Hotel Westport’s Cuba-bound Kevin
Hosted by IDL Pernod Ricard, the final took place in the Sugar Club and was judged by Irish Havana Club Brand Ambassador Liam Sparks and International Bar & Cocktail Consultants Dre Masso & Paul Mant.
A dozen bartenders from across Ireland competed for the opportunity to represent Ireland against over 40 bartenders from around the globe at the final in Havana, Cuba, from 3rd to 7th June. With over 50 entries received through the Barsmarts Ireland facebook page, the final 12 were chosen by Liam, Meimi Sanchez (Havana Club Brand Ambassador UK) and last year’s Irish representative Rafael Agapito.
The other 11 finalists were: Pauric Kennedy, Harry’s on the Green, Dublin; Alan Duffy, The Bernard Shaw, Dublin; Darren Geraghty, The Exchequer, Dublin; Daniel Mulligan, Pichet, Dublin (Semi-Finalist); Pat Thomas, Harry’s on the Green, Dublin (Semi-Finalist); Ken Herlihy, Residence, Dublin; Jim Rafferty, The Dylan, Kilkenny (Runner-Up); Lukas Kret, KOH, Dublin; Phoebe Fairbairn, The Bernard Shaw, Dublin; Javier Bravo, The Long Island Bar, Cork and Shane Nolan, SoHo, Cork. ??Image IMG_0933: Caption: (left to right): Liam Sparks; Irish Havana Club Brand Ambassador, Kevin Kennedy, Hotel Westport, Westport (Winner), Paul Mant; International Bar & Cocktail Consultant & Dre Masso; International Bar & Cocktail Consultant.
