Adriatico Amaretto Cocktail Competition

In addition to the delicious alcoholic Adriatico Amaretto, made with roasted almonds, recipes entered into this nutty cocktail competition can be low- or no-alcohol and made with Adriatico Amaretto Zero, the alcohol-free version of the liqueur, or Adriatico Bianco, a white amaretto made with almond milk. Yumm!

There are prizes for the best recipe entered by a professional bartender and home cocktail enthusiast, with runners-up prizes for both categories.

The aim is to find new contemporary cocktails which can be replicated in bars and homes around the world. Hence, the ingredients must be easily available without the need to pre-combine ingredients. No homemade ingredients!

Naturally, cocktails must include at least 15ml (½oz) of any Adriatico liqueur:

• Alcoholic Adriatico Amaretto
• Adriatico Amaretto Zero
• Adriatico Bianco

Cocktails may be long or short drinks (not shots), with a minimum liquid volume of 90ml (3oz).

Cocktails based on fewer than 7 ingredients are preferred.

This competition is open to professional and home cocktail enthusiasts worldwide.

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 to first join our community of Discerning Drinkers as a free member before uploading your cocktail recipe.

Prizes

The winning professional bartender and home enthusiast will each receive €500, with a special pack of goodies from Adriatico to each of the two runners-up.

Key Dates

Sunday 19 April 2026 – National Amaretto Day – Competition opens for entries
Sunday 31 May 2026 midnight G.M.T. – Competition closes for entries
Friday 12 June 2026 – Winners announced

Judging

A panel of judges (below) will assess all cocktail recipes entered and accompanying photographs. 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

Judges

Mathilde De Salivet De Fouchecour – Adriatico Brand Developer
Erwan Le Bonniec – Adriatico Brand Developer Nordics
Al Sotack – Adriatico Brand Ambassador New York
Simon Difford – yours truly

Rules

1. The competition is open to professional bartenders and home cocktail makers 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 for combinations of the same 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. By entering this competition, competitors agree to assign the copyright of their recipe and drink name to Odd Firm of Sin Ltd (Difford's Guide) and Bellaventura Brands (Adriatico).

8. Cocktail names, including rude, lurid, sexual words or words associated with narcotics or motor vehicles, are prohibited.

9. The competition organisers reserve the right to make the final decision on any matter relating to the competition's judging.