The following terms and conditions govern your entry into the Smoky Cocktail Series Contest (“Contest”)

By entering the Contest, you accept these terms and conditions and agree to abide by them.

 

Overview

The Contest is a US contest being run by Liquor.com Holdings Inc. (the “Promoter”).  Users will submit smoky cocktail recipes on Liquor.com, which will be judged to determine the best seven cocktails from all submissions.  The creators of these cocktails will be eligible for a trip to Tales on Tour in Edinburgh for an educational immersion trip. The Contest is being sponsored by Ardbeg (the “Sponsor”).

 

These terms and cConditions (the “Terms and Conditions”) prevail in the event of any conflict or inconsistency with any other communications, including advertising or promotional materials. Entry/claim instructions are deemed to form part of the terms and conditions and by participating, all claimants will be deemed to have accepted and be bound by the terms and conditions.

By entering the Contest you are agreeing to these Terms and Conditions. Please retain a copy for your information.

 

Terms and Conditions

Eligibility:

1. The Contest is only open to the residents of the United States in the following states – California, Illinois, Nevada, New York, Texas and Washington DC.
2. To enter and be eligible to win the Contest, you must be of legal drinking age (at least 21 years of age) at the time of entry.
3. Officers, directors and employees and their immediate families of the Promoter, Moët Hennessy USA, Tales of the Cocktail and their parent, subsidiaries, and affiliates or anyone professionally associated with this Contest promotion are not eligible to enter. Eligible bartenders or anyone else employed by an alcohol beverage licensed retailer must not have ultimate purchase decision-making power.
4. No payment or purchase is necessary to enter or win the Contest.
5. Only one entry may be submitted per person.
6. By submitting your details online you are consenting to the Promoter, Sponsor and Tales of the Cocktail using those details to contact you with future communications regarding the Contest (including future years’ Contests) and other communications relating to the Promoter’s products and Contests that we think will be of interest to you.  You will always be given the opportunity to opt out of communications except for administrative communications relating to the Contest.
7. If you win the Contest you are responsible for assessing the tax implications of the prize and paying any tax due or owing on the prize received.
8. The launch date of the Contest is March 3, 2017 and entries will be accepted online on the official website (ardbeg.liquor.com) from this date. Entries will only be accepted on the official website utilizing the official entry form.
9. The local closing date of the Contest is March 15, 2017 No further applications will be accepted after the stated closing date.
10. Contest winners who are over 25 years of age may also be included in advertising (including but not limited to advertising on the internet and/or print), public relations and promotional material (“Advertising”) at the Promoter’s and/or Sponsor’s choice).  By entering the Contest you agree to being included in Advertising by the Promoter and/or Sponsor and you grant Promoter and Sponsor the right to use your image, name and likeness captured in connection with the Contest in perpetuity without fee or compensation.

 

