'Maid in Cuba' by Tom Walker Wins BACARDI® Legacy Global Cocktail Competition 2014

MOSCOW, 8 May 2014 – The BACARDÍ Legacy Global Cocktail Competition 2014 has been won by Tom Walker’s drink, Maid in Cuba. Tom, who works at The American Bar at The Savoy in London, created a cocktail inspired by the American ‘maid’ style of drink and triumphed over 26 other original creations from some of the world’s finest mixologists in a stunning final held at the Petrovsky Palace, Moscow.

Winning the prestigious BACARDÍ Legacy Global Cocktail Competition represents a life-changing achievement for a bartender. Tom will see Maid in Cuba – BACARDÍ Superior rum, fresh mint and cucumber with sweet and sour mix topped with soda and absinthe spritz - hailed as a new classic, worthy of joining the ranks of iconic cocktails inspired by BACARDÍ rum. BACARDÍ will work with Tom over the next year to gain worldwide recognition for his drink, providing a platform from which he will serve Maid in Cuba at some of the finest bars in the world.

“The Maid in Cuba embodies what we look for in a legacy cocktail,” says David Cordoba, BACARDÍ Global Ambassador. “It achieves the perfect mix of the perfect ingredients, offering a balance and flavor and simplicity that I believe will endure and make it a classic of the future. The competition this year has been the highest standard ever and we have been blown away by the talent of the bartenders and the quality of their cocktails. It was incredibly close, but Tom is a worthy winner”

‘It’s actually quite overwhelming to win this competition, because I have been working towards it for such a long time,” said Tom. “This week with BACARDÍ has been phenomenal, it has been a privilege to compete with such talent. Winning BACARDÍ Legacy gives me an unbelievable opportunity to place my original cocktail on a global stage and develop my bartending career.’

The BACARDÍ Legacy Cocktail Competition was founded in 2008 to uncover a new generation of cocktails to endure to become the classics of the future. Only a drink offering perfectly balanced ingredients and a timeless taste - the unique qualities associated with BACARDÍ classics such as the Authentic BACARDÍ Mojito, the Original BACARDÍ Daiquirí and the Original BACARDÍ Cuba Libre - can be declared a true ‘Legacy’ cocktail.

A group of 27 talented bartenders from around the world have participated in a week-long schedule of events, rubbing shoulders with some of the true legends of the bartending world. BACARDÍ hosted the finalists at a range of educational workshops tailored to hone their skills, before they presented their own original interpretation of a modern BACARDÍ Legacy cocktail in the competition. This year, for the first time ever, the judges were so impressed by the standard of cocktails and presentations that they announced two runners up – Australian Fred Siggins’ Empire of Dreams and Carson Xie from China’s Original Connection.

Some of the most influential names in the international bartending and spirits community judged tonight’s final: Maestro de Ron BACARDÍ José Sanchez Gavito; bartender Joerg Meyer who owns the world famous bar Le Lion in Hamburg; renowned rum ambassador Ian Burrell and 2013 winner of the BACARDÍ Legacy Global Cocktail Competition, Elizaveta Evdokimova.

Commenting on the winning cocktail, Ian Burrell says, “The quality of drinks tonight has been second to none, but we are very happy to name the Maid in Cuba as the winner. This is a cocktail that exemplifies the term ‘classic’ – it has a very light and refreshing appeal that fits perfectly into the BACARDÍ Legacy cocktail stable. Tom has created a drink that uses a simple method, allowing you to taste the original ingredients, and that could be made anywhere in the world. For me, that is a classic cocktail.”

27 finalists took part in the competition and eight were selected by a judging panel to go through to the grand final tonight.