Good question. No purchase is necessary to compete, but you may still be looking to obtain some ahead of the competition. For a full list of Ming River distributors by market, please click here. To order Ming River online, please visit shopmingriver.com. Use discount code BITE at checkout to receive 20% off your order. Ming River is an award—winning Sichuan-style baijiu crafted at China's oldest distillery, Luzhou Laojiao, which has operated continuously since 1573. A traditional baijiu made with locally harvested sorghum grain, Ming River is notable for its complexity, robust body, and notes of tropical fruit, star anise, and pink peppercorn. The Ming River brand was established in 2018 to champion universal appreciation of baijiu—the world's most popular liquor by volume—through culture, community, and cocktails. Learn more at mingriver.com and @mingriverbaijiu. We have prizes, lots of prizes. All four selected finalists will win prize money—and are in the running for two $1000 prizes.

• $1000 Judges' Favorite Prize
• $1000 People's Favorite Prize
• $250 Finalist Consolation Prize each

All 20 semi-finalists selected to compete in Round 2 will win Ming River prize packs with a Ming River Year of the Snake Mug and other collectables.

• Jan. 21, 2025: Submission deadline
• Feb. 3-7: Round 2 (online)
• Mar. 19: In-person final in San Francisco

Any currently employed food and beverage professional over the age of 21 in the continental United States. There are some minor exceptions—please click on the official rules for full details. The notion is simple, take a popular dish and turn it into a Ming River cocktail. This can mean whatever the contestant would like it to mean. It can be a cocktail that contains similar ingredients or flavors of a particular bite of food. It can be something that looks like the dish, uses similar techniques, or even just something that evokes similar emotions. We like surprises. Of the 20 cocktails selected to compete in the semi-finals, two will advance based on Instagram engagement and judge's determination (the People's Favorites) and two will advance based solely on the determination of the judging panel (the Judges' Favorites). For the final, contestants will be asked to serve an audience a batched version of their Instagram cocktail, and to make a second cocktail for the judging panel based upon the flavors of a mystery ingredient to be revealed a month in advance. The audience will award a grand prize to their favorite batched cocktail by popular vote and the judges will award a second grand prize to their favorite mystery ingredient cocktail. Judging criteria includes:

• Taste
• Creativity
• Presentation
• Adherence to the competition theme

For full details, please refer to the official contest rules. You do not. A photo of your cocktail is required, but videos and/or reels are not. That said, videos can perform better than photos on Instagram, so we encourage you to take this into consideration. We get it. Social media is a lot of work, but this is the game we're playing. To create a more level playing field, half of those competitors advancing to the final round will be determined by the judging panel without regard to Instagram engagement. Impress them and you can advance regardless of clicks. For all press inquiries, please contact mingriver@districtonestudios.com. Translating "white spirits" in Mandarin, baijiu is the world's most widely consumed alcohol category by volume and encompasses all traditional Chinese grain spirits. Baijiu is typically made by hand using centuries-old methods. Unlike most Western spirits, baijiu is fermented and distilled using a solid rather than liquid mash. The essence of baijiu is its qu, a fermentation starter culture of naturally harvested microorganisms unique to each distillery. Baijiu producers steam-distill the solid mash in a traditional Chinese pot still to create an aromatic clear spirit. The spirit matures for several months or years in before blending to balance its flavor and strength. The four major styles of baijiu are: rice aroma, light aroma, strong aroma, and sauce aroma. Each boasts its own characteristics and differentiators—making them as different from one another as whiskey is to mezcal. Ming River's baijiu is designated as strong aroma, a style originating in the province of Sichuan. Typically distilled from sorghum, sometimes blended with other grains, strong-aroma baijiu uses wheat qu and continuous fermentation in earthen pits. It is notable for its robust body and distinct notes of tropical fruit, anise, and pepper. Using local grains, Sichuan-style baijiu is a complex and refined spirit that encapsulates the province's rich culinary tradition. Ming River offers free online baijiu courses at courses.mingriver.com. Get certified today!