Mor Koral, founder of Cocktail Kitchen company in Tel Aviv, has been crowned global winner of the 2023 PATRÓN Perfectionists at the global final event that took place at Hacienda PATRÓN, Mexico, 24 to 30 March. Having boasted the highest cumulative score across the three challenges, Mor embodies the spirit of a program that highlights the many aspects of bartending and strives to increasingly champion hospitality and Tequila culture.
“Alex’s drink was inspired by an Aztec story of love. A take on Romeo and Juliet, written thousands of years before Shakespeare. It’s the story of two ancient volcanoes and Alex’s drink was centred around the relationship tequila has with them and the love and passion this story possesses.”
This year’s PATRÓN Perfectionists global final event tasked the 15 global finalists with three challenges. The global champion, Mor Koral gained a consistently higher scoring across all the challenges and impressed the stellar line-up of international hospitality professionals who joined as judges and mentors over the global final event – Ivy Mix, LP O’Brien, Tara Fougner, Sandrae Lawrence, Haba Flores, chef Ana Martorell, and previous PATRÓN Perfectionists global champions Giulia Cuccurullo and our very own Harrison Kenney.
However, it was Australian Alex Boon of Pearl Diver Cocktails & Oysters, Melbourne, who won the second challenge. Challenge #2, The Stories We Share – asked participants to dig into the rich history of Mexico and find what resonates with them to create an inspiring PATRÓN Tequila cocktail encapsulating Mexican culture and based on PATRÓN Silver, Reposado or Añejo. Cocktail recipes and their stories were prepared and submitted in advance and then they were presented in front of judges Ivy Mix, LP O’Brien and Harrison Kenney at the event at Hacienda PATRÓN. Alex’s drink was inspired by an Aztec story of love. A take on Romeo and Juliet, written thousands of years before Shakespeare. It’s the story of two ancient volcanoes and Alex’s drink was centred around the relationship tequila has with them and the love and passion this story possesses.
The week was full of new experiences, connections and one to remember Alex enthused, “I am so incredibly thankful to Patrón for having me at the Hacienda. I met so many talented bartenders from across the world who each brought something unique to the Global Finals. This year the talent was on another level and I’m proud to have won the second challenge and finished within the top three.”
The PATRÓN Perfectionists global final event took place at Hacienda PATRÓN, Jalisco, Mexico, from 24 to 30 March 2023 with the participation of the 15 global finalists below. To stay up to date with the program and upcoming news, follow Academia PATRÓN – on Instagram and on the portal.
PATRÓN PERFECTIONISTS GLOBAL FINALISTS 2023
- Sweden – Jayde Henderson @jaydehendo
- France – Gabriel Pons @gabrielpons_lisavi
- Spain & Portugal – Denys Cherkasov – @denis_chequebarman
- Germany, Austria & Switzerland – Telmo Pacheco – @telmo.noidea
- Italy – Andrea Benvegna – @mr.welcome
- UAE – Kaleb Berry – @kalebbarryy
- South Africa – Sabrina Traubner @sabrinatraubner
- Israel – Mor Koral @morko.koral
- Greater China – Lola Lau @lolasaysgo
- Australia – Alex Boon @doonbocksaint_
- Mexico – Adam Alvarado @adamabam123
- UK – Max Macauley @maxmacauley
- USA – Logan Demmy @pour_the_oil
- Canada – @dasht______
- Wild Card winner (China) – @choni_song