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Tales of the Cocktail, in partnership with THE TASTING PANEL magazine, invites youto submit a winning recipe for the Official Cocktail Competition of the 8th Annual Tales of the Cocktail. For our eighth anniversary, we are punching things up with our annual cocktail competition. If you think your skills are up to the challenge, we would like you to cre- ate a Planter's Punch that we can use as our official cocktail at this year's event. Almost every famous Tiki drink is based on the Planter's Punch. e Zombie is a turbo-charged Planter's, while the Mai Tai simply adds curaçao and orgeat to the classic Planter's formula of rum, lime, and sugar. For the 2010 Tales of the Cocktail official cocktail competition, we invite you to create an original Tiki drink using the Planter's Punch formula as your template. Jeff "Beachbum" Berry, noted Tiki historian and author (see sidebar), and a judge for this competition, provides the following definition for your Planter's Punch: Your drink must contain (but is not limited to) rum, citrus and sweetener. Using more than one of each element is not only permitted, it's encouraged; for example, the original Zombie mixes three different kinds of rum and two different citrus juices, sweetened with three different syrups and a liqueur. Your goal here is not to create a pointlessly complicated recipe, but a harmonious one that balances sweet and sour, strong and light, fruity and dry, providing new layers of taste from the opening notes to the mid-palate to the finish. Tiki drinks celebrate "the cocktail as conversation piece," so garnish accordingly. Drinks will be judged not only on taste and originality, but on visual appeal. And as much as we love them, no Tiki mugs; a level playing field requires that we restrict you to glassware. (We also want to see what your drink looks like.) OFFICIAL RULES: 1. Competition is open to any bartender currently work- ing in the bar, restaurant or spirits industry. 2. Each participant shall use the official entry form posted at TalesoftheCocktail.com. 3. All recipes shall be original creations. 4. Recipes shall be expressed in ounces, drops, or dashes and scaled for a single serving. 5. Your cocktail must utilize at least one of the spirit brands listed below*. 6. All ingredients utilized should be expected to be available to most bars or easily acquired/made. 7. All ingredients should be available year-round, so nothing seasonal. And all ingredients should be obtainable—or should be able to be made from scratch—without undue difficulty or expense any- where within the continental U.S. 8. Cocktails made with inappropriate ingredients will be disqualified with determination of what constitutes an inappropriate ingredient up to the discretion of the staff of Tales of the Cocktail and the judging committee. 9. Cocktails will be judged on Originality, Use of product, Taste, and Presentation. 10. You do not need to be present to compete or win. 11. First prize winner will receive $1,250 cash and be the "Official Cocktail" of Tales of the Cocktail 2010. 12. Second place winner will receive a Tales of the Cocktail 2010 Founder's Day pass valued at $750.00 cash and third place winner will receive Tales of the Cocktail 2010 day pass valued at $175.00 13. Winning recipes will be featured with photography in the summer issues of Culinary Concierge Magazine in New Orleans and THE TASTING PANEL magazine. 14. Winning recipes will be featured with photography on CocktailTimes.com and www.Drinkboy.com 15. Winning recipe will be featured in the 2010 Tales of the Cocktail recipe book produced by Mud Puddle books. 16. Winning recipe will be featured at TalesoftheCocktail. com and multiple events at Tales of the Cocktail 2010. THE TIKI PUNCH-UP: TALES OF THE COCKTAIL 2010 OFFICIAL DRINK CONTEST Create your signature Planter's Punch Jeff Berry as "The Zombie."