How to enter:
1. To enter the Contest, you need to create an original cocktail inspired by Ardbeg – The Ultimate Islay Single Malt 
2. Your recipe must be your original creation. Any plagiarized entries or help from third parties will result in your disqualification.
3. Recipes can be a long or short cocktail. Shots are not permitted.
4. All recipes must contain at least 22ml (0.75 oz) of Ardbeg.  All recipes ingredients must be expressed in ounces, milliliters, dashes, shares, and drops. For example, “juice of half a lemon” is not acceptable.  
5. Your recipe must include a clear, step-by-step description of how to prepare and serve the cocktail.
6. Drinks may be served hot or cold, straight-up or over ice.
7. Your recipe may specify a garnish.  Garnishes must be edible and may be mounted on sticks, skewers, straws, forks or other hygienic accessories.  Use of edible fruits, flowers, petals, herbs, leaves and spices (which can include sprigs, peels, barks, fruit shells etc.) is permitted.
8. You must provide a suitable name for your cocktail. Names including rude, lurid, or sexual words, or words associated with irresponsible consumption of alcohol, drugs, children or motor vehicles will not be accepted and may result in disqualification at the Judges’ discretion. Cocktail names must also not infringe on the rights of third parties including but not limited to intellectual property rights.
9. You must submit your recipe including the preparation and serving details together with a photograph of the finished cocktail as you present it, and a cocktail name on the official entry form on the website at ardbeg.liquor.com. (There is a 2MB maximum for uploads and accepted file types are png, jpg, jpeg.
10. You must enter the Contest in your own name. If there is any dispute as to the identity of the person who made the entry the person named in the entry will be deemed the entrant. If you are selected as a potential winner you will be required to provide proof of age and identity and enter into an agreement with the Promoter to confirm (among other things) your details and eligibility for the Contest. Group entry is not permitted.
11. By entering you agree that we can create an individual public profile including your recipe, drink name, drink photograph, social handles and details of your place of work (if applicable) on the liquor.com website.
12. All entries will be subject to a validation process to ensure the above requirements are met.  The Promoter may require such information as it considers reasonably necessary for the purpose of verifying the eligibility of an entry and the prize may be withheld until and unless the Promoter (in its sole discretion) is satisfied with the verification. The Promoter’s decision is final.
13. Note: The Promoter shall own the full intellectual property of whatsoever nature in your entry (including without limitation the name).  By entering the Contest, you are assigning (transferring ownership of) all intellectual property rights in your recipe and cocktail name to the Promoter.  By entering the Contest you grant to the Promoter and its agents the right to adapt, edit, publish and use your entry and your likeness in any way, including by featuring in whole or in part, in particular on the Contest website, in commerce and in any and all media worldwide now known or hereinafter developed on a worldwide basis and without further consideration or notice to you.  Providing any entry further constitutes your transfer to the Promoter of any and all rights, title, and interest in and to the entry and including, without limitation, all intellectual property rights in the entry.
14. By submitting an entry you agree, warrant and represent that your entry is made without restriction, and will not place Promoter and/or Sponsor under any obligation or liability of whatever sort and howsoever caused and that they will fully indemnify the Promoter and Sponsor for any breach of the Terms and Conditions howsoever arising.
15. The Promoter is free to disclose the entry and any ideas contained in the entry on a non-confidential basis to anyone or otherwise use the ideas without any compensation to you. You acknowledge that by acceptance of your entry, neither the Promoter or Sponsor waives any rights to use similar or related ideas previously known to Promoter, or Sponsor, or developed by its employees, or obtained from sources other than you.

 

Judging process:

1. All the valid entries received in the entry period will be assessed by a panel of judges (the “Judges”)  containing at least one independent Judge. Liquor.com shall appoint the panel of Judges and reserves the right to replace or appoint new Judges before or during the Contest.  The selected Judges shall be impartial and asked to declare any interest they may have in the Contest or any competitor.
2. The Promoter reserves the right to exercise a full and final decision on any matter relating to the judging of the Contest.
3. The Judges shall judge the entries according to the following broad criteria:

Criteria	Description	Weighting
Appearance	Does the cocktail look appealing in the photograph?	20%
Balance	Judging from the recipe is there one flavor/element of the cocktail that dominates or is there a goodbalance between the ingredients?	35%
Ardbeg Characteristics	Judging from the recipe, has the bartender understood the flavor profiles of Ardbegand chosen ingredients that complement it?	25%
Originality	Has there been interesting/innovative use of ingredients, methodology, equipment, presentation etc.?	20%

 

1. The Judges will select seven (7) entries as Contest winners and all winners will be notified by email using the information provided on their official entry form
2. The Contest winners will be contacted or about 5 days after the Contest closing date.
3. If attempted notification using all the contact details supplied by the winners at time of entry are returned as undeliverable, or if a winner cannot be verified within the time required, or if a winner is otherwise unable to accept their status as a winner, or is otherwise ineligible, their selection as winner will be forfeited and an alternative winner may be selected from reserves judged at the same time at the Promoter's sole discretion.

 

