Amaury
Cepeda of Taberba Yaybu Bar in his hometown of Santi
Spiritus,Cuba, impressed the judging panel winning the two-day
final with his cocktail “Cunyaya”; made with Havana Club 3 Year
Old, Havana Club Essence of Cuba Island Fruit, honey, sour
orange, and fresh sugar cane juice.
Thirteen finalists were tasked with creating “the next rum classic
serve” by combining Cuba’s cocktail tradition, authenticity and local
ingredients with their own personal experiences. Cepeda’s winning cocktail was inspired
by the traditions of the slaves brought to Cuba in 1515, and created after a
five-day brand experience with seminars, workshops and masterclasses. Of his win, Cepeda said: Of his win, Cepeda
said: “Cuban cantineros must have all their senses in their cocktail; their
heart, their soul and a profound respect towards bartending. I am very proud to
have won the 11th Havana Club Cocktail Grand Prix and I am very looking forward
to starting my collaboration with Havana Club. Above all, I am excited about
having the opportunity to continue to better myself!” He will now undertake a global rum
project with Havana Club, where he will have the freedom to create his own rum,
write a book on the spirit or even launch his own rum pop-up.
Second place went to
Veilandas Povilas, from Lithuania, one of the few women present in the
competition, who showed great charisma and skills during the two-day contest Manan Krause, from Germany, won the third
place while the People´s Choice award went to Danish Kleist Terkel.
Havana Club
International and the Cuban Bartenders Association organized this event that is
held every other year, and has won steadily a reputation as a hard to win
competition.
The judging
panel featured mixologists from the World’s 50 Best Bars including
Hidetsugo Ueno from Japan; Renato ‘Tato’ Giovannoni from Argentina; Alejandro
Bolívar from Cuba; and Thanos Prunarus from Greece; along with cocktail and
tiki expert Scotty Schuder; winner of the 2014 competition, Andy Loudon; and
renowned spirits writer, Dave Broom.
