Round 1: Application
Create and submit an original cocktail inspired by this year’s theme, “Time in a Bottle.” Using flavor, technique and presentation, build a cocktail that deploys time as a key ingredient. Your cocktail must include at least one eligible Virginia-made spirit as its “hero ingredient.”
A closed panel will review all applications and select the top 25 bartenders to advance to the Semifinals.
Round 2: Digital Competition
Those 25 competitors will receive:
Semifinalists will then submit:
Judges will score every submission using a standardized rubric and select five Regional Finalists (one from each region) to advance.
People’s Choice Vote
The remaining 20 semifinalists, will compete in a public “people’s choice” round. The competitor who receives the most votes will advance to compete live at Virginia Distilled as the “People’s Choice Finalist.”
Round 3: Live Final Round
The six finalists will compete live at Virginia Distilled at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture in Richmond.
Finalists will receive:
Finalists will receive a new prompt and create a new cocktail that will be presented before a live panel of judges (the same panel that reviewed semifinalist submissions).
The finals will also involve a “people’s choice” component, where guests of Virginia Distilled will enjoy half-sized pours of the finalist cocktails and vote on their favorite. Fractionally weighted points received from this portion of the competition will act as “bonus points” over and above the judges’ scores.
The overall winner will receive:
Applications for the 2026 Virginia Cocktail Games have officially closed. Thank you to everyone who submitted their cocktails — we can’t wait to share this year’s incredible lineup.
Make sure you meet these requirements:
