The Queenstown heat will be held on July 24 at World Bar. Initial stages of the international competition will begin in Queenstown on September 3.

In July "mixologists" from throughout Otago will pit their skills against each other in Queenstown, vying for a place in the New Zealand 42Below Cocktail World Cup team.

For the first time in its eight-year history, the event's organisers are conducting an exhaustive search of New Zealand to find the top three bartenders to go head to head against international teams at the 2012 event, beginning in Queenstown in September.

After regional heats, being held in Auckland, Tauranga, Napier, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown, eight finalists will be chosen to take part in a national final in Wellington.

The Queenstown heat will be held on July 24 at World Bar, with the New Zealand final on July 29 at the Front Room in Wellington.

The resulting New Zealand team will carry the hopes of an industry and a nation with them.

Although the host country has never won a Cocktail World Cup title.

Initial stages of the international competition will begin in Queenstown on September 3, with the final event being held in Auckland on September 7.