Marketing

Conor Myers on Electric Avenue

The Exchequer Bar’s Conor Myers will compete at the global Bacardí Legacy Cocktail Competition in Berlin this May, having won the title of Ireland’s most promising bartender from the world’s most-awarded rum last November at the Northern European Final.

He and his creation, Electric Avenue, will represent Ireland against 34 other countries at this global Final as the competition continues its global search to find a cocktail that can become a true Bacardí classic – a cocktail that can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with famous cocktails such as the Daiquiri or Mojito.

Conor’s relationship with Bacardí all started with his mum, he says, who saw a competition in a Sunday paper looking for bartenders who wanted to work at the busiest bar at the biggest festival in Ireland.

“It was just before I planned to move to Dublin for college and she felt it was a good way to meet people and make friends and possibly help me get a job,” he remembers, “I was pretty reluctant to do so, but it turns out that the little advert in that Sunday paper would pretty much carve out the next five years of my life.

“I got to work as a bartender at Casa Bacardí at Electric Picnic and took part in the greatest weekend of my life. I was surrounded by loud high-energy music, I got to work with Ireland’s best bar staff and I realised that I was just as important to the festival-goers’ experience of Casa Bacardí as the DJs were.

“That weekend I received a very unique insight to the Bacardí brand that I never knew existed.”

 

 

Electric Avenue – his inspiration!

Don Facundo’s Bacardí has inspired bartenders to create legendary cocktails such as the Mojito and the Daiquiri – cocktails known the world over.

Whenever he thinks of Bacardí, he’s always reminded of his time working behind the bar at Casa Bacardí at some of the biggest festivals in Ireland.

“So my time at Casa Bacardí – and in particular Electric Picnic, Ireland’s biggest music festival – has inspired me to create Electric Avenue,” he says, “I wanted to create a drink that looked loud and fun, delicious and refreshing to taste, but was easy to replicate in a busy festival or bar environment. My dream is for Electric Avenue to be a permanent fixture on the Casa Bacardí festival menus.

 

Electric Avenue – The drink!

Electric Avenue is relatively simple to prepare. Fresh Lime Juice (25ml) and Sugar Syrup (15ml) are the balance and foundation of the drink. The addition of Pineapple Juice (35ml) adds a beautiful texture and length to it.

Bacardí has always had a strong link to music and DJs in Ireland through festivals.

“The most important element is the rum,” he stresses, “For this drink I have used Bacardí Carta Oro (35ml), a beautiful aged rum, it has beautiful notes of toasted almond, vanilla and dark spice as well as some deep red berry notes. The drink is then churned over crushed ice in a tall glass.

“Those red berry notes in the rum now lead us to our final ingredient, Ruby Port (10ml). The port is floated on top of the drink to give a beautiful visual finish to Electric Avenue. Due to being floated on top, as you churn the straw into the drink each sip brings out unique qualities to both the drink and rum inside the glass. The garnish is a crushed ice cap and a large fresh mint sprig.”

 

 


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