28 participants from 10 countries competed in the Northern European finals of the BACARDÍ Legacy Cocktail Competition in Amsterdam. Leon Back from Edinburgh’s Panda & Sons was announced the UK winner with his drink ‘The Queen Street’, and will go to the world finals in Mexico for the chance to be crowned global winner of one of the most prestigious cocktail competitions in the world.
BACARDÍ, the world’s most celebrated rum, invited bartenders from all over the world to participate in the competition. Every year BACARDÍ takes this opportunity to seek out cocktails that stand a chance of becoming genuine classics, like the legendary Daiquiri or Mojito.
28 participants from 10 countries took part in the Northern European finals for a place in the grand finals. One bartender was selected from each of the participating countries to go to the world finals in Mexico, to be held in the spring of 2018. In other words, the participants in these ‘national’ finals only competed against bartenders from their own country, but they did so in an inspiring international context, rubbing shoulders with counterparts from nine other countries.
It was not entirely coincidental that Amsterdam was chosen as the host city of the Northern European finals; the city is well on its way to becoming one of the world’s most important cocktail hubs.
The ten bartenders who secured their ticket to the finals in Mexico yesterday are:
Leon Back / Panda & Sons (UNITED KINGDOM)
Erik van beek / Bar27 (NETHERLANDS)
Didier van den Broeck / Dogma (BELGIUM / LUXEMBOURG)
Harald Gröbl / Mark’s New York Bar (AUSTRIA)
Kacper Dylak / Cinchona (SWITZERLAND)
Carl Wiman / Himkok (NORWAY)
Henri Halonen / Liberty or Dead (FINLAND)
Carl Marcus Erlandsson / Hay Market (SWEDEN)
Anthony Barry / Cask (IRELAND)
Damien Guichard / Velvet (GERMANY)
Since it was created in 2008, the list of honour for the BACARDÍ Legacy Cocktail Competition has done more than simply put a series of cocktails by some of the world’s best bartenders into the spotlight. It has also become a genuine network of talented people, all connected by a unique contest in which camaraderie always counts for more than the will to compete.
Leon’s winning recipe for ‘The Queen Street’ cocktail can be found below:
50ml Bacardi Carta Blanca
25ml Fresh Lemon Juice
20ml 1-1 Sugar syrup
20ml Martini Ambrato
2 dashes Celery Bitters
Spritz Islay Whisky
Shake all ingredients with ice, double strain and serve straight up in a Nick & Nora Glass. Spray with a spritz of Islay whisky on the side of and top of glass
DRINKS ENTHUSIAST 