What to Expect on Round Night
A live Championship night built around cocktails, competition, hospitality and the people watching it happen. Eight rounds. One new brief every six weeks. Every result matters.
Arrive. Settle in. Then it starts.
Round Night brings the DrinkHQ Championship to life in front of a live audience. Expect a premium hospitality environment, competing teams on the floor, judges working live and a crowd that is part of the experience — not just watching from the sidelines.
Arrive, check in and get settled before the competition begins. Your ticket type determines your access and inclusions.
The round theme and challenge set the direction for the night. Teams know what they have to deliver, but the audience gets to see how they respond.
Teams take the floor and build their performance around the round brief, combining cocktail craft, presentation, interaction and service.
Scores from the round feed the Championship standings. Every round contributes to the season-long race toward the Grand Final.
You are close to the action.
Watch the teams
See the competitors work through the brief in real time — from preparation and technique to presentation and service.
Watch the judges
An independent judging panel assesses the performances live using the DrinkHQ TASTE framework. Judging is part of the event.
Have your say
Every round night includes a live People’s Choice vote by SMS — one vote per person — giving the audience a separate voice alongside the judges’ scoring.
Enjoy the experience
Round Night is also hospitality: drinks, food, atmosphere, conversation and access to the wider DrinkHQ experience, depending on the ticket and event format.
One round. One brief. Everyone watching.
The eight Championship rounds are spaced six weeks apart. Each introduces a new creative brief and gives the twelve teams another opportunity to build their season position. Round 8 — Mystery Box — is the final regular-season round. The Grand Final Gala is a separate event after the regular season.
A new challenge sets the creative direction for the round.
Teams prepare, create and deliver their cocktail performance.
The independent panel scores the performance live.
The round result contributes to the season Championship.
TASTE — judged live.
DrinkHQ’s TASTE framework gives the judging panel a consistent structure for assessing each performance. It looks beyond the finished cocktail to consider the complete delivery of the brief.
Taste, appearance, engagement, skill and theme adherence are the core dimensions of the framework.
The judging framework is applied across the season so performances can be assessed consistently from round to round.
The night changes the season.
When the final performance is complete, the round is not over. Results are recorded, the Championship table moves and the season story continues. Across eight rounds, teams build their position toward the separate Grand Final Gala.