Bartender of the Year – Official Rules

  1. CONTEST DESCRIPTION NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER THIS CONTEST. LIMIT ONE (1) ENTRY PER PERSON. THE 2011-2012 DOMAINE DE CANTON BARTENDER OF THE YEAR CONTEST (“CONTEST”) IS A SKILL CONTEST IN WHICH ENTRANTS COMPETE TO RECEIVE PRIZES BY SUBMITTING COCKTAIL RECIPES USING DOMAINE DE CANTON AS A BASE OR CO-BASE. THE CONTEST BEGINS NOVEMBER 1, 2011. ALL CONTESTANTS MUST SUBMIT THEIR APPLICATIONS ONLINE NO LATER THAN MIDNIGHT MARCH 31, 2012.
  2. ELIGIBILITY THE CONTEST IS OPEN TO ALL THOSE OF LEGAL DRINKING AGE IN THEIR NATIVE COUNTRIES, VOID WHERE PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED BY LAW. To be eligible, the contestant (“Contestant”) must be employed as a bartender by a commercial bar or food service establishment on the date of entry, have a valid passport, and be willing and able to travel internationally by air. Neither members of the judging panel; employees, officers, or directors of the Sponsor (defined below), or of its subsidiaries and affiliated companies; nor their immediate families or those living in their households are eligible to enter the Contest. If the Contestant enters as part of a company or on behalf of his/her employer, these rules (“Official Rules”) are binding on both the Contestant individually and his/her employer. If the Contestant is acting within the scope of his/her employment, as an employee, contractor, or agent of another party, then by his/her participation the Contestant warrants that such party has full knowledge of his/her actions and has consented to them, including his/her potential receipt of a prize. By participating in the Contest, the Contestant warrants that his/her actions do not violate his/her employer’s or company’s policies and procedures.
  3. HOW TO ENTER To enter the Contest, submit a complete application (“Application”) online, including (i) one (1) original cocktail recipe (“Recipe”); and (ii) the Contestant’s name, date of birth, residential address, employer’s name, employment position, and e-mail address. The Application must be submitted online no later than midnight March 31, 2012. The Recipe must be an original cocktail recipe created by the Contestant and must use Domaine de Canton “Ginger Extraordinaire” as the primary spirit in the cocktail’s preparation. The Recipe must use Domaine de Canton as it was intended, as the base or co-base of the cocktail. Each Recipe must yield one (1) serving and include a detailed description of all the ingredients used, the quantities or proportions of said ingredients, techniques used to prepare the cocktail, presentation, and glassware.

    LIMIT ONE (1) APPLICATION PER PERSON.

    Subsequent entries will be disqualified. The Application, including the Recipe, must be submitted in English. Applications in any other language will not be considered. All Applications become the property of the Sponsor at the time of submission and will not be returned or acknowledged. Entries are void if they are in whole or part illegible, incomplete, altered, counterfeit, manipulated, or obtained through fraud, or if they are lost, late, or misdirected, whether or not within the Sponsor’s control.
  4. PRIVACY Each Contestant must provide certain personal information for the Sponsor to process his/her Application to the Contest. By submitting his/her Application, the Contestant consents to the use of his/her personal information by the Sponsor and agrees to be bound by the Sponsor’s privacy policy.
  5. SPONSOR Domaine de Canton (“Sponsor”), located at 175 SW 7th Street, Suite 2107, Miami, FL 33130, is the sponsor of the Contest.
  6. JUDGING The Contest will include three (3) rounds of judging: Round I, Initial Entries; Round II, Regional Competitions; and Round III, Finals in French Saint Martin. The Sponsor will judge Round I. A panel selected by the Sponsor will judge Rounds II and III (the Sponsor and judging panel are collectively referred to herein as the “Judges”). The Judges’ decisions are final with respect to all aspects of the Contest. Recipes will be judged on the basis of flavor, originality, creative use of Domaine de Canton, presentation, technique, and style. The judging will take place following the end of the Term. The Judges will evaluate each entry on the following criteria: Flavor, Originality, Creative use of Domaine de Canton, Presentation, Technique, and Style. In the event of an overall tie, the Recipe that has received the highest score from the Judges in the “Flavor” category will be determined the winner. In the event of a tie in the “Flavor” category, the Recipe that has received the highest score from the Judges in the “Originality” Category will be determined the winner.

    Round I, Initial Entries: Round I entries with the highest scores will be selected to participate in Round II (described below). The Sponsor will notify the winners of Round I by e-mail using the e-mail addresses provided in the Applications. If a Contestant’s e-mail notification is returned as undeliverable, that Contestant will be disqualified and an alternate winner will be selected based on the criteria for the selection of winners described herein.

