KEY POINTS:
The 42 Below Cocktail World Cup got off to a flying start yesterday as 42 of the world's best bartenders, a panel of expert judges and media from around the globe threw themselves off a 42-metre-high bridge in the first CWC Extreme Shaking event.
Among those who took the plunge was actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who plays Meadow in The Sopranos and is one of the event's judges.
The Bungy-Shaking Challenge required each bartender to create their version of a cosmopolitan cocktail at a mixing station on top of the Kawarau Bridge.
They then had to grab a plastic cocktail glass, ensure their shaker was secured and complete a bungy-jump, taking care to finish the jump still holding what they started out with.
While still upside down, each contestant had to pour their cosmopolitan into the glass and hand it to staff waiting in a boat below to pass to the judges on shore to taste and rate accordingly.
The challenge was won by the US Vegas team which impressed with the famous bartending 'flaming zest' trick - a segment of flamed orange peel which had been taped to one team member's arm.
Second equal were the Ireland team and the Cocktail Consuls of Australia.
The three Extreme Shaking events (Bungy-Shaking, today's Mountain-Top Mixology and the Jetboat-Shaking on Friday) are each worth a total of 5 marks of the final 100.
The remaining 85 per cent are awarded at the Grand Final Event on Saturday, where the 14 teams will perform in front of a panel of expert judges and a crowd of thousands at Queenstown's Earnslaw Park.
- NZ HERALD STAFF
