After the honour of hosting the 2015 Global Final right here in Sydney this May – a nod to Australia’s increasingly influential bar scene – on Tuesday night BACARDÍ held its brand new format semi-finals at QT resort on the Gold Coast.
A record 145 entries were submitted for this year’s competition, leaving the BACARDI brand ambassadors the difficult task of selecting the top 15 most inspirational drinks and the bartenders that would progress to the Semi-Finals.
A brand that is all about family, BACARDÍ felt strongly that this evolution of the Legacy platform would give talented and aspiring bartenders a greater opportunity to perform in front of their peers and be inspired and motivated by each other on a larger scale.
Contestants had the once in a lifetime opportunity to serve their legacy cocktail and BACARDI Daiquiri to industry legends, Steve Schneider, Bonnie Shearston and Fred Siggins who then had the very difficult task of judging who would be named as Australia’s 3 most promising.
Each of the 15 contestants graced the stage for 10 minutes and passionately told the stories behind their legacy cocktails before presenting them to the judges for tasting. After the presentations, all the contestants had the opportunity to have an intimate session with Steve Schneider and hear about his journey, experiences and advice to becoming a top bartender.
That evening a cocktail event payed homage to some of the original Legacy Cocktails, as guests were served BACARDI Daiquiris, Mojitos, Cuba Libres and Pina Coladas as well as the new Bacardi Legacy drinks, the Le Latin (Franck Dedieu 2015 Global Winner), Empire of Dreams (Fred Siggins Global Runner Up 2015) and the Bouteiller (Alissa Gabriel 2015 Australian Winner).
Everyone was kept in suspense about the final result until later that evening, when Alissa Gabriel (2015 Australian Legacy Winner) announced who would be going through to the next stage. The envelope was opened, the winners announced and lives forever changed.
THE SEVENTH ART – Andrew Bennett (The Classroon, WA)
THE TREATY OF PARIS – Peter Hollands (Gresham Bar, QLD)
EL PASAPORTE – Igor Pachi (Assembly Bar, NSW)
These three lucky bartenders will now be individually mentored by a BACARDI brand ambassador and partner with BACARDI in promoting their legacy cocktails. This now five-month promotional period is all about how BACARDÍ can help these aspiring bartenders forge their place in the Australian cocktail industry before competing in the Grand Final to be announced as the 2016 Bacardi Legacy Australia Cocktail Competition Winner.
“The grand final will be held at an UNTAMEABLE Gran Familia Grand Final dinner in Sydney in February next year,” adds BACARDÍ Brand Ambassador, Loy Catada, “with the 2016 Global Final being held in SAN FRANCISCO.”
AN UNTAMEABLE GRAND FINAL
Based on the success of their drink and overall campaign, ONE of the Three Most Promising will be selected as the 2016 BACARDÍ Legacy Australian Cocktail Competition Winner. They will present their cocktail and its story during an Untameable Gran Familia black tie dinner.
Following in the footsteps of Fred Siggins from The Black Pearl in Melbourne and Alissa Gabriel of Brisbane’s The Manhattan Line, this successful bartender will go on to represent Australia at the BACARDÍ Legacy Global
Final at what has become one of the largest and most prestigious international cocktail competitions in the world.
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