Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac (BNIC) launched the 2nd annual Cognac Connection campaign in the US.
This virtual program has the core objective of educating and inspiring cocktail professionals on the Cognac region and spirit, as well as providing support to bartenders. Partnering with industry veterans, Lynnette Marrero and Ivy Mix of Speed Rack, along with media partner, VinePair, the multi-faceted campaign includes a series of activations such as virtual tastings and master classes for trade and media and Instagram lives with Speed Rack, Cognac Educators and last year’s winners.
The pillar of the campaign, the “Cognac Connection Challenge”, is a cocktail competition open to all professional bartenders/mixologists, which will run from June 25-Aug. 31. Entrants are required to submit an original cognac-based cocktail, which will be judged both on creativity and deliciousness, along with other criteria.
The judging panel includes Lynnette Marrero and Ivy Mix of Speed Rack, certified Cognac Educator Kellie Thorn and a VinePair representative. Ten winning bartenders will each receive an educational award of $1,000, and their cocktails will be showcased across social media channels as well compiled into a digital recipe book, -available for download this fall on CognacConnection.com.
Virtual events include an educational webinar for trade in July and weekly Instagram live chats with Speed Rack for the duration of the competition. This year, with the widespread distribution of COVID vaccines, events will also include a socially-responsible in-person media happy hour in New York City in June as well as an on-premise program launching on National Cognac Day (June 4th). The promotion will run until June 11th at a dozen bars across the country. The full list of participating bars can be found on CognacConnection.com.