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NORTH
AMERICA
Regional Competition
OVERVIEW
The Competition
彩 -IRODORI- :
KOJI × CULTURES
Your Culture.
Your Color.
One Glass.
This year invites you to build a cocktail around the theme IRODORI — KOJI × Cultures. We're leaving "Cultures" open to interpretation - koji is itself a living fermentation culture, and we want entrants to bring their own lens to the word, whether that's their personal heritage, their bar's community, regional tradition, or the culture of bartending itself. There's no single correct reading: the brief is intentionally broad so the range of entries reflects as many cultural perspectives as there are bartenders. Creativity is yours to explore.
Entry Requirements
Every submission must meet all five conditions below.
1 oz / 30 ml
minimum
Each cocktail must contain at least this amount of "iichiko Saiten (彩天)."
Ingredient count
Total ingredients used, excluding garnish, must not exceed six.
Garnish
All garnishes used must be edible.
Menu placement
Winners must list the cocktail on their venue's menu for the next term, or as a seasonal item for at least one month.
Back Bar
iichiko Saiten must be stocked on the back bar of the entrant's establishment.
Prizes
First Place Prize Includes:
Round trip
to Japan to compete in
the Global Final
iichiko Distillery visit
Guest shift
Eligibility Requirements
Entrants must meet the following criteria:
- Submit an original recipe.
- Be of the legal drinking age in their country of residence at the time of application, and must be 20 or older at the time of the Global Final (March 2027), as this is the legal drinking age in Japan and all finalists must be eligible to compete on-site.
- Be currently working as a bartender at a bar, hotel, restaurant, café, or similar licensed venue — or have equivalent professional bartending experience. The applicant's venue must currently carry "iichiko Saiten (彩天)" on its back bar at the time of application.
- Not be engaged as an ambassador, sponsored partner, or in any similar paid promotional role for any other specific alcohol brand.
-
Be able to participate in the
North America Final, scheduled
to be held in
Los Angeles on November 23.
Travel expenses to and from Los Angeles will be covered. - Be able to participate in the Global Final in Japan, scheduled for spring 2027.
North American Regional Schedule
Round 1
Submission period – July 1 – August
31
Results announced – By September 5
Round 2 – A video submission
Submission period – September 5 –
September 30
Results announced – By
October 10
Round 3 – Regional Final
Date – November 23
Location – Los
Angeles
The Legal Bit
By submitting an entry, applicants confirm and agree that:
- The submitted cocktail recipe is their own original creation and does not knowingly infringe the intellectual property, recipe, or trademark rights of any third party.
- The recipe has not been submitted to any other competition organized by a competing alcohol brand during this competition term.
- They grant iichiko (and its parent company, distributors, and authorized marketing partners) a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to reproduce, publish, adapt, and use the recipe, along with the applicant's name, venue name, and likeness, in connection with the competition and related marketing — including but not limited to print, digital, and social media.
- Applicants retain ownership of their original recipe; this license does not transfer ownership to iichiko.
- Applicants agree to indemnify iichiko against any third-party claims arising from a breach of the originality warranty above.
Review Criteria / Points Allocated
The following is the point allocation per judge.
The judging process will be conducted by multiple
judges, and applicant information will be kept
confidential in order to evaluate the works
themselves.
Your Culture. Your Color. One Glass. 20 points
North America Regional Final
Los Angeles
November 23, 2026
A Snapshot From
Previous Years
Scenes from past competition
