The “Cocktail Award” is a unique, interactive event held annually at Keio Plaza Hotel, where 300 guests act as judges to select the number one cocktail from the creative cocktails of six elite bartenders who have won their preliminary rounds. This event is a celebration of bartenders’ skills and creativity, as well as the stories and flavors packed into each glass.
The first event was held in 2002. It was conceived from the idea of many of our past bartenders, who had won numerous competitions both domestically and internationally, to host a hotel-sponsored event that would share the wonders of cocktails and the excitement of competitions with the general public.
The “Cocktail Award” features interesting themes for the creative cocktails each year, as well as the bartenders’ performances. Past themes have included “Movies,” “The Jazz,” and “Japanese World Heritage Sites,” resulting in many memorable cocktails. Starting in 2017, the event adopted a competition style that is popular worldwide, where bartenders present the origin of their cocktail’s name and the method of preparation in their own words, while performing. This has become a grand stage for younger bartenders and an exciting challenge for veterans to regain their nerves.
Only Keio Plaza Hotel, with its abundance of talented bartenders, can serve 300 cocktails simultaneously in front of an audience eagerly anticipating this event. It’s not just the bartenders on stage, but also those working behind the scenes, who support this popular event. Wrapped in a glamorous atmosphere and excitement, what kind of cocktail will be born next?
