The Havana Club International S.A. (HCI) brand, organizer of the event in alliance with the National Association of Bartenders of Cuba (ACC), extended the invitation to Cuban and foreign bartenders who are willing to measure their skills in a space of innovation, enjoyment and rigour.
The Marketing and Communication director of HCI, Yuniel Delgado, declared to Prensa Latina that the purpose behind the organization of the event is to generate within the community of bartenders in Cuba a new form of competition, based on the promotion of creativity and comraderie.
Another objective is to bring young talents closer to the ACC (the oldest of its kind in the world) and to transmit to them the values of the Havana Club brand such as Cubanness, diversity and inclusiveness, Delgado said.
“We also want to satisfy our consumers who are increasingly more sophisticated, for which it is necessary to take into account the influence of international trends in our country,” he added. By the way, Delgado stressed that combining tradition and modernity in cocktail making requires a bit of science and alchemy.
The novelty in this second edition will be that the competing teams will be able to join by affinity, even if they are not from the same bar.
“This brings the advantage of cooperation and diversity in terms of work styles,” Delgado said.
During the press conference, the members of the jury were introduced, among whom the multi-award-winning Cuban bartender Bárbara Betancourt stands out.
“Generally, female Cuban bartenders work in the classic style within the cantina, which is the national hallmark, but the world novelty has forced us to prepare, study and enhance ourselves,” stressed the renowned bartender.
She also pointed out that, for several years now, machismo has been discarded, “giving women the true value they have within the profession.”
The call for the second edition of the Havana Club Cocktail Maestro International Competition will close on March 30.
According to the event program, the semi-final will take place at the beginning of April at the ACC headquarters, while the grand finale will be held in May, in a “surprise” location that is an icon of Cuban cocktails.
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