Phewee, that was close… After cocktails (Bacardi rum based of course), dinner and a shot or two of decidedly moreish Bacardi 8 Year-Old, it was time for the all-important announcements: who would be going through to the Grand Final of the Bacardi Legacy Global Cocktail Competition? It was palpitation inducing stuff for the guests, so how the 27 contestants must have felt doesn’t even bear thinking about.
Bacardi Global Brand Ambassdor David Cordoba called the
judges onto the stage, inviting each to pull one of the eight
finalists names out of a vintage shaker. First to get the good news was Fred Siggins from The Black Pearl in Australia with his
Bacardi Legacy cocktail, ‘Empire of Dreams’. Next to breathe a sigh of relief was Graziella Nieto from JW Marriott Marquis in United Arab Emirates with her ‘Catalizador’ cocktail, followed by Dinos Costantinides from Lost + Found Drinkery in Cyprus for his ‘Noble Daquiri’. Then Guy Jacobson from Charley Noble Eatery & Bar in New Zealand got the nod for his cocktail, ‘The Leaf Nose’, followed by Carson Xie from 100 Century Avenue Bar at the Park Hyatt in China who showed off his ‘Original Connection’ Legacy creation.
Five down, three to go and the two UK tables were confident but getting kinda nervous. Still the announcements kept coming: the sixth person called onto the stage was Manmohan Singh from PCO in India for his ’19th’ cocktail, with Angelika Larkina, Estonian Bartenders Association Training Center Manager snapping up the seventh place. That just left one last name to be called. Who would it be? Had Tom made it? Would his precious ‘Maid in Cuba’ that he’d been marketing so passionately for 12 months get to go through to the Grand Final? The next few seconds would reveal his fate… And then, after what seemed like an eternity, the two words Team GB were waiting to hear were uttered: “United” and “Kingdom” – Tom Walker had done it, he’d secured the last place in the Bacardi Legacy Global Final – first to open the comp and the last name to be drawn going through. Let’s hope he comes in first in the final being held later today.
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