Nicky Park: The craft of cocktails

I like tequila. That means I'm excitable according to one of America's best bartenders.

New York-based cocktail maker, Steve Schneider, says you can tell a lot about a woman by her preferred poison.

"A tequila girl, she's peppery, she's spicy. And if she likes shots then she wants to party," says the former military Marine.

Vodka drinkers tend to be calorie conscious and gin women like to explore and aren't afraid of flavour.

Schneider is one of a bevy of colourful cocktail makers flown in to Queenstown to compete in the 42 Below World Cocktail Championships.

When I was invited to check out the week-long event I wasn't sure what was in store. I expected a lot of booze and my colleague warned me that things could get weird, but it wasn't until I touched down in the snowy city that I really believed it.

Men dressed in animal masks and lab coats sip cocktails, dancing to dub step as a bunch of bartenders are thrown off the second-highest bungee jump in the world.

Helicopters take us to the top of mountains for cocktail-making comps involving ingredients like Persian fairy floss, quince nectar and air-dried bacon.

Everyone is a festive mood, all the time. (That could be tied to endless supply of vodka. Seriously, it's endless).

Good bartenders are charismatic. They shake and stir with a cheeky grin "luring the women in," as Schneider puts it.

Throw the best of the bunch from around the world in a room together and you've got the heaving five-day palooza that I get to be part of.

Follow Nicky Park on Twitter.

Nicky Park is a guest of 42 Below vodka.