Lustau Sherry Cocktail Competition 2026

The aim is to find new contemporary classic sherry cocktails with international appeal. Ingredients must be readily available, and recipes should not require homemade preparations.

Cocktails must be based on at least 30ml (1oz) of any Lustau sherry on Difford's Guide or a combination of Lustau sherries on Difford's Guide.

Cocktails may be in the form of long or short drinks (not shots) with a minimum of 75ml (2.5oz) liquid volume.

As the festive season beckons, sherry comes into its own. Hence, although not a condition of entry, we'd also like to read the brief story behind your cocktail: the memory, the place, person, or the moment that inspired it.

Cocktails based on fewer than seven ingredients are preferred, including fruit juices, syrups, drops, or dashes. Solid garnishes are not considered ingredients. If citrus fruit zest is specified as a garnish, it is acceptable to spray it over the cocktail without it counting as an ingredient.

This competition is open to home cocktail enthusiasts worldwide and is not aimed at professional bartenders. (Lustau holds its annual Solera Standout competition for professional bartenders.)

Enter

To enter, please complete the short form on the ENTER page. If you are already a Difford's Guide member and logged in, we already have your name and email. If you are new to Difford's Guide, then you'll be asked for this additional information to become a member and upload your cocktail recipe.

Prizes

The winning home enthusiast will win

• €700 Euros.
• Lustau tasting box with bottles of six different styles of sherry.
• Special VORS or other limited edition Lustau bottle.
• Difford's Guide signed book.
• Difford's Shaker and Stirring Bundles.

Key Dates

• Monday 2 November 2026 (the first day of Sherry Week) – Competition opens for entries.
• Sunday 13 December 2026 midnight G.M.T. – Competition closes for entries.
• Friday 18 December 2026 – Winner announced.

Judging

A panel of judges, including Lustau's Ambassador Steven Dragun and Simon Difford will assess all cocktails entered to find the worthy winner. 

The most delicious yet easy-to-replicate recipes will receive the highest scores, awarded for:

• Taste = out of 50 points
• Ease to replicate = out of 20 points
• Name = out of 10 points
• Photo/video = out of 10 points
• Broad appeal/potential to become a contemporary classic = out of 10 points

Inspirational resources

• Difford's Sherry Cocktails Hub
• Sherry Journey for all things sherry and sherry cocktails
• Sherry Explorer
• Certified Sherry Wines Specialist Course

Availability

For availability of Lustau products in your country, contact the import agent, or if in the USA, contact your state distributor.)

Rules

1. The competition is open to home cocktail enthusiasts worldwide.
2. Recipes entered must be the original creation of the competitor, and if a competitor is thought to have plagiarised a known, existing cocktail, they will be disqualified. [Please use Difford's Cocktail Finder to check if an existing cocktail uses the same combination of ingredients.]
3. Ingredients must be easily available the world over and cannot be homemade.
4. Batching, infusing and pre-combining of ingredients is not permitted.
5. Recipes must be submitted with an accompanying photograph, which will be included in the judge's evaluation and contribute to scoring.
6. Cocktails may be hand-stirred, hand-shaken, thrown or blended, served hot, straight-up, or served over cubed, cracked or crushed ice.
7. Garnishes must be edible but may be mounted on sticks, skewers, straws, forks or other such common bar accessories. Use of edible fruits, herbs, leaves and spices may include sprigs, peels, barks, fruit shells etc. Any flowers and petals used must be of an edible variety.
8. By entering this competition, competitors agree to assign the copyright of their recipe and drink name to Difford's Guide (Odd Firm of Sin Ltd) and Bodegas Lustau (Emilio Lustau S.A.).
9. Drink names, including rude, lurid, sexual words or words associated with narcotics or motor vehicles, are prohibited.
10. The competition organisers reserve the right to make the final decision on any matter relating to the competition's judging.