Bombay Sapphire Designer Glass Competition

We've heard of people designing their own cocktail recipes before, but this is a new one - Bombay Sapphire Gin is running a contest where you can design your own cocktail glass. Pretty cool, and we're pretty fired up about this kind of thing after we covered Bong Vodka's bottle art contest earlier this year.

The Top 10 finalists seem to have already been chosen for 2006, but you're just in time to start honing your glass-blowing skills for 2007. Plus, don't worry if you don't have much experience. Just look what you have to live up to - the 2005 winner (pictured) looks more like a protective cup than a cocktail glass so apparently all you need is a love of gin (and maybe a fifth inside you). Oh, and there are some pretty cool prizes you can win, including Apple gift certificates, which you'll see in the press release after the jump.

WHO: BOMBAY SAPPHIRE the leading super-premium gin in the United States 2007 Designer Glass Competition - U.S.
WHAT: This competition encourages aspiring designers that are 21 years of age or older from around the United States to interpret the classic martini glass in their own distinctive style. Up to ten U.S. finalists will be selected by a panel of renowned design experts and paired down to three U.S. Finalists. The top three finalists will be flown to a glass blowing studio in the United States where their glasses will be created. Finalists, each with one guest, will then be flown to New York to participate in the U.S. competition final. The U.S. grand prize winner will be annunced at a private BOMBAY SAPPHIRE reception in New York City in February of 2007.

The grand prize winner will be flown (with a guest) to Milan's Salone del Mobile in April to compete in the global finals. In addition they will receive a $3,000 gift certificate to Apple stores.

The BOMBAY SAPPHIRE Designer Glass Competition is open to emerging designers of legal drinking age, who must submit designs for functional martini glasses using glass itself as the dominant material. Entries are judged according to functionality, innovation, aesthetics, and inspiration from BOMBAY SAPPHIRE.

For the first time ever - The 2007 BOMBAY SAPPHIRE Designer Glass Competition will be open to voting allowing consumers who are 21 years or older to visit http://www.designerglasscompetition.com to vote on their choice for the most inspired martini glass design.

Judges include award winning designer Sami Hayek, designer Cory Grosser, founder of Positive Industrial Design in Los Angeles and 2006 U.S. Designer Glass winner Roberta Albuquerque, among others. In addition to the grand prize trip to Milan for the international judging, the U.S. competition awards prizes for first and second runner up.

For complete contest rules, please visit http://www.designerglasscompetition.com

WHERE: United States

WHEN: Competition begins August 28th, 2006; Deadline for U.S. design submissions is November 1st, 2006.

WHY: BOMBAY SAPPHIRE is renowned for its commitment to innovative design. In addition to hosting the Designer Glass Competition to support rising designers, BOMBAY SAPPHIRE also showcases the established stars of the design community in its print advertising campaign, for which one-of-a-kind martini glass designs have been created by Michael Graves, Jonathan Adler and most recently Yves Behar.

BOMBAY SAPPHIRE Designer Glass Competition Runner Up Prizes:

Second Place Winner: One (1) Second Place Winner will receive :
$2,000 Apple Gift Certificate.

Third Place Winner: One (1) Third Place Winner will receive:
$1,000 Apple Gift Certificate.

About BOMBAY SAPPHIRE

BOMBAY SAPPHIRE is the best selling super premium gin in the United States. The combination of its ten unique botanicals, vapour infusion process and authentic British heritage secure BOMBAY SAPPHIRE as a leader among gins, as well as a symbol of style and sophistication. BOMBAY SAPPHIRE strongly supports inspired adult individuals who create passionate work in design, film and other artistic arenas. For more information, please visit www.bombaysapphire.com.

via Yahoo! Finance

August 31, 2006

Bombay Sapphire Designer Glass Competition