MONIN has confirmed that the World Finale of the MONIN Cup 2026 will take place in Paris on 8-9 December, bringing the world’s widest reaching competition to a close after six months of heats spanning entrants from 67 countries.
- 24 finalists will compete for the MONIN Cup 2026 title in Paris on 8-9 December
- The competition is open only to bartenders and bar school students aged 18-27.
- A new regional finale stage across eight global regions makes 2026 the largest edition in the competition’s history.
- The final round with the top six contestants will be livestreamed on December 9th, with viewing parties hosted by MONIN teams and venues worldwide.
New for 2026 is a regional finale stage, sitting between the national heats held over the summer and the World Finale itself. National winners have progressed to regional finals across Europe, Asia-Pacific, China, the Middle East, Northern America, Southern America, Africa and India. From those eight regions, just 24 competitors make it to Paris.
Every one of them will be under 27, and the age limit is deliberate. Hospitality provides around four in ten young people in the UK with their first job, yet vacancies have halved in four years. Globally, 15.7% of direct travel and tourism employment was held by young people aged 15-24 in 2024, compared to 13.7% for the wider economy. Putting young bartenders on a world stage, in front of an international jury and a global livestream, is MONIN’s argument that bartending is a craft and a career rather than a stopgap.
This year’s jury includes Rémy Savage, one of the most influential figures in mixology and co-founder of Bar Nouveau in Paris (No.15 in World’s 50 Best Bars 2026), alongside Juseong Park – winner of the 2024 MONIN Cup, Kaitlyn Stewart – Diageo World Class Bartender of the Year 2017, Minakshi Singh – co-founder of the India Bartender Show and Stanislav Harciník – cocktail program leader at Bratislava’s Mirror Bar (no.8 in Europe’s 50 Best Bars 2026).
Their brief is ‘Timeless Twists’, reinterpreting the classics for a modern drinker, drawing on MONIN’s portfolio of more than 150 flavours. Over two days the 24 will be judged on creativity, speed and technique, and industry knowledge, before six progress to create an original recipe live on stage.
Ahead of the final, competitors receive mentorship and coaching from the MONIN team and industry-leading mixologists – the same expertise MONIN offers the trade year-round through bespoke training, trends reporting and recipe development for operators and individuals alike.
