Bacardi Legacy cocktail competition in Stockholm

Bacardi Legacy is an international cocktail competition with regional qualifying rounds in selected countries. Over fifty bartenders from all over Sweden submitted recipes, inspired by classic cocktails like Cuba Libre, Mojito and Daiquiri, and approximately a third of them were tested before further eliminations were made. On November 20th the final chosen ones competed against each other at sky bar Och himlen därtill in Stockholm, in front of a big audience of friends and industry people, including celebrity judges Alex Kratena (Artesian Bar, London), Marc Bonneton (the winner of last year's Bacardi Legacy competition, L'Antiquaire, Lyon) and Richard "Chille" Man (Bacardi brand ambassador). Host of the evening was Mathin Lundgren (1900/Kåken).

Lots of people wanted to see the bartenders in action. Photo © Sindy Wu

The contestants were Rikard Enell (Le rouge), Andrés Leon (Grupp F12), Christoffer Johansson (The Fox & Anchor), Jimmy Hult (Story Hotel), Viviana Godoy (Miss Voon), Andrea Patelli (Scandic Grand Central), Sabré Isaacs (Carib Kreol), Christian Håkansson (1900/Kåken) and Andreas Bergman (Marie Laveau/Little Quarter). Each bartender had eight minutes to make the cocktail and at the same time describe the inspiration behind it and answer any questions from the judges and host, and I think all of them did a very good job. A few of the drinks were passed around the audience after the judges had tasted them, and of the ones I managed to try, Andreas Bergman's East & West - a daiquiri with apricot brandy and orange flower water - was my favourite. The rest of them I'll be able to make myself thanks to the recipe booklet which was handed out during the evening.

When all contestants were finished, the judges disappeared to deliberate, and soon afterwards they could announce the winner - Jimmy Hult - who will represent Sweden at the global final in Puerto Rico in February 2012 against bartenders from 36 other countries. Congratulations and good luck!

Jimmy Hult, making his Sin Tiempo cocktail. Photo © Sindy Wu

As a bonus, here's Jimmy's winning recipe - enjoy! 

Sin Tiempo

60 ml Bacardi Superior

15 ml D.O.M. Benedictine

30 ml lime juice

20 ml honey syrup

15 ml egg white

pinch of star anise

whole star anise for garnish

In shaker muddle the star anise lightly. Add rest of ingredients and dry shake without ice and then again with cubed ice. Fine strain in chilled coupette glass. Garnish with a star anise.

All contestants and judges of the evening. Photo © Sindy Wu

To sum things up, it was a great evening with good performances, and it was nice to meet lots of old and new friends. The only thing to complain about, is that since the event was open to the public and most of the bar was occupied by the competition, it was very difficult and time consuming to order a drink if you wanted something else than beer. And for me, the evening was all about Bacardi... ;-)