Hayden holding Ireland’s hopes at Bacardí final
He joins another 25 competitors from all over the world seeking to write their own chapter in the history of the second ‘golden age’ of cocktails by creating a drink reminiscent of the classic style.
Hayden won the Irish Legacy Final in the Royal College of Physicians last year, beating 10 others with his ‘Colonial Cocktail’.
The Puerto Rico competitors will spend time in metro San Juan learning about the history of Bacardí rum, visiting the distillery in Cataño, sharing their skills and techniques with fellow mixologists and learning bartending philosophies and expertise, hearing from some of the industry’s most influential taste-makers.
They’ll then be whittled down to just eight finalists to take part in the Grand Finale on Monday, February 20th, with each given just 10 minutes to create two Bacardí Superior rum-based drinks for review by an esteemed panel of judges, a remarkable group of the world’s leading spirits and mixologists and cocktail experts including:
· Bacardí Maestro de Ron (Rum Master) José Sanchéz Gavito
· Bacardí Global Ambassador David Cordoba
· Artist and bar owner Australian Matt Bax
· Mixologist and bartending philosopher Stanislav Vadrna who
connected east and west with his Ichigo Ichie/Sprezzatura philosophy of bartending
· Czech Alex Kratena, Head Bartender at the multi-award winning Artesian bar at London’s The Langham Hotel
· BGLCC 2011 Winner, bartender Marc Bonneton of Lyon in France.
This year’s competition forms part of global celebrations marking Bacardí’s 150th anniversary. Throughout 2012, the family-owned company will commemorate it with a series of one-of-a-kind parties, special promotions featuring more than 100 years of ground-breaking advertising, a $2,000 limited-edition decanter of vintage Bacardí rum, commemorative gifts and plenty of opportunities for Bacardí-lovers to come together and share in the excitement and innovation.
