04:37 PM
Dinner in Havana
Last night I got to experience a very unique part of Havana courtesy of Meimi Sanchez, the UK ambassador for Havana Club. I first met Meimi a few years ago when she was honing her bar tending skills at Bramble in Edinburgh. She has been with Havana Club for the last 2 years and is Cuban born and bred, although lived in Edinburgh from the age of 13. Her father lives in Havana and she invited myself and a bunch of the other visitors from the UK for dinner.
Tony C of 69 Colebrooke Row had led a fishing expedition earlier that day and the Mahi Mahi they had caught was on the menu for dinner.
We jumped into taxis outside the hotel, now I must say this is the coolest taxi I've ever been in. The cars in Havana are mostly from the 1950's and some of them are in mint condition.
We arrived at Meimi's father house and the guys, team UK, Marcus and Nino helped him prepare the fish whilst we drank refreshing Havana Club cocktails. Meimi's father's house was high ceilings and colonial pillars. Him and his family were the perfect hosts and the evening was spent hearing tales of fishing, reminiscing about bars, that had come and gone, in London and general industry mischief.
A home cooked meal in the heart of Havana of the freshest fish caught by some great bartenders is a memory I will never forget. Thank you Meimi!
Tony C of 69 Colebrooke Row had led a fishing expedition earlier that day and the Mahi Mahi they had caught was on the menu for dinner.
We jumped into taxis outside the hotel, now I must say this is the coolest taxi I've ever been in. The cars in Havana are mostly from the 1950's and some of them are in mint condition.
We arrived at Meimi's father house and the guys, team UK, Marcus and Nino helped him prepare the fish whilst we drank refreshing Havana Club cocktails. Meimi's father's house was high ceilings and colonial pillars. Him and his family were the perfect hosts and the evening was spent hearing tales of fishing, reminiscing about bars, that had come and gone, in London and general industry mischief.
A home cooked meal in the heart of Havana of the freshest fish caught by some great bartenders is a memory I will never forget. Thank you Meimi!
By Emma Davis
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12:33 PM
Arriving in Havana
I have long dreamt of visiting Cuba since living in Key West 18 years ago. There is a Cuban ambience in Key West that teases the senses for the real thing. Despite traveling extensively it took a once in a lifetime invitation from Havana Club to visit Cuba for the Havana Club Grand Prix and contribute to the daily live blog from Havana. The added bonus is that I get to do this with fellow Brit Jay Hepburn from Oh Gosh.
Romantic images of Cuba have swirled about my head since those balmy nights in Key West. The scenery from the taxi as I was driven through Havana did not disappoint, it's rare when a place is exactly as you imagined. The faded grandeur of the colonial architecture made me smile to myself and I looked forward to inspecting the impressive structures further over the coming days.
The itinerary for the Grand Prix reads like a Cuban fantasy wish list, punctuated each day with the tasting of delicious Havana Club cocktails created by some of the world's most accomplished bartenders. I passed the first couple of hours people watching in the lobby of the Hotel Parque Central, various 'tribes' of bartenders were beginning to arrive from 31 countries including India and China. You can spot the different nationalities by their dress and the way they carry themselves. I cannot think of anything other cocktail competition that has managed such a global gathering. Jay and I will be tracking down team UK for an interview later on today.
Romantic images of Cuba have swirled about my head since those balmy nights in Key West. The scenery from the taxi as I was driven through Havana did not disappoint, it's rare when a place is exactly as you imagined. The faded grandeur of the colonial architecture made me smile to myself and I looked forward to inspecting the impressive structures further over the coming days.
The itinerary for the Grand Prix reads like a Cuban fantasy wish list, punctuated each day with the tasting of delicious Havana Club cocktails created by some of the world's most accomplished bartenders. I passed the first couple of hours people watching in the lobby of the Hotel Parque Central, various 'tribes' of bartenders were beginning to arrive from 31 countries including India and China. You can spot the different nationalities by their dress and the way they carry themselves. I cannot think of anything other cocktail competition that has managed such a global gathering. Jay and I will be tracking down team UK for an interview later on today.
By Emma Davis
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12:30 PM
Marcis Dzelzainis - team UK
By Sohini
1 comment
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Tuesday, 18 May 2010 02:25:12
This is a wonderful portrait of a very talented young man, who is going places!
