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Launch of the 8th International Cocktail Grand Prix
The drink is the hero...
Dancing through the night!
Cocktails on the roof of the Hotel NH Parque Central
Having a drink by the pool
Welcome cocktail
And the four finalists are...
Tonight Giuseppe Santamaria from Spain, Marcis Dzelzainis from the UK, Ioannis Petros Petris from Greece, and Claire Harlick from New Zealand emerged victorious during the next-to-last round of competition in the 8th International Havana Club Cocktail Grand Prix. Tomorrow one of them will be crowned the overall winner. Stay tuned....
The festivities begin!
Havana, by night...
From Spain: Giuseppe Santamaria
Finalist (from Greece): Ioannis Petros Petris
Finalist (from the UK) : Marcis Dzelzainis
Emma Davis
Jay Hepburn – “A drink can be unpleasant if not served well!”
Meet Jay Hepburn, 25, famous cocktail enthusiast in charge of Oh Gosh ! The most widely read UK cocktail blog in the world, nominated several times for awards at The Weblog Awards and the Well Fed Food Blog Awards. Jay will be one of our stringers in La Havana to cover the Grand Prix.
The Grand Prix compared to other cocktail competitions
“The big difference I see with the Havana Club Grand Prix is the wide range of countries participating, which is really great to see.” “A lot of "international" competitions seem to focus on a few areas in America and Europe, so it will be interesting to see the different influences and styles each country displays.”
What’s new with The Grand Prix, this year
“This is my first Grand Prix, however I understand this year the focus is much more on the overall experience a bartender provides, hosting included, which is very important for a bartender - a great drink can be unpleasant if not served well!”
New trends and techniques
“Molecular Mixology is always popular in cocktail competitions for bartenders trying to set themselves apart from the pack.” “Japanese-style bartending is very popular in America and Europe right now, so I expect we'll see some Japanese-influences techniques and service styles this year. ”
The Grand Prix compared to other cocktail competitions
“The big difference I see with the Havana Club Grand Prix is the wide range of countries participating, which is really great to see.” “A lot of "international" competitions seem to focus on a few areas in America and Europe, so it will be interesting to see the different influences and styles each country displays.”
What’s new with The Grand Prix, this year
“This is my first Grand Prix, however I understand this year the focus is much more on the overall experience a bartender provides, hosting included, which is very important for a bartender - a great drink can be unpleasant if not served well!”
New trends and techniques
“Molecular Mixology is always popular in cocktail competitions for bartenders trying to set themselves apart from the pack.” “Japanese-style bartending is very popular in America and Europe right now, so I expect we'll see some Japanese-influences techniques and service styles this year. ”
Bringing the best of Tiki to the bartenders
The Mai Tai recipe
Emma Davis – "you often have to eat or inhale the cocktails!"
37 year-old cocktail anthusiast and blogger Emma Davis has worked for 18 years in the drinks industry. She now heads up brand-building company, and runs her own blog, which covers her "own favorite passtimes: travel, yoga and Cocktails!
The Grand Prix compared to other cocktail competitions
"The Havana Club Grand Prix is one of the most impressive cocktail competitions I've even had the pleasure to be a part of. The global perspective has been very well executed and is fairly unique as many other brands find it hard to work on a global level in this way. It really is a pioneering competition and I'm pretty sure there is nothing else like it in the rum world.
The blog that has been set up is a first. There are plenty of competitions but they don't communicate anything beyond the winners, there will be huge interest from the global bartending community on the twice daily updates, it will make them all feel a part of it no matter where they are."
What’s new with The Grand Prix, this year
"The updated version makes the competition 'cutting edge' and modern, the bartending community has become truly global over the last 10 years and the online communication and presence is what will help drive the Havana Club brand forward with the 'up and coming' bartenders in the industry. It is great to see so many younger bartenders who have made it to the final. As an industry we spend far too much time looking after the established people in the industry."
New trends and techniques
"I'm expecting an element of molecular mixology or alchemy this year. Molecular mixology has become more established and accessible to a wider range of bartenders. I have seen over the last two years competitions where you often have to eat or inhale the cocktails!
