Yukiko Watanabe
Hong Kong: Antonio Lai Chun Nam
Australia: Jack Sotti