Roll out the barrel

SUPERB RUM-based cocktails return to the City of Angels on Sunday night with Italian Luca Cinalli of London’s famed Nightjar bar jetting into Bangkok to shake up some cool drinks for the third edition of Bacardi’s “True Rum Night”. 

The second instalment of the monthly rum-filled party was held in December at Bangkok’s newest nightlife secret address Havana Social on Sukhumvit Soi 11 and was such a success that rum lovers have been waiting with impatience for this latest round. That evening featured cocktail creations by five finalists in the Bacardi Legacy Cocktail Competition 2016. Wareewan Yodkamol from Vesper, Mitchell “Kai” Lum from Vertigo, Vogue Lounge’s Hideyuki Saito, Bamboo Bar’s Sarawut Pinpech and Sebastian de la Cruz from U.N.C.L.E and Touche Hombre came together behind the bar to showcase their signature drinks and tempt partygoers with their inspiring creativity.

“We were very happy that the first Bacardi True Rum Night in November was such a success,” says Barcardi brand manager Celine Louis.

“For the first edition, we had the honour of hosting one of the world’s top 10 mixologists, Shingo Gokan, as our guest bartender. We were spoiled too for the second night with the five Bacardi Legacy Cocktail Competition finalists. One of the five will be Thailand’s representative in the global competition in San Francisco later this year. There will be two more Bacardi True Rum Night events to select the winner.” 

At the December event, Saito presented Quintus, made of Bacardi Superior, dry fino sherry, La Quintinye Rouge and Benedictine DOM. The inspiration, he explained, came from the idea of transforming a punch into an aperitif. 

“Taking the dryness and smoothness in Bacardi and also from punch, an old and historic drink, I make an aperitif with five elements of punch. Quintus means fifth in Latin and with this drink I show my respect to the fifth generation of the Bacardi family.”

Kai translated his love for his native Honolulu in “Haole”, a concoction of Bacardi Superior, white vermouth, lemon juice, pineapple syrup and ginger ale. “I have been bartending and travelling the world for almost four years and everywhere I go I am a foreigner,” he laughed.

“To embrace this, I always pay homage to my home in Hawaii. Growing up in Hawaii, my snack of choice everyday was fresh and succulent pineapple, from our plate-lunch at school to several sliced open at the beach. Using this, I wanted to create a cocktail |that combined the afternoon delight of my childhood with my newly discovered pleasures of adulthood.”

Bamboo Bar’s Sarawut used Bacardi Superior, triple sec, pineapple juice, syrup, lime juice and basil to create Serenity to praise the meticulous of Bacardi’s rum-making legacy. “I am inspired by the fine and calm method of Bacardi rum; the way the ingredients are carefully chosen, the ageing process and so on – very similar to how I create my drink,” he said. 

Other recipes included De La Cruz’s Expat, a cocktail with Bacardi Superior, umeshu, Punt e Mes, tamarind syrup, lemon juice and sea salt flakes, and The Little Wing by Wareewan who used Bacardi Superior, honey. Frangelico, port tawny, lemon juice and egg white.

At Sunday’s Bacardi True Rum Night, which is being held at Smith on Sukhumvit Soi 49, Cinalli will serving his very inventive cocktail creations to the sound of Afro-Cuban beats from DJ Masa. 

For exclusive entry to Sunday night’s event, visit Facebook.com/BacardiThailandOfficial.