Moved by the spirit

The Bacardi Superior Rum Legacy Cocktail Competition 2011 always promises to be different from other bartending contests so this year, it's again passing judgement on the bartender's drink presentation rather than his or her flairing skills."Of course, the bartender's duty is entertaining the customer but basically we're giving priority to the mixed drink," says Sanit Sopitgirapast, senior brand manager of Bacardi (Thailand).When the world-famous rum brand set up the Bacardi Martini Grand Prix eight years ago, the focus was on flair bartending - flair bottles or bottle flipping. Last year that was dropped in favour of a contest that encourages the creation of new classic cocktails."Right now, we're supporting the bartender to be more what he is right now," says the brand manager. "In this competition, the bartender will cross the boundary to mixologist: He'll make a marketing plan for his cocktail in addition to creating it. It's pushing the bartender's career to a higher position of mixologist or head of the bar."With the 'Legacy Cocktail', we're looking for a drink that will become as well known as the Mojito and Cuba Libre. We need new cocktails," he says.More than 100 bartenders applied to take part in this year's competition online. Thirty were later selected to join the contest and four have now reached the semi-final round. They are Karn Liangsrisuk from the Shangri-La Bangkok with his cocktail "Vanilla Fizzy", Suwan Srily from The Aetas Bangkok with "Bubble Bright" and Samart Nongmeesub and Hataithip Ros-horm from Hyde and Seek Gastro Bar with "Temptation Of Adam" with "Viva Eastern Candle" respectively. "All have come up with different characters and flavours for their cocktails," says Sanit, who is also one of the judges for this competition in the presentation category."Hataithip has takes the character of the Thai dessert foy thong with the smell of coconut cream and a smoking candle for her cocktail, which brings to mind our childhood days. I think foreign consumers know that coconut cream is an ingredient of Thai food."Karn's cocktail is more international than Hataithip's. It's vanilla based but with a sour orange flavour as a contrast. Suwan, who won third prize in the Martini Grand Prix, usually notices how consumers order their drinks. Women, he observes, look sexy when they have bubbles on their lips. His concept is breaking the ice. Samart's cocktail is a kind of fusion with the smell of a slice of burnt caramel apple and coffee. It reminds us of the roots of Bacardi and the Caribbean."Prior to the final round on November 30, the four finalists will promote their cocktails through the media, in a variety of activities and, of course, in their own bars. The winner will travel to Puerto Rico for the international legacy cocktail competition on February 3. That auspicious date is being dubbed "Founder Day", as it marks Bacardi's 150th anniversary. The winner will receive a handcrafted glass cocktail shaker, have his or her cocktail listed in the "World Cocktail Book" and take part in the World Cocktail Festival in New Orleans."The four finalists have all come up with a simple mix, which is the trend this year," says Sanit. "Two years ago, the focus was on passionfruit and before that dragon fruit was popular."Thai drinking behaviour is different from that of Americans and Europeans. Thais tend to prefer whisky with mixers over a cocktail, so the importance of the bartender here is less than in other overseas countries. Making a cocktail is an art," he concludes.