Matcha with a kick

 “I blended my Japanese hard-shake technique with a New York idea,” said the 29-year-old Japanese manager and head bartender at Angel’s Share in Manhattan. “I don’t have any teachers. I just learned by myself.”

Gokan worked as a bartender for slightly more than five years in Japan before moving to New York. When he started work at the age 18, the thought of working behind a bar never even entered his mind. That changed when he landed a job as a bar manager in Tokyo’s Ginza district. 

“The cocktail isn’t my entire creation. What happened is that a friend bought me some good matcha [green tea] and asked me to mix it in a cocktail. I tried it and discovered that rum was perfect with green tea. The name of my cocktail, ‘Speak Low’, is a jazz number,” says Gokan, who has also taken classes in the traditional Japanese tea ceremony.

What kind of cocktails was he making in Japan?

“Not very many. Young people don’t go bars. That’s why I decided to move to New York. In New York, there are plenty of challenges,” he explains. 

For his “Speak Low” cocktail, he mixed Bacardi Superior and matcha with a chasen matcha whisk in a chawan, the bowl used for preparing and drinking matcha in the Japanese tea ceremony. He then strained the mix into a shaker and added Bacardi Solera and sherry. He then gave it a hard shake before double straining the mixture into an old fashioned glass and decorating the cocktail with a spray of yuzu fruit zest.

“Drinking his cocktail is interesting,” said Thai bartender Suwan Seelee, assistant beverage manager at Aetas Bangkok’s Pause. “It’s really strong if you drink only the cocktail but it harmonises well with a piece of chocolate.”

Suwan, who made it as far as the semi-finals, said he developed stage fright because of his poor English language skills.

“What worried me the most was my English,” he said backstage after his show. “Reciting the English script together with my presentation was like singing a song off tune. I would advise young bartenders to really prepare and practise before coming to this competition.”

Sanit Sopitgirapast, senior brand manager of Bacardi (Thailand), was also impressed with the Japanese winner.

“Shingo has raised the bar for Asian mixologists to the global standard with his ‘Speak Low’ cocktail. Even though he was representing New York, he made it clear on stage that he was here to make Japan proud. His victory reflects his masterful technique and his skill of engaging the audience with his story, which was told without using too many words, and his artistic performance.

“For me this means so much for Thai bartenders, who have high potential in taste delivery but lose out in the English language stakes. We need to build a stronger foundation for Thai bartenders to develop their careers to international standards.”

Gokan was one of the eight bartenders to make it to the finals alongside Jimmy Hult from Sweden with his cocktail “Sin Tiempo”, Zdenek Kasanek from the UK with “La Hermosa”, Boudewijn Meriz from the Netherlands with “What If?”, Anastasiya Gvak from Russia with “A Priori”, Matteo Zamberln from Italy with “The Golden Mai Tai”, Hayden Scott Lambert from Ireland with “The Colonial Cocktail”, and Lukas Motejzik from Germany with “Pop It!”

The panel of judges for the final round featured Bacardi global brand ambassador David Cordoba, Australian artist and bar owner Matthew Bax, Czech Alex Kratena from London’s Artesian bar, Marc Bonneton of France, winner of BGLCC 2011, and Bacardi’s Mexican maestro de ron (master blender) Jose Sanchez-Gavito. The judges used iPads and new software to score the cocktails, which updated the rankings as the competition progressed.

“It was incredibly difficult to determine the final eight, the passion and thoughtfulness in their drinks was impressive,” said Bax. Kratena. “It was incredible to see the improvement in their presentation, techniques and innovation; there were some real dark horses.”

All the competitors, along with their brand ambassadors, spent four days in Puerto Rico, learning about the history of Bacardi rum, visiting the distillery in Catano, sharing their skills and techniques with fellow mixologists and learning bartending philosophies and expertise from some of the industry’s most influential tastemakers.

This year’s competition is part of global celebrations marking the 150th anniversary of Bacardi rum. During this whole year, the family-owned company is commemorating the anniversary with parties, promotions, a $2,000 limited-edition decanter of vintage Bacardi rum, commemorative