The Koko Kanu Miami Vice Champions Are Crowned

Premium Jamaican Coconut Rum Koko Kanu has announced Keivan Nemati and Maxwell Whitney from Zetter Townhouse Bar in London as the winners of its first ever ‘Kan-u-Kolada Your Miami Vice?’ cocktail competition.

The final, which took place on the 11th May at Loves Company in Shoreditch, witnessed twelve pairs of bartenders battling it out to create a Koko Kolada and a Miami Vice twist whilst fully embracing the spirit of the 1980s cult TV series Miami Vice.
Dressed in the style of the show’s crime-fighting lead characters Crockett & Tubbs, competitors were challenged to create a twist on the classic Piña Colada, using at least 50ml of Koko Kanu. They also had to serve up a Miami Vice, the summer season’s popular cocktail created by mixing the ‘Koko Kolada’ and the Strawberry Daiquiri.

The winning Piña Colada serve was created using 50ml Koko Kanu and 100ml pineapple custard.
The winning Miami Vice serve was created using 50ml Appleton Rum, 50ml Strawberry Puree, 20ml Lime Juice and 20ml Almond Butter Syrup.

The winners scooped the extravagant ‘Miami Vice experience’ top prize which includes a Ferrari drive, dinner and drinks hosted by J. Wray & Nephew UK (a Gruppo Campari Company) and a casino night out.
Keivan’s and Maxwell’s cocktail was selected by the panel of esteemed judges for its creativity, balance, flavour and the finalists’ showmanship. Judges included Andy Ives from Barlife UK, JJ Goodman from The London Cocktail Club and Lyndon Higginson from The Liar’s Club.

Samantha Burke, On Trade & Trade Marketing Manager for Campari comments: “I am extremely impressed with the enthusiasm of the competition’s finalists. They all really embraced the Miami Vice theme and had a lot of fun whilst creating their serves. It was a tough competition, however the winners’ creativity, passion and mixology skills really impressed all three judges.
“The competition has been a huge success and definitely has the potential to become an annual fixture.”

The final twelve bartenders were all from renowned venues including The Big Easy, Bar 366, The Milk Thistle, The Hawksmoor, The Folly, Matsuri St James’s, Hotel Du Vin, Lab Bar, Meat Mission and Loves Company.