Congratulations to Australia's James Irvine on scoring runner up in the prestigious BACARDÍ Legacy Cocktail Competition 2018.

Irvine is Group Beverage Director at Swillhouse Group. 

It was a fantastic result for Australia in a strong field of original drinks created by bartenders from 34 countries.

Eric van Beek from Netherlands took out the top trophy to become the 10th global winner. His winning cocktail triumphed in a closely contested final held at the Museo Numismático Nacional in Mexico City in front of 400 guests.
Eric, who works at Bar TwentySeven in Amsterdam, won the competition with Cariño, a shaken cocktail combining BACARDÍ Reserva Ocho rum with Yellow Chartreuse, Greek yoghurt, vanilla syrup and lemon juice.

A bartender for only two and half years, this is the second year running that Eric has competed to represent his country in the BACARDÍ Legacy Cocktail Competition. His drink was inspired by the term of love and endearment ‘te tengo cariño,’ which refers to love and fellowship. He expressed his drink’s story on stage through spoken word rhyme, claiming that ‘love doesn’t always come from familiar faces, sometimes strangers can take you to higher places.’

Eric’s sentiment was echoed by his 33 fellow competitors, who stormed the stage to celebrate with him when he was announced as winner, having spent six days together in Mexico City forming bonds that will endure long beyond this competition week.

"So, I just won the tenth edition of BACARDÍ Legacy and it feels absolutely amazing; it’s such an honour now to be one of only ten people who have won this competition,” said Eric. “This whole week has been incredible, I’ve met a lot of people, I’ve learnt a lot about myself and collaborated with others; it really has been an insightful week. When they announced I was the winner I was thinking ‘this is a dream come true, this is not happening.’ Everybody was mobbing me and shouting ‘Cariño’ – it’s an indescribable moment, but I will cherish it.”

Alex Kratena, founder of P(OUR) and former Head Bartender at the multi-award winning Artesian, one of the judges of the night, said: “Cariño was a winner for obvious reasons; it is a drink which has ingredients we all know but, when combined together, they bring something new, exciting and most importantly delicious. I think he has done a great job creating something with a smooth and silky texture that is also refreshing whilst retaining all the aromatics; it’s a very complex drink yet very easy drinking.”

Fellow judge and co-owner of Brooklyn’s Leyenda Ivy Mix agreed: “For me the drink was so unique, with ingredients that really aren’t that unique, but that beautifully showcased the rum and allowed it to shine through. It was meant to win because it is so unusual but super delicious. In his presentation it was very clear to me that his level of dedication was above and beyond; I think Eric is a real example of what you can do if you truly put your heart and soul into it.”

BACARDÍ hosted the finalists at a range of educational workshops, delivered by drinks industry legends before they presented their own original interpretation of a modern BACARDÍ Legacy cocktail in the competition. Eight competitors were selected to go through to the Grand Final and present their drink in front of an audience of invited guests and a judging panel representing some of the most influential names in the international bartending and spirits community: Maestro de Ron BACARDÍ José Sanchez Gavito; founder of P(OUR) and former Head Bartender of London’s Artesian, Alex Kratena; co-owner and Head Bartender of Brooklyn Bar Leyenda, Ivy Mix and Ran Van Ongevalle, who won the competition last year.

James Irvine's fellow runner up was Ana Alicia Herrera from Mexico.


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