For the 2023 edition of its annual Bartenders & Baristas Challenge, Spanish liqueur brand Licor 43 will be immersing finalists in the cocktails, coffee and culture of its country’s capital, Madrid.

For this 7th edition, Licor 43 calls on cocktail and coffee professionals around the world to showcase their expertise and imagination in the art of pairing Licor 43 and coffee.  Entries for competitors will open online on 3^rd April, and the Grand Final will take place in Madrid from 16^th to 19^th October 2023.

“Madrid is one of the, if not the, most important cities in Spain for mixology - plus gastronomy, art and entertainment,” comments Julian Fernandez, Zamora Company’s Global Marketing & Innovation Director for Spirits.  “Our three years in Gran Canaria have been fabulous and extremely educational with our visits to coffee plantations, but now we are going to take entrants to Madrid  for a full immersion in the Spanish culture which is so intrinsic to Licor 43 as the liqueur brand of Spain.”

Returning to the judging panel this year is International Barista Champion Merijn Gijsbers, who has worked with the competition since 2019; joining will be last year’s Champion Yefferson Avila who won with her cocktail Armonía.

Nine key Licor 43 markets around the world will take part in the 2023 competition: Germany, Mexico, USA, Brazil, Spain, Colombia, Estonia, Peru and Costa Rica.  Each will set up local judging teams to find the winner to put forward to the Grand Final.  The 2023 global winner will receive a bursary to put towards professional equipment and career development courses, will take their place on next year’s judging panel and will become the Licor 43 Coffee Master for 2024, appearing with the brand at key international shows.

Coffee has long been part of Licor 43’s story, from the Café Asiatico in Cartagena and Café Barraquito in Tenerife in the 1950s to the Carajillo 43 today, which is a signature serve in Mexico with an RTD version launched earlier this year.  “There is a natural marriage of aromas and flavours between Licor 43 and coffee,” adds Julian Fernández, “and over the last seven years that we have run this competition, we can see what inspiration this has been to entrants from both the bar and barista worlds.”

How To Enter

Professionals interested in entering the 2023 Licor 43 Bartenders and Baristas Challenge can enter via bbchallenge.licor43.com or through www.licor43.com.  Also they can contact info@licor43.com.