Australia’s Andrew Bennett Places Eighth in Bacardi Legacy Global Finals

Andrew Bennett from The Classroom in Western Australia (pictured above - second in from the left) has placed eighth in this year’s BACARDÍ Legacy Global Cocktail Competition, held in San Francisco over the weekend.

Bennett did incredibly well to secure a spot in the grand final after winning the nationals in February and to place eighth against bartenders from 36 countries across the globe with his legacy cocktail The Seventh Art.

Winner of the global finals overall was Gn Chan from the US, who won with his own version of the Piña Colada -Venceremos. Chan used BACARDÍ Carta Blanca, coconut liqueur, pineapple, cucumber and lime juice, as well as a dash of sesame oil to recreate the famous cocktail.

Chan was mentored by former champion, Shingo Gokan, in the lead up to the finals. Gokan won BACARDÍ Legacy in 2012 and is Beverage Director of Angel’s Share in New Your where Chan also works. It was an emotional moment when Gokan got up on stage to congratulate his protégé and another legacy created by this prestigious competition was born.

“It was a unanimous decision tonight to name Gn Chan the winner,” Judge Dale de Groff said of the winning drink. “The drink he made was compelling to him and to us because he took the Piña Colada as a base; a BACARDÍ drink and a Puerto Rican invention, but this was a version of the Piña Colada only in spirit.”

de Groff added, “The pineapple flavour is very delicate, and then there is cucumber juice which worked really well with a touch of sesame oil. The name Venceremos, which is Spanish for ‘we will overcome’, worked with Gn’s own personal story of how he overcame challenges in his life to go on to work in one of the world’s most elegant bars, and that of the Bacardi family which has endured through adversity.”

BACARDÍ will work with Chan over the next year to provide bespoke opportunities and support as he takes his legacy cocktail to some of the finest bars around the world.

The winning cocktail - Venceremos

2017 BACARDÍ Legacy Global Cocktail Competition to be held in Berlin

Bacardi-Martini Australia (distributor of BACARDÍ rum) has revealed Berlin will play host to the ninth BACARDÍ Legacy Global Cocktail Competition. In 2017, finalists will travel to Germany’s capital, well-known for its diverse and cool bartending scene.

Fabio Di Giammarco, Global Vice President for BACARDÍ Rum said: “We are so excited to announce that we are bringing BACARDÍ Legacy’s Global Final to the heart of Europe next year, the unique and dynamic city of Berlin. With its untameable spirit and wonderfully diverse and sophisticated bar landscape, I can think of no better backdrop for next year’s finalists to again demonstrate there’s nothing in the way to creating new BACARDÍ cocktail legacies.”

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