$15,000
GRAND PRIZE
Submit your entry from September 1st, 2025 - November 3rd, 2025, for a chance to win up to $15,000, a feature on VinePair.com, and your cocktail listed in Elijah Craig’s Old Fashioned Week Cocktail Companion: Volume 3.
Contest Rules:
Showcase a unique spin on the classic Old Fashioned cocktail recipe
Contain no more than 2 1/2 oz. (at 40% ABV) total combined alcoholic ingredients
Not exceed 6 oz. in total volume of ingredients
Contain at least 1 oz. of Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon or Elijah Craig Straight Rye Whiskey
Include an image of your finished cocktail and an explanation of the inspiration or your thought process behind the cocktail
JUDGING CRITERIA:
Balance, flavor, aroma, and character
Innovation and creativity of recipe
Story or inspiration behind your recipe
Cocktail name
Appearance and presentation
Open to legal residents of the 50 US/DC excluding California, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming, Puerto Rico, and all other U.S. territories, possessions, and commonwealths.
Ten (10) Semi-Finalists will be chosen in December 2025, and will be asked to create and submit a video of their cocktail presentation. Then, five (5) finalists will be notified to compete LIVE in the competition Finale taking place February 2026 in Louisville, Kentucky. First place will take home $15,000 and be featured in Elijah Craig’s Old Fashioned Week Cocktail Companion: Volume 2 recipe book. Second place will earn you $2,000, third place will receive $1,000, fourth place will receive $750, fifth place will receive $500, and those placing 6th through 10th will receive $250.
Adam founded VinePair with Josh with one simple goal: create a publication he actually wanted to read in a space he was extremely passionate about. Since founding the publication Adam has become recognized as an authority on how to make the drinks world accessible to everyone as well as on the ever evolving media landscape. He is the winner of the Left Bank Bordeaux Cup American Wine-Tasting Championship and holds an MBA from NYU Stern.
Jeffrey Morgenthaler (Nightclub and Bar, Bartender of the Year), is an award-winning bartender (Tales of the Cocktail, American Bartender of the Year) and author of the first book devoted entirely to cocktail technique, “The Bar Book: Elements of Cocktail Technique” (Tales of the Cocktail, Best Spirits and Cocktail Writer). He is a consulting partner at a bar in Portland, Oregon and formerly the bar director at the seven-time James Beard Award nominated bar program at Clyde Common in Portland, Oregon. Playboy Magazine has declared him as one of the top 10 mixologists in the United States, Food and Wine Magazine named him one of the 10 most influential bartenders of the past decade, Drinks International voted him the 9th most influential bartender in the world, and Thrillist named him one of the 15 most influential bartenders of the past hundred years. He is a regular contributor to Men’s Journal, and the author of Drinking Distilled.
Lynn House
Lynn represents the entire Heaven Hill portfolio, overseeing brand and spirit category education, cocktail development for both national and local programming, and identification of current and upcoming cocktail trends. She was recognized as the 2023 American Whiskey Brand Ambassador of the Year by the Whisky Magazine Icons of Whisky Awards. She was also recognized as the Best U.S. Brand Ambassador at the 2022 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards. In 2012 Lynn was inducted into the Dame Hall of Fame and was named one of the year's Bartender Iconoclasts by the Sundance Channel.
MEET THE JUDGES
National Spirits Specialist and Portfolio Mixologist for Heaven Hill Brands
Bartender, Consultant, and Author
JEFFREY MORGENTHALER
CO-FOUNDER & CEO, VINEPAIR
ADAM TEETER
THE OLD FASHIONED
INGREDIENTS
2 oz. Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon
.25 oz. Simple Syrup
3 Dashes of Bitters
Orange Swath
1 Brandied Cherry (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
In a mixing glass add bitters, simple syrup, Elijah Craig Small Batch, and ice. Stir until well chilled. Strain cocktail over a large ice cube in a double old-fashioned glass. Garnish with a swath of orange and a brandied cherry.
FULL LEGAL RULES & ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
THE OLD FASHIONED
INGREDIENTS
2 oz. Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon
.25 oz. Simple Syrup
3 Dashes of Bitters
Orange Swath
1 Brandied Cherry (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
In a mixing glass add bitters, simple syrup, Elijah Craig Small Batch, and ice. Stir until well chilled. Strain cocktail over a large ice cube in a double old-fashioned glass. Garnish with a swath of orange and a brandied cherry.
ONLINE SUBMISSIONS
September 1 - November 3, 2025
SEMI FINALS
December 10, 2025 - January 5, 2026
FINALS
February 25, 2026
VIDEO SUBMISSIONS
LIVE EVENT
FULL LEGAL RULES & ENTRY REQUIREMENTS