Chris Moore, Head Bartender at The Savoy Beaufort Bar, mixes up his Bacardi Legacy creation The EncantadorWe love the American Bar at The Savoy. We also love its Beaufort Bar. But last week we also discovered the Museum Bar- yep, The Savoy even has a tiny bar in its beautiful museum. And the reason we were there was to taste creations from three cocktail kings and one prince.
The prince in question is Mr Chris Moore, Beaufort Bar Head Bartender, who is in the running to claim the Bacardi Legacy crown. (Also in pursuit of the accolade are two other members of the cocktail mixing aristocracy in the shape of Gordon Purnell from the Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh and Dan Bovey of Sahara, Reading.)
Chris had decided to play host to the three former winners and celebrate their cocktails. Step forward Ago Perrone from The Connaught, Matthew Dakers Chartreuse Brand Ambassador and current champion Zdenek Kastanek of Quo Vadis.
Mr Perrone, the first Bacardi Legacy winner from 2010, began proceedings by mixing up his Mulata Daisy (Bacardi, dark cacao, lime juice, caster sugar, fennel seeds and Galliano L’Autentico) a subtly rich take on the Daiquiri. Mr Dakers, last year’s winner, came next with his Angels’ Draft (Bacardi, Yellow Chartreuse, lime juice, honey, egg white, grapefruit bitters and mint leaves) a rich and minty delight. Then came current champion Mr Kastanek, fresh from his triumph earlier this year, with his La Hermosa (Bacardi, Curacao, Manzanilla, orgeat, fresh lemon juice and Yellow Chartreuse) a long, refreshing drink that banished grey skies and made us think of sunnier ones.
It was easy to see why these three had all been previous winners – they knew how to put across a good story, whether explaining the inspiration behind their drink or sharing reminiscences about experiences at the Bacardi Legacy competition. Oh, and did we also mention that their cocktails were off the scale fabulous?
The evening concluded with Mr Moore sharing his current creation The Encantador (Bacardi, Aperol, Eau de Framboise, lemon and vanilla) a complex and dry delight.
So much for kings and princes, let’s leave a last word to an ambassador. Shervene Shahbazkhani is Bacardi UK Brand Ambassador. “Bacardi Legacy Competition sets out to create the next generation of classic cocktails. Simple drinks that are not over complicated and that will appeal to a wider audience. Because of this the drinks that we have seen entered in the past few years have all had consumer appeal and accessibility.”
You can find the creations of Perrone, Dakers and Kastanek on drinks menus around the world. While Chris Moore’s drink is now to be enjoyed, naturally enough, at The Beaufort Bar.
The Encantador is on the menu at The Beaufort Bar, Savoy Hotel, Strand, WC2R 0EU. T: 020 7836 4343. www.fairmont.com/savoy
You can see more of Chris Moore and his Beaufort bar team in the current edition of The Cocktail Lovers Magazine.
