Bartenders from Carnival, Celebrity and Norwegian to compete in Miami next February
By
Rebecca Gibson |
Bacardi Global Travel Retail has selected three finalists for its 2017 Bacardi Legacy Cruise Competition, which will be held in Miami, US in February.
Bacardi has been running the annual competition for 12 years and in 2016, it introduced the cruise category for the first time. Each entrant must make their own unique cocktail using Bacardi Superior, Bacardi Gold, or Bacardi Ochos (8) Anos. They are judged on their source of inspiration for the recipe, technical aspects and the taste of the drink.
Finalists for 2017 include last year’s winner Miroslav Kljajic at Carnival Cruise Line who has created the ‘Artista Mundano’. It features Bacardi Ocho (8) Anos, Bacardi Coconut, Acacia honey water, fresh lemon juice and almond oil, served with lemon zest.
The second finalist is Celebrity Cruises’ Pedro Pascual Rosario, who has developed ‘La Romana No. 8’ using Bacardi Ocho (8) Anos, velvet falernum, sweet vermouth, fresh brewed coffee and angostura bitters.
Kljajic and Rosario will be joined by Norwegian Cruise Line’s Wade Cleophas. He has mixed Bacardi Ocho (8) Anos with star anise-infused sweet vermouth, caramel/cinnamon syrup with whiskey barrel-aged bitters and Absinthe to create ‘Legend Reviver’.
Finalists will now embark on a three-month promotional campaign to publicise and build support for their drink ahead of the cruise finals in Miami in February 2017. Each of the three finalists will receive US$1000 and a trip to Miami for the cruise finals. The winner will receive a further US$4,000 and then compete in the global finals in Berlin in May 2017.
“There’s so much talent out there in the cruise and ferry bartender community and every year we see more of it coming through at higher levels than before,” said Zachary Sulkes, international account manager (cruise) at Bacardi Global Travel Retail. “The quality of the bar experience for cruise guests goes from strength to strength driven by the passion for professional development amongst the crew themselves and the commitment from cruise lines to invest in their teams.”