Canadian Finale of the Bacardi Legacy Cocktail Competition

A group of us were escorted by a white limo to the secret location of the Canadian finale of the Bacardi Legacy Cocktail Competition on March 23 to witness the crowning of Canada’s 2015 Legacy Cocktail.

We entered a secret tunnel with a welcome Bacardi drink, which helped us pass through the freakishly long tunnel. When we finally emerged, we found ourselves joining over 200 other spectators at the majestic Casa Loma.

A badge assigned us each to one of the finalists’ team. Blame it on the Bacardi, but I do not remember which one was mine.

The eight finalists: Alana Nogueda (Toronto), Simon Hooper, Evelyn Chick (Vancouver native), Drahos Chytry (Montreal), Jeffrey Van Horne (Halifax), Shane Beehan (Halifax), Mike Shum (Vancouver), and Jimmy Nguyen (Calgary) presented their original recipes in front of a panel of judges including David Wolowidnyk (Canadian Professional Bartender’s Association co-founder & director), Dr Andrew Toplack (Canada’s cocktail expert), Juan Coronado (Bacardi’s Senior Brand Ambassador for North America) and Trevor Burnett (Bacardi Brand Ambassador for Canada).

It was Mike Shum’s winning concoction Chan Chan that was chosen to represent Canada in the Bacardi Legacy Global Final taking place on May 5 in Sydney, Australia.

The winning cocktail of the Bacardi Legacy Global Final will be served at some of the world’s finest bars and the creator will receive a year-long support to achieve his/her goal in the bartending field.

How to mix the Chan Chan:
1½ oz Bacardi Superior rum
½ oz fresh lime juice
⅓ oz St Germain Elderflower liqueur
⅓ oz dry vermouth
⅓ oz simple syrup
3 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
Shake and fine-strain into a chilled glass, garnish with an edible flower.

(photos by Tanya)