Angela Hurworth
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12:02 PM
Looking for Marcis
Yesterday we went looking for a bartender called Marcis Dzelzainis. He was the winner of the British leg of the coctkail competition and now he's the UK's man in Havana. A lot of hopes are riding on this 28-year-old's mixological abilities. Quo Vadis, the London restaurant where Marcis tends bar, is housed in the same building on Dean Street where Karl Marx once lived. Karl Marx is still big in Havana. We're not sure whether this gives Marcis an edge over the competition but we're planning to find out.
The problem is, Marcis wasn't around yesterday. He went fishing for Marlin. Was this his way of rallying the cocktail deities to his cause, of communing with the spirit of Ernest Hemingway, the legendary denizen of Havana bars who liked fishing for Marlin nearly as much as he liked daiquiris at La Floridita? We'll have to find out tonight, when we catch up to Marcis Dzelzainis and his fellow mixologists at the inaugural Havana Club Cocktail Grand Prix party atop the Parque Central Hotel.
The problem is, Marcis wasn't around yesterday. He went fishing for Marlin. Was this his way of rallying the cocktail deities to his cause, of communing with the spirit of Ernest Hemingway, the legendary denizen of Havana bars who liked fishing for Marlin nearly as much as he liked daiquiris at La Floridita? We'll have to find out tonight, when we catch up to Marcis Dzelzainis and his fellow mixologists at the inaugural Havana Club Cocktail Grand Prix party atop the Parque Central Hotel.
By Randall Koral
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10:10 AM
Dave Broom:
Writer Dave Broom is the author of articles, interviews and books specialising in spirits (Drink! Never Mind The Peanuts and Rum). He also trains bartenders both professional and amateur and acts as a judge in various competitions, notably in the Havana Club Grand Prix. We tried to worm a few things out of Dave in a quick interview, asking him about his vision of this year’s Grand Prix.
"It is for me the biggest competition, the most exciting, and one of the toughest as well. It's also a chance for the finest bartenders in the world to share, learn and enjoy one of the finest cities in the world and one of its greatest rums.
Asking him about the differences with the previous editions, Dave explains that there won't be a flairing competition in 2010, "but a concentration on making quality drinks and doing so without unnecessary rules about what colour your trousers are. This is now a competition in which the drink is the hero. It's a place where innovation, skill and flavour rule."
He continues, "I don't want to anticipate anything at this stage, I simply want to be excited and impressed on the day. So I have an open mind."
Dave Broom will be hosting a workshop on Friday 14th at Parque Central Torre. "I'll be pairing the Havana Club range with a selection of different Cuban chocolates. Rum & chocolate are natural partners but I'm aiming to go deeper into the matching process using the chocolate as a magic key to open up some of the secrets of each of the rums. There's a practical side as well: this is a sure-fire way of driving trade and generating interest in rum in bars."
David Broom won the Glenfiddich Drinks Writer of the Year Award twice, the Harper's Spirits Personality of the Year in 2009.
"It is for me the biggest competition, the most exciting, and one of the toughest as well. It's also a chance for the finest bartenders in the world to share, learn and enjoy one of the finest cities in the world and one of its greatest rums.
Asking him about the differences with the previous editions, Dave explains that there won't be a flairing competition in 2010, "but a concentration on making quality drinks and doing so without unnecessary rules about what colour your trousers are. This is now a competition in which the drink is the hero. It's a place where innovation, skill and flavour rule."
He continues, "I don't want to anticipate anything at this stage, I simply want to be excited and impressed on the day. So I have an open mind."
Dave Broom will be hosting a workshop on Friday 14th at Parque Central Torre. "I'll be pairing the Havana Club range with a selection of different Cuban chocolates. Rum & chocolate are natural partners but I'm aiming to go deeper into the matching process using the chocolate as a magic key to open up some of the secrets of each of the rums. There's a practical side as well: this is a sure-fire way of driving trade and generating interest in rum in bars."
David Broom won the Glenfiddich Drinks Writer of the Year Award twice, the Harper's Spirits Personality of the Year in 2009.
By clement
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The Good, the Bad and Tony C!