Hungary is hosting the prestigious Naked Malt Bar Swap cocktail competition

Hungary's best bars and bartenders will compete on the 10th of March at the Bar Swap competition, sponsored by Naked Malt, the super-premium whisky brand of Coca-Cola HBC Hungary.

The Naked Malt Bar Swap is an annual prestigious cocktail competition between countries for bars compete against each other. The competition is sponsored by the super-premium Naked Malt whisky, which is also available in the Premium Spirits portfolio of Coca-Cola HBC Hungary. The aim of the competition is to unleash the creativity of bartenders - and in doing so, to bring their bars into the international scene, raise their profile and attract more consumers.

The competition is important for Coca-Cola HBC Hungary as well, as the company supports its customers in fulfilling their professional creativity and developing their competences. An important aspect of such cooperation is that working together with experts enables an even better service to be provided to consumers.

The first part of the application process for the Bar Swap competition was two workshops held in February. Bartenders representing the bars deepened their knowledge of the Naked Malt, which is the basis of the competition cocktails.

Participating bartenders entered the competition with photos and recipes of Naked Malt-based cocktails. The 8 shortlisted contestants were selected from them and they will compete in the decisive final round on the 10th of March at the Mitico bar in Budapest.

During the finals, the competing teams will prepare their cocktails and present them in English. They will then be given a Mystery Box and will be asked to create a cocktail recipe based on the ingredients inside, in just 4 minutes.

The prize for the winning bar will be an unforgettable trip to expand their knowledge, build new relationships, learn new skills and discover new ingredients, flavors and techniques through a Bar Swap in 2025, in collaboration with a featured bar from another country.

List of the finalist bars:

• Balagan
• Black Swan Lab
• Blue Fox Bar
• Boutiq’ Bar
• GoodSpirit Whisky&Cocktail Bar
• Higgi The Tiki Bar
• Hotsy Totsy Budapest
• PPC Budapest

Blended malts are traditionally matured in bourbon casks that have been used before. What makes the production process of Naked Malt whiskies special is that the blend of the world's finest single malts is matured separately in first-fill sherry casks. They are called naked casks because they never contained whisky before.

Naked Grouse is distributed in Hungary by Coca-Cola HBC Hungary. The company has been trading premium spirits since 2006, in line with its commitment to provide consumers with beverages suitable for every consumption occasion, at any time of day.