There is also a huge interest in bartenders making their own ingredients in terms of bitters and syrups, so I'm expecting some interesting flavours."
The Grand Prix compared to other cocktail competitions
"The Havana Club Grand Prix is one of the most impressive cocktail competitions I've even had the pleasure to be a part of. The global perspective has been very well executed and is fairly unique as many other brands find it hard to work on a global level in this way. It really is a pioneering competition and I'm pretty sure there is nothing else like it in the rum world.
The blog that has been set up is a first. There are plenty of competitions but they don't communicate anything beyond the winners, there will be huge interest from the global bartending community on the twice daily updates, it will make them all feel a part of it no matter where they are."
What’s new with The Grand Prix, this year
"The updated version makes the competition 'cutting edge' and modern, the bartending community has become truly global over the last 10 years and the online communication and presence is what will help drive the Havana Club brand forward with the 'up and coming' bartenders in the industry. It is great to see so many younger bartenders who have made it to the final. As an industry we spend far too much time looking after the established people in the industry."
New trends and techniques
"I'm expecting an element of molecular mixology or alchemy this year. Molecular mixology has become more established and accessible to a wider range of bartenders. I have seen over the last two years competitions where you often have to eat or inhale the cocktails!
There is also a huge interest in bartenders making their own ingredients in terms of bitters and syrups, so I'm expecting some interesting flavours."
Creating the best cocktail
Tasting the lost recipe...
Cocktail competition : competing to be the best!
A very captivated audience!
Not your ordinary bartending competition…
Chilling at the beach after five days of competition
Cuba : the easternmost polynesian island
Jeff "Beachbum" Berry enjoying the beach
Last day at the Club Habana
Jeff Beachbum Berry hard at work..."
The judging begins
Havana Club Grand Prix workshops
Preparation
Each competitor has his or her favorite version of Havana Club Rum
Competitors and judges got to enjoy a refreshing Daiquiri after a long day of visiting Havana
The art of the Daiquiri cocktail making
It's time for a mojito : nothing compares to Havana
Mohammed Nazzal mixing up a masterpiece at the Academia Del Ron
Visiting the Floridita : la cuna del daiquiri
Remember 1998's winner classic
The Competition Begins @ Academia Del Ron
Creating the ingredients
Ingredients for success
There's a lot that happens before that first sip…
Moment 1 - Gran Teatro de La Habana
Only 10 minutes to prepare three original cocktails!
Learning from some of the industry's best at the Academia Del Ron
Moment 2 - The Ingredients
The competition begins!
Rendez-vous tonight for the final stage of the competition
Soul star Danay, got us all on our feet
Cuban hip-hop duo Ogguere got the party going !
The crowd was mesmerized by Danza Contemporanea"
Danza Contemporanea, the outstanding Cuban, troupe took the stage in the Gran Teatro
The evening shifted into high gear with the Havana Cultura show"
Signing La Bodeguita del Medio wall
Marcis Dzelzainis, the grand prizewinner of 2010, took home a silver cocktail shaker and a bottle of Havana Club Maximo signed for him by Maestro Ronero Asbel Morales.
And the winner is .... Marcis Dzelzainis!
Who will be the winner ?
A long wait for the results...
La Bodeguita del Medio on the Calle Empedrado
Ian Burrell tastes Giuseppe's cocktail
15 minutes to create the perfect cocktail!
Giuseppe Santamaria, Italian barman representing Spain
Dave Broom : the art of judging a cocktail
Claire Harlick felt
Claire Harlick, representing New Zealand, is the third candidate of the competition
Tony C. tastes Marcis' cocktail
UK competitor Marcis Dzelzainis
Ioannis Petros Petris - representing Greece - begins the last stage of the competition
Hidetsugu Ueno gives a demonstration on the Hardshake technique
2004: 10th anniversary of Havana Club International S.A.
Moment 3 - La Floridita
The true stars of the show at the Academia Del Ron
Take your seats! Bar classes have begun at the Academia Del Ron…
La Floridita, one of the most famous bars of Havana
Preparing a daiquiri...