    Round II, Regional Competitions: Contestants will mix their recipe live for Judges. One (1) winner from each selected International market will participate in Round III, Finals in French Saint Martin. After all Regional Global Competitions (United States and selected Countries) takes place, the Judges will select five (5) contestants from the United States.
  7. Round III, Finals in French Saint Martin: The Finals will be held in French Saint Martin in Spring 2012 (date to be determined). Each winner of Round I will be required to mix his/her Recipe live before the Judges, who will evaluate and score each Contestant’s entry and performance based on the criteria described above. The Contestant with the highest score will be the grand prize winner of the Contest. The grand prize winner will be notified the day of the Finals.
  8. PRIZE ONLY ONE GRAND PRIZE WILL BE AWARDED. EXACT PRIZES MAY BE SUBJECT TO CHANGE. ODDS OF WINNING DEPEND ON THE NUMBER OF ELIGIBLE APPLICATIONS RECEIVED AND THE SKILL OF THE CONTESTANTS. The Sponsor will award the DOMAINE DE CANTON BARTENDER OF YEAR AWARD and the grand prize of $10,000 (USD) (“Grand Prize”) to one (1) Contestant. The approximate retail value (“ARV”) of the Grand Prize is $10,000 (USD). The ARV of each Round I prize, which simply qualifies a Contestant to move to the next round, is $0 (USD). Round I winners are responsible for all required travel documents, including passports and/or visas. Winners are also responsible for obtaining all forms of insurance, including but not limited to travel insurance, and acknowledge that the Sponsor has no obligation to obtain or provide travel insurance or any other form of insurance. No substitution, cash substitution, or assignment or transfer of prizes is permitted, except by the Sponsor for reason of unavailability, in which case a prize of equal or greater value will be awarded at the Sponsor’s discretion. Prizes consist of only those items specifically listed in this section.

    Prizes are awarded without warranty of any kind from the Sponsor, express or implied, without limitation, except where this would be contrary to federal, state, or local laws or regulations. All taxes, costs, and fees associated with the prizes are the sole responsibility of the winners. By entering the Contest, Contestants acknowledge that the Sponsor may withhold and pay taxes on behalf of the winning Contestant to the extent required by law. The winning Contestant will be required to provide the Sponsor proof of residency in his/her country before he/she may claim his/her prize. U.S. winners will also need to provide a social security number for purposes of tax reporting.
  9. CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION By entering the Contest, the Contestant agrees to be bound by the terms of these Official Rules and confirms that he/she meets all eligibility requirements listed herein. The Contestant agrees that all federal, state, and local laws and regulations apply. By submitting an Application, the Contestant agrees that these Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor and Judges are final and binding on all matters pertaining to this Contest. Each entrant warrants full ownership of the Recipe entry and that the Recipe entry does not violate the rights of any other party.
  10. LICENSE By submitting his/her Application, the Contestant grants the Sponsor and its successors, affiliates, and assigns an irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, exclusive, and perpetual license to use, reproduce, distribute, translate, publicly perform, publicly display, and create a derivative work from the Recipe that the Contestant submits when entering this Contest. The Contestant also agrees to allow the Sponsor to publish his/her name in association with the Recipe. In addition, before being declared a winner, each potential winner may be required to sign an assignment of copyright and trademark in favor of the Sponsor. The Contestant agrees to execute any further documents as necessary to effectuate the preceding license. Also, by submitting his/her Application, the Contestant gives the Sponsor permission to use his/her name, image, Application, and Recipe for marketing and publicity purposes and any other commercial purpose.
  11. DISCLAIMER AND RELEASE OF LIABILITY The Sponsor is not responsible for any typographical or other error in the printing of these Official Rules, the administration of the Contest, or the announcement of the prizes. If, in the Sponsor’s opinion, there is any suspected or actual evidence of tampering with any portion of the Contest, or if technical difficulties compromise the integrity of the Contest, the Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend the Contest. Any attempt to deliberately damage the content or operation of this Contest is unlawful and subject to legal action by the Sponsor or its agents. Contestants may be prohibited from participating in the Contest if the Sponsor, in its sole discretion, reasonably believes that a Contestant has attempted to undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest by cheating, deception, or other unfair playing practices, or if a Contestant annoys, abuses, threatens, or harasses any other Contestants, the Sponsor, or associated agencies. By entering the Contest, the Contestant agrees to hold harmless and release the Sponsor, its affiliates, assigns, employees, agents, and officers; advertising and promotion agencies; licensees; the Judges; and all others associated with the development and execution of this Contest from and against any and all liability, whether arising out of contract, tort, or statute, with respect to or in any way relating to the Contest, the awarding and use of prizes, or the use, modification, or publication of the Recipe submitted by the Contestant and release all claims relating to the Recipe, including any claims relating to intellectual property or copyright, trademark claims, and any claims relating to rights of publicity or trade secrets. The Sponsor assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, or delay in operation or transmission; communications line failure; theft or destruction of or unauthorized access to Contest entries or entry forms; or alteration of entries or entry forms. The Sponsor is not responsible for lost, misdirected, or incomplete mail.
  12. GOVERNING LAW This Contest and the Official Rules shall be governed and interpreted by the laws of the State of Florida, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.
  13. LIST OF WINNERS The names of the winners will be announced during or about the month of April 2012. The DOMAINE DE CANTON marks, bottle and label, and designs are registered trademarks and service marks exclusively of the Sponsor.