HAMILTON, Bermuda, Feb. 21, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A major milestone in the evolution of one of the world’s biggest cocktail competitions will be celebrated this year when BACARDÍ crowns the 10th winner of its BACARDÍ Legacy Global Cocktail Competition. Canadian national finalist Sabrina Mailhot, hailing from Montreal, Quebec, will be amongst the global elite vying for this prestigious title with her cocktail, the Séquito.
Hundreds of thousands will tune in live to join over 200 guests at Mexico City’s Museo Numismatico Nacional on May 1st to see the winner announced. A panel of top talent from the drinks industry, including Alex Kratena, Ivy Mix, Shingo Gokan, Benjamin Padron and Carina Soto Velásquez will decide who takes home the coveted trophy.
“We are beyond excited to be celebrating ten years of BACARDÍ Legacy this year,” says Dickie Cullimore, Global Ambassador for BACARDÍ rum. “For the past decade this competition has given huge support to the careers of hundreds of bartenders by welcoming them into BACARDÍ Legacy’s ‘Gran Familia.’ This unique stable of talent has delivered a raft of new, original and delicious classic BACARDÍ cocktails to bars throughout the world, many of which have left a lasting legacy and will be ordered for many more years to come. We’re thrilled to be bringing ‘Legacy’ to Latin America - a place that exudes the spirit of BACARDÍ rum – for the first time and we can’t wait to welcome our competitors for an amazing week of education, competition and friendship.”
Since 1862, BACARDÍ, the world’s most awarded rum, has been at the forefront of cocktail culture, sustaining its legacy as the mixing spirit of choice in the world’s most celebrated cocktails. The BACARDÍ Legacy Global Cocktail Competition challenges bartenders to create the next generation of classic rum cocktails that will have an enduring popularity; to stand alongside drinks such as the Original BACARDÍ Mojito, the Original BACARDÍ Daiquirí and the Original BACARDÍ Cuba Libre.
Competitors are permitted to use BACARDÍ Carta Blanca, BACARDÍ Carta Oro or BACARDÍ 8 Años for their cocktail and rules dictate that the drinks must have no more than six ingredients and be replicable around the world. BACARDÍ Legacy has become a hugely prestigious competition and is regarded within the industry as a true test for the modern mixologist to not only create a drink that has the hallmarks of a classic, but also to successfully promote it as such, for which they are awarded a third of their marks in competition.
The winner’s reward is unique: a bespoke year of travel, opportunity and experience in which they will serve their ‘Legacy’ cocktail at some of the finest bars in the world, all underpinned by the BACARDÍ global industry network. Current champion, Ran Van Ongevalle, shared his experience so far this year:
“Since my win in 2017, so much has changed. I have travelled with BACARDÍ to New York, New Orleans, Mexico City, Miami, Puerto Rico, Dubai and Berlin; the BACARDÍ network has also supported my own travels currently, allowing me to host seminars and serve my Legacy drink Clarita across India and Asia. I have to stress how amazing it is to be part of the BACARDÍ Family – their global team is like no other and the opportunity and support they create for the bartenders is something unique. I can’t wait to be back in Mexico City to meet the 2018 finalists and help decide who wins this year!”
Former winners of BACARDÍ Legacy will attend the final in Mexico and this unique gathering will allow for reflection on how far their careers have come since winning, as well as the ways in which they have supported and mentored each other before, during and after their wins.
The global final will conclude five days in Mexico’s capital in which competitors will attend immersive workshops led by some of the industry’s finest, prior to two days of semi-final competition. Eight will progress to the Global Final on 1st May. Both days of semi-finals and the Grand Final will be streamed live from the event’s Facebook page
Judging the Grand Final in Mexico:
Ivy Mix – Founder of ‘Speedrack,’ co-owner of Leyenda in Brooklyn and 2015 American Bartender of the Year
Jose Sanchez Gavito – Maestro de Ron BACARDÍ and grand final judge since the competition first began
Ran Van Ongevalle – 2017 BACARDÍ Legacy Global Champion
Alex Kratena – Founder of industry non-for-profit P(OUR) and former Head Bartender of multi-award winning Artesian, London
Semi-final judges:
Danielle Dalla Pola – World-renowned Tiki enthusiast and owner of award winning Nu Lounge bar in Bologna
Benjamin Padron – Leading drinks industry figure and mentor, owner of Mexico's award-winning Licoreria Limantour
Gn Chan – 2016 BACARDÍ Legacy Global Champion
Carina Soto Velásquez – Award winning bartender and co-founder of Quixotic Projects, a Paris-based hospitality company which owns and manages the celebrated venues Candelaria, Glass, Le Mary Celeste, and Hero
Pamela Wiznitzer – Creative Director and bartender at Seamstress in New York, the Spirited Awards’ American Bartender of the Year 2016 and currently National President of the United States Bartenders' Guild
Judging the bartenders on their drink’s promotional campaign:
Shingo Gokan – 2012 BACARDÍ Legacy Global winner, owner of Shanghai’s Speak Low and Sober Company and winner of the Spirited Awards’ International Bartender of the Year 2017.
Enrique Comas – 6th generation member of Bacardí family and BACARDÍ Senior Manager Trade Advocacy for Latin America & Caribbean
Kofi Amoo-Gottfried – Facebook’s Head of Brand & Consumer Marketing. Formerly BACARDÍ Global Communications Director for the rum category.
Mariana Fernandes – BACARDÍ Rums Brand Marketing Team.
The 34 competitors will represent the following:
| Argentina Australia Austria Belgium Brazil Canada Chile China Colombia Cruise Ships Cyprus Finland | France Germany Greece India Ireland Israel Italy Japan Mexico Netherlands New Zealand Norway | Portugal Singapore South East Asia Spain Sweden Switzerland United Arab Emirates United Kingdom USA (2 finalists) |
www.facebook.com/BacardiLegacyGlobalCocktailCompetition
www.instagram.com/bacardi.legacy
Photography and video footage of the week-long event including the semi-finals and final will be available from the BACARDÍ Media Centre – www.bacardimediacentre.com
For more information, please contact:
Lisa Kwong, Account Director, Pomp & Circumstance PR, lisa@pomppr.com
Ania Gilbert, Account Manager, Pomp & Circumstance PR, ania@pomppr.com
About BACARDÍ Rum - The World's Most Awarded Rum
In 1862, in the city of Santiago de Cuba, founder Don Facundo Bacardí Massó revolutionized the spirits industry when he created a light-bodied rum with a particularly smooth taste - BACARDÍ. The unique taste of BACARDÍ rum inspired cocktail pioneers to invent some of the world's most famous recipes including the BACARDÍ Mojito, the BACARDÍ Daiquirí, the BACARDÍ Cuba Libre, the BACARDÍ Piña Colada and the BACARDÍ Presidente. BACARDÍ rum is the world's most awarded spirit, with more than 674 awards for quality, taste and innovation. Today, BACARDÍ rum is made mainly in Puerto Rico where it is crafted to ensure the taste remains the same today as it did when it was first blended in 1862. http://www.bacardi.com
The BACARDÍ® brand is part of the portfolio of Bacardi Limited, headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda. Bacardi Limited refers to the Bacardi group of companies, including Bacardi International Limited.
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A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/068e7a26-96b2-4845-b6b0-8679fe8e9644