Hidetsuko Ueno at Bar High Five in Tokyo
Most (though not all) Tiki Drinks are rum-based
Tiki Drinks count fresh citrus juice among their ingredients
Ernest Hemingway statue in La Floridita
Daiquiri recipe
Havana Club rums in La Floridita
Michael Menegos
The 2002 Grand Prix
The bubbling Havana
We are bartenders. That's it, and that encapsulates everything!
Marcis Dzelzainis - team UK
Ioannis Petros : "My experience with bartending started out when I was 10 years old"
Bottled 5 minutes ago, really fresh!
Standing out...
the 2010 Havana Club International Cocktail Grand Prix took place last night in the Gran Teatro de la Havana, in the Sala Alejo Carpentier
The spirit of Havana
Interior of the Gran Teatro de la Habana
The competition begins...
Giuseppe Santamaria of Spain
Marcis Dzelzainis & Ioannis Petros : who will be the grand winner ?
The Cuban Cut Glass
Tony Conigliaro : one of the Grand Prix judges
Judging a cocktail
The Gran Teatro de La Habana
La Torre view
1st stage of finals at Gran Teatro de la Habana !
Learning about the different characteristics of rum at the Academia Del Ron
The Grand Prix Finalists waiting in the wings
41 bartenders were present for the 8th edition of the Havana Club Grand Prix
Havana Club Rums - preparing the best cocktails!
Ian Burrell : tasting and judging
UK's pioneering drinks creator Tony Conigliaro
Grand Prix finalist Giuseppe Santamaria
Welcome to Havana, Cuba
Grand winner of the Havana Club Grand Prix : Marcis Dzelzainis
La Bodeguita Del Medio
Happy Bartender's Day!
Meet Grand Prix finalist Giuseppe Santamaria
A unforgettable experience at the Havana Club Grand Prix
Guiseppe preparing his cocktail for the Havana Club Grand Prix
The drinks that I like most to prepare are the Sours
Cocktails on the roof of the Hotel NH Parque Central
Moment 5 - Visiting Havana
Participants are led on one of many rum tastings at the Academia Del Ron
Moment 5 - Classic 50s Car
Dial Del Barman
Dial Del Barman: an Argentinian concept.
judge Ian Burrell
La Bodeguita Del Medio
Julian Johansen - bartender at the Ruby
Havana Club Grand Prix, competitor Mohammad Nazzal
Havana Old Timers
50 participants at the Academia Del Ron...
La Giraldilla
An elegant Cocktail
Visit to La Giraldilla
The starter cocktail with a floral aroma
Tasting of cocktails
Ian Burrell visiting the Museum of Rum
Havana Club Grand Prix, Judge Ian Burrell
a serious competition for bartenders from all over the world
Ian Burrel : The most difficult to judge was the final four bartenders
Havana's perfume
The Museum of Rum
Visit to the Museum of Rum
Tasting of Havana Club rum
Havana music in El Museo del Ron Havana Club !
El Emperador, a romantic restaurant in Havana
Cocktails with Havana Club rums
Jamie Chesher and Julian Johannsen enjoying a Daiquiri
The aroma of ingredients
Interview with Michael Menegos from Havana Club
The best of the trade
Marcis, the winner, enjoying his last day in Cuba...
The four winners will compete tonight for the final stage of the competition
Marcis impressed the jury with his variation on a Chicago Fizz
Marcis Dzelzainis is 28 year old. He is half English, half Latvian.
Marcis deliberately kept his drinks simple
Marcis Dzelzainis is explaining his drink to the judges
Ian Burrell
Moment 1 - Some of the Fellow Judges
Moment 2 - The Judging
Moment 2 : creating the ultimate cocktail
Moment 3 - The Gala Dinner & Danza Contemporanea
Moment 3 - The Four Finalists
Moment 3 - Ogguere
Moment 4 - Meimi Sanchez, the UK Havana Club Ambassador.
Moment 5 - Visiting Havana, El Malecón
Moment 5 - Sunset in Havana
Tiki workshop with Jeff "Beachbum" Berry
Jeff "Beachbum" Berry or how to find a good Tiki drink
Mohammed Nazzal - from Germany
Michael Menegos