The prize

1. The Contest prize winner will be provided:
1. Return economy flights to Scotland to participate in Tales of the Cocktail  on Tour in Edinburgh and to Islay for an educational immersion trip;
2. Transfers to and from the airports in Scotland;
3. Six (6) nights’ accommodation  at hotels of the Promoter’s choice with at least a 3* star rating;
4. Meals at selected venues;
5. Transportation to and from events.
6. Tales of the Cocktail on Tour Edinburgh event ticket
2. The Contest winner must pay the cost of transport to and from his/her originating airport, travel insurance, any other travel related costs not specified above (including without limitation excess baggage charges, obtaining passports and visas to enter the UK), and for any other costs or expenses not specified above.  Note, any room service and mini-bar charges at the hotels will be at the expense of the winner.
3. Travel dates are not changeable and non-transferrable.  Airline tickets are non-refundable, non-transferable, and are not valid for upgrades.
4. The approximate retail value of the Contest prize is three thousand five hundred dollars ($3,500).  The actual retail value of the prize depends on airfares, accommodation and other costs at the time of booking, but if actual retail value is less than stated approximate retail value, the difference will not be awarded.
5. All reservations and travel arrangements shall be with suppliers selected by the Promoter in its sole and absolute discretion. All arrangements must be made through a travel agent selected by the Promoter and are subject to availability. The prize may not be combined with any other offer and travel may not qualify for frequent flyer miles. The prize is not assignable, substitutable or transferable by the winner.  
6. As stated above, the finalist will be required to submit to a confidential background check to help ensure that the use of any such person in advertising or publicity for the promotional activity will not bring Promoter into public disrepute, contempt, scandal or ridicule or reflect unfavorably on the Contest or the security and integrity of the Contest, as assessed by the Promoter in its sole discretion.  The Promoter reserves the right to disqualify a finalist on the basis of the findings resulting from such background checks.
7. A cash alternative is not available for the prize or any part thereof.  The Promoter reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value due to unavailability or otherwise in its absolute discretion.
8. The Promoter shall make available on the Local Contest website the name and county of residence of all Local Contest prize winners for a period of up to three months after the local closing date.

 

Advertising

1. The Promoter and/or Sponsor may choose to use the winner if he/she appears to be over the age of 25 years in pre and / or post-event Advertising.  By entering the Contest you agree to being included in Advertising.
2. The Promoter shall own all right, title and interest in and to any Advertising. In respect of your image rights and any materials (including the entry photograph of your cocktail), you grant Sponsor and the Promoter the royalty-free, unrestricted, worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive and fully sub-licensable right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, perform and display such image rights and material (in whole or part) worldwide and/or to incorporate it in other works in any form, media, or technology now known or later developed.  You also irrevocably waive any "moral rights" you have in the Advertising and materials in favor of Sponsor and the Promoter.

 

General

1. No third party entries, bulk or multiple entries, entries submitted by agents / syndicates or any activity trying to undermine the Contest is accepted.
2. No responsibility can be taken for entries/claims which are misdirected, lost, delayed, damaged or corrupted during delivery to or from the Promoter due to any computer malfunction, virus, bug, delay, erroneous or other reason whatsoever. The Promoter is not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information supplied to the Promoter by the entrant in the application.
3. Any personal data relating to entrants will be used solely in accordance with current data protection legislation and will not be disclosed to a third party (other than the Promoter’s agencies for the purpose of servicing/implementing the promotion and prizes) without your prior consent.

 

Compliance with the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (“DISCUS”) Code of Responsible Practices

1. You agree that if you are selected to participate in the Tales on Tour in Edinburgh educational immersion trip, including travelling to and from Edinburgh, or at any time you are likely to be perceived as an ambassador of our business and brands, you agree to comply with the DISCUS Code of Responsible Practices (viewable at www.discus.orgincluding without limitation by not:
1. participating or encouraging the underage purchase or drinking of alcoholic beverages;
2. participating or encouraging irresponsible or immoderate drinking;
3. participating or encouraging over-consumption;
4. condemning or criticizing in any way anyone who chooses not to consume alcohol;
5. participating in any activity which portrays irresponsible drinking in a positive light or participate or encourage drinking with driving, operating any kind of machinery or engaging in any kind of dangerous activity;
6. participating in any activity which suggests alcoholic beverages consumption contributes to any kind of success (for instance in the field of personal relationships, social success, popularity, work, sports or suggest that it can enhance mental or physical performance);
7. participating in any activity which glorifies the alcohol strength, relatively high alcohol content or intoxicating effect of a cocktail;
8. participating in any activity which relates drinking alcohol to any kind of illegal, antisocial, dangerous, aggressive or violent behavior;
9. doing or failing to do any other act or omission which would bring our business or brands into disrepute.
2. If at any time you are considered to be practicing or promoting any form of irresponsible drinking or any behavior that will or may bring Promoter and/or Sponsor into public disrepute, contempt, scandal or ridicule or reflect unfavorably on the Contest or the security and integrity of the Contest, as assessed by the Promoter or Sponsor in either party’s sole discretion, you will be disqualified from the Contest.

 

These Terms and Conditions and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them or their subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes or claims) will be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of California.