GN CHAN FROM USA WINS BACARDÍ® LEGACY GLOBAL COCKTAIL COMPETITION 2016
Bartender takes home trophy as Venceremos is declared the BACARDÍ 2016 ‘Legacy’ cocktail.
The BACARDÍ Legacy Global Cocktail Competition 2016 concluded last night in dramatic style with Gn Chan from the United States taking home the coveted title. Gn Chan (Chia-An Chan) won the competition with a cocktail inspired by the Piña Colada. Venceremos – made with BACARDÍ Superior, coconut liqueur, pineapple juice, cucumber juice, lime juice and a dash of sesame oil – beat an incredibly strong field of original drinks created by bartenders from 36 countries, in a very tight final held in front of 150 guests in San Francisco, California.
Gn Chan is the eighth person to win the BACARDÍ Legacy Global Cocktail Competition and the second to have been inspired and mentored by a former champion. Shingo Gokan, who won the title in 2012, offered Gn a job in the same year at a highly respected bar establishment in New York City. It was an emotional moment when Shingo got up on stage to congratulate his protégé and another legacy created by this prestigious competition was born.
Judge Dale de Groff said of the winning drink, “It was a unanimous decision tonight to name Gn Chan the winner. The drink he made was compelling to him and to us because he took the Piña Colada as a base; a BACARDÍ drink and a Puerto Rican invention; but this was a version of the Piña Colada only in spirit. The pineapple flavour is very delicate, and then there is cucumber juice which worked really well with a touch of sesame oil. The name Venceremos, which is Spanish for ‘we will overcome,’ worked with Gn’s own personal story of how he overcame challenges in his life to go on to work in one of the world’s most elegant bars, and that of the Bacardi family which has endured through adversity.”
“Right now it doesn’t feel like this is real, but hopefully it will sink in by the morning,” said Gn Chan. “I have been mentored by a bartender and in a bar that both have a deep relationship with BACARDÍ, so this has always been the competition I wanted to win.”
Now in its eighth year, the BACARDÍ Legacy Global Cocktail Competition continues to grow in scale and status as one of the world’s most prestigious cocktail competitions. Thousands of entries from forty five countries were received during the year-long national rounds that culminated in tonight’s global final. Over the last seven years the BACARDÍ Legacy Global Cocktail Competition has given birth to several modern classics, most recently last year’s winning cocktail Le Latin, by Franck Dedieu, which can now be found in bars across the world.
BACARDÍ will work with Gn over the next year to provide bespoke opportunities and support for their career development, gain worldwide recognition for his drink and provide a platform from which he will serve Venceremos at some of the finest bars in the world.
Thirty six exceptional bartenders from around the world travelled to San Francisco last week. Each has spent several months hustling to perfect and promote their ‘Legacy’ cocktail in the hope it would be declared worthy to stand shoulder to shoulder with BACARDÍ classics such as the Authentic BACARDÍ Mojito, the Original BACARDÍ Daiquirí and the Original BACARDÍ Cuba Libre.
BACARDÍ Global hosted the finalists at a range of educational workshops, delivered by some of the legends of the drinks industry and tailored to hone their skills, 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; renowned New York bartender Julie Reiner; Dale De Groff aka ‘King Cocktail’, and Franck Dedieu who won the competition last year.
Dickie Cullimore, BACARDÍ Global Brand Ambassador, said of the winner: “Gn is a popular and worthy winner tonight; he’s impressed not only with a delicious drink and compelling story, but also with his consistency throughout the competition. Venceremos is a drink that people will enjoy all over the world and has all the makings of a modern classic.”
The two runners up in tonight’s final were Moe Aljaff from Norway and Lizaveta Molyavka from Belarus. All thirty six competitors will celebrate the week of education, competition and friendship on Monday, the 25th with a BACARDÍ House Party, featuring Jillionaire and Walshy Fire of Major Lazer.
