About

The Cool As Summer Refresher Drinks Challenge™ is your chance to try delicious signature summer drinks across Porirua and Lower Hutt’s CBD as businesses battle it out for the title of Coolest Summer Drink. Who will win? You be the judge!

Get out, get sipping and support the local businesses that have created these unique drinks. Selecting a winner starts by voting every time you enjoy a Cool As drink. QR codes at the venue make it easy to vote – just choose a rating from Yea,Nah, Cool or Cool As to show how much you enjoyed the drink.

On 4 March we’ll tally the scores, and the top three Cool As drinks from each city will then go head-to-head in front of a panel of hospitality industry judges. They will sample freshly made drinks and critique on flavour, creativity and the level of refreshing qualities to determine which is crowned as Coolest Summer Drink.

Created by Hutt City Council, The Cool As Summer Refresher Drinks Challenge™ started in 2015 as a way to raise the profile of hospitality in the Lower Hutt CBD and to encourage people to experience the city centre through cool summer drinks. This challenge was designed as the summer version of the popular winter hot chocolate challenge, ‘Sweet As’.

Dozens of businesses have been involved and thousands of votes cast each year. The challenge has grown with the quantity of businesses involved, the uniqueness of the drinks created and the number of dedicated followers. It’s now exciting to have Porirua join in the challenge with some friendly city-to-city competition.