Andalö Once Again the Star Ingredient in the DRINKS OPEN 2026 Winning Drink
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At the DRINKS OPEN 2026, Andalö was once again the key ingredient in the winning drink. The winning cocktail, “Sunnesching,” created by Thomas Feld, featured the Nordic aperitif from Behn—and created a special moment aboard the MS Säntis.
“Sunnesching”—Cologne dialect for sunshine—was the name of the winning cocktail at DRINKS OPEN 2026. The name could hardly have been more fitting: During the finals over Lake Constance, the sky above Constance briefly cleared and the sun came out. A special moment for Thomas Feld of Contrast Bar Cologne, whose drink—featuring Andalö as the randomly selected main spirit—won over the jury.
The DRINKS OPEN 2026 once again showcased the creativity, passion, and personality of the bar scene in the DACH region. From over 180 applications, 45 bartenders were invited to the preliminary round in Constance. The top 16 ultimately competed against each other in the finals aboard the MS Säntis.
Andalö was also featured several times on board: The winning drink, “The Exotic North” by Sezai Uzun, winner of the DRINKS OPEN 2025, was on the open bar menu during the event. In addition, Andalö Spritz was served as a welcome drink, creating Nordic aperitif moments on Lake Constance right from the start.
The winners of the DRINKS OPEN 2026:
1st place: Thomas Feld, Contrast Bar Cologne, Cologne
2nd place: Jan Schroedter, Steigenberger Icon Europäischer Hof, Baden-Baden
3rd place: Knut Gaarp, Guts and Glory, Karlsruhe
This marks the second consecutive year that Andalö has been featured in the winning cocktail at DRINKS OPEN. We are thrilled to receive this special recognition and would like to thank the entire DRINKS team at Medienbotschaft Verlag & Events GmbH led by Christian H. Rosenberg, all participants, and the bar community for an evening filled with creativity, camaraderie, and moments of pure enjoyment.
