Hacha Agaveria Comp Returns – Can You Make the UK’s Best Tequila or Mezcal Cocktail?

Hacha Agaveria Competition Entry Deadline: Midnight, Tuesday 24th August, 2021

Hacha Agaveria, an award-winning bar dedicated to the exploration and enjoyment of all things agave, has announced the return of its search for the UK’s best tequila and mezcal cocktails. The competition, now in its second year, is timed to coincide with Mexican Independence Day, and is currently accepting entries from bartenders anywhere in the UK.

Gemma Terry on the way to winning Best Mezcal cocktail

Competitors are invited to submit their recipes before the cut-off date of Tuesday 24th August. The entries will then be assessed by the Hacha team, led by founders Emma Murphy and Deano Moncrieffe, with the resulting finalists invited to compete in-person on the 15th September. The final will take place across Hacha’s two sites in Dalston and Brixton in front of a panel of the UK’s award-winning drinks writers, writers and industry luminaries. The top two cocktails from each category that are chosen by the judges will then be put to a public vote at a special Mexican Independence Day consumer event on the 16th September.

The cocktails with the most votes will win and will be swiftly incorporated into Hacha’s menu for service during celebrations of Mexican Independence Day the following day.

Rules and Entry

We are big fans of this comp because it doesn’t have a ton of rules or a restrictive theme, which in our opinion encourages expansive creativity and often the highest calibre of competition drinks. Bartenders who love tequila or mezcal (obviously you love both, but you can only enter one category) now have an excellent opportunity to blow off the cobwebs and create something special for a panel of judges who are truly experts in agave. To enter, your cocktail must tick the following boxes:

  • Cocktails submitted must have been created for this competition and not feature on any other menu

  • Cocktails must be created to enable high volume and pre batching

  • The cocktail must be GP friendly for a neighbourhood bar and be able to sit alongside Hacha’s current cocktail offering

Each cocktail must use 50ml of one of the chosen partner brands:

Mezcal Comp: Dangerous Don; Ilegal Mezcal; Madre Mezcal; Mezcal Unión; Pensador; Espadin; The Lost Explorer Mezcal; Espadin

Tequila Comp: Don Julio Blanco; El Rayo; El Sueño; Patrón Silver; VIVIR Tequila; Volcán De Mi Tierra

Submissions should be emailed to hello@hachabar.com and include your drink’s name, full spec (including instructions on how to make any homemade ingredients or infusions), glassware preference, and an image of the drink along with any other supporting assets, and your place of work and social handles. Entrants must be available to attend the live final at Hacha on Wednesday 15th September 12-4pm. Travel for competitors who live outside London will be reimbursed.

The Prize

The winner of each category will receive:

  • A first edition copy of Tomas Estes’s wonderful book: The Tequila Ambassador

  • A collection of the complete line up of the partner spirits in both categories

  • The winning serves will exclusively take a place on the Hacha menu for one year. They will also feature on a dedicated page on hachabar.com and on @hachabar social media

  • A trophy to display in pride of place on their back-bar / mantelpiece

The first Hacha Agaveria comp in 2019 (lets all try and forget 2020 ever happened) received over 150 entries, produced some incredible drinks, and was ultimately won by Mark McClintock of Every Cloud bar (Best Tequila Cocktail) and Gemma Terry of Ojo Rojo Bar (Best Mezcal Cocktail). The current competition is a fantastic opportunity to follow in the footsteps of these two great bartenders, and compete in one of the first in-person cocktail competitions as the bar industry begins to recover from a hellish year, so have some fun with it and get stuck in.