WINNER – The BACARDÍ Legacy Global Cocktail Competition 2016
The following 37 finalists took part in the competition and eight (in bold) were selected by a judging panel to go through to the grand final last night:
| Country | Name | Cocktail Name |
| Argentina | Maximiliano Yamir Salomon | Visionario |
| Australia | Andrew Bennett | The Seventh Art |
| Austria | Stefan Bauer | Bitter Sweet Victory |
| Belarus | Lizaveta Molyavka | Anything Else |
| Canada | Giancarlo Quiroz Jesus | El Ritmo |
| China | Choni Song | Black Gold |
| Cruise Ships | Miro Kljajic | Elixir Fizz |
| Cyprus | Argyris Asleep | El Puente |
| Estonia | Angelika Larkina | Mi Amor |
| France | Matthieu Henry | The Epicurean |
| Greece | Konstantinos Kapniaris | Thimisis |
| Germany | Arash Ghassemi | Curtain Call |
| Hong Kong | Kervin Unido | Reborn Padre Blanco |
| Hungary | Norbert Schök | El Viajero |
| India | Yogesh Kumar | Amado |
| Ireland | Will Lynch | Rumbera |
| Israel | Bar Shira | El Camello Loco |
| Italy | Livio Morena | El Especialista |
| Japan | Masato Sakurai | Kawahori |
| Latvia | Eduards Trofimčuks | Hemingway Breakfast |
| Lebanon | Ayman Zayour | La Palma |
| Mexico | Pablo ‘Pasti’ Mangialavori | The Guest |
| Netherlands | Anya Montague | Companion |
| New Zealand | James Crinson | Te Anaka |
| Norway | Moe Aljaff | Carousel Cocktail |
| Philippines | John Richelieu Cruz | El Tindero |
| Poland | Paweł Rodaszyński | Genesis |
| Russia | Alexander Kalachev | El Magico |
| Singapore | Bannie Kang | Hwachae |
| South Africa | Nicholas Crouse | Simple Truth |
| Spain | Angel Arruñada | El Murciélago |
| Sweden | Oskar Johansson | The Milkman Cocktail |
| Switzerland | Christof Reichert | Welcome Home |
| Thailand | Mitchell Kai Lum | The Haole |
| UAE | Laura Marnich | Patriota |
| UK | Iain Griffiths | Carta Switchel |
| USA | Chia-An Chan | Venceremos |
BACARDÍ Legacy Global Cocktail Competition
coming to BERLIN in 2017:
In 2017, the BACARDÍ Legacy Global Cocktail Competition will travel to Germany, taking place in Berlin – a city famous for overcoming adversity in much the same way as the Bacardi family. A mecca of cool, with an unmatchable history of creativity and understated style, Berlin promises to provide the perfect backdrop to this iconic competition.
Fabio DiGiammarco, Global Vice President for BACARDÍ rum says: “We are so excited to announce that we are bringing BACARDÍ Legacy’s Global Final to the heart of Europe next year, the unique and dynamic city of Berlin. With its untameable spirit and wonderfully diverse and sophisticated bar landscape, I can think of no better backdrop for next year’s finalists to again demonstrate there’s nothing in the way to creating new BACARDÍ cocktail legacies.“
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About BACARDÍ rum – The world’s favorite and most awarded rum
In 1862, Bacardi revolutionized the spirits industry when founder Don Facundo Bacardí Massó began producing his remarkable light-bodied, smooth rum. The unique taste of BACARDÍ inspired cocktail pioneers to invent some of the world’s most famous drink recipes including the Mojito, the Daiquirí, the Cuba Libre, the Piña Colada, and the Presidente. BACARDÍ rums have won more than 550 awards for quality and taste making BACARDÍ the world’s most awarded rum. Today, BACARDÍ is produced mainly in Puerto Rico, following the production legacy set forth by Don Facundo Bacardí Massó – crafted in a five-step distillation process, mellowed in American white oak barrels, and filtered five times for unparalleled quality and smoothness. http://www.Bacardi.com
The BACARDÍ brand is part of the portfolio of Bacardi Limited, headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda. Bacardi Limited refers to the Bacardi group of companies, including Bacardi International Limited.
www.bacardi.com
