6 July 2026
BACARDÍ® Rum Earns Five Medals at the 2026 San Francisco World Spirits Competition
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The BACARDÍ Legacy Global Cocktail Competition 2013 has been won by Russian bartender Elizaveta Evdokimova. Her winning cocktail The Knight Cup triumphed in a closely contested final held at the BACARDÍ distillery near San Juan, Puerto Rico tonight.
As Elizaveta’s prize, BACARDÍ will offer year-long support to further her career as a bartender by creating experiences tailored to meet her career goals. In the next year, The Knight Cup – 2 parts BACARDÍ Superior rum, 1 part artichoke liqueur, 1/2 part grenadine liqueur and 1/4 part sugar syrup - will be served by Elizaveta at some of the finest bars in the world, alongside iconic classics including the Original BACARDÍ Mojito and the Original BACARDÍ Daiquirí.
“The Knight Cup is a true legacy cocktail,” says David Cordoba, BACARDÍ global ambassador. “Elizaveta has created a beautiful new BACARDÍ cocktail that has a genuine uniqueness. It’s simple to make, easy to drink and combines a masculine taste with a feminine touch.”
Elizaveta, who is bartender at Delicatessen in Moscow, says: “To create my cocktail it was important to emphasise the sense of loyalty, tradition and family heritage in BACARDÍ Superior rum. The knight embodies these qualities as a symbol of nobility and honour. The Knight Cup is for all those who respect these qualities.”
The BACARDÍ Legacy Global Cocktail Competition aims to nurture the careers of all of its finalists and this year was no exception. In the days leading up to the grand final, BACARDÍ hosted the elite group of 19 talented bartenders from around the world, for a week of education and competition in Miami and Puerto Rico during which they rubbed shoulders with some of the true legends of the bartending world.
In the semi-finals, all the bartenders demonstrated their personal interpretation of the next BACARDÍ Legacy cocktail and of the 19, eight were selected to go forward into tonight’s final.
Judging the competition was a panel of some of the most influential experts of the international bartending and spirits community: Enrique Comas, BACARDÍ Global Brand Manager; Maestro de Ron BACARDÍ José Sanchez Gavito; the legendary Salvatore Calabrese, who presides over Salvatore at Playboy in London; Simon Difford, founder of diffordsguide; Alex Kratena from the Artesian bar at the Langham Hotel in London; Joerg Meyer, bartender and entrepreneur;Nicolas Saint-Jean, world champion flair bartender andMarc Bonneton and Shingo Gokan, winners of the BACARDÍ Legacy Global Cocktail Competition in 2011 and 2012 respectively.
Commenting on the winning cocktail, Alex Kratena, said: “The Knight Cup is a cocktail you can enjoy as an aperitif, during dinner and as a night cap. For me it’s a drink for every occasion. Elizaveta used BACARDÍ Superior in a way that you would never normally expect it. The recipe is simple and yet something completely different. That for me is what it takes to make a Legacy cocktail.”
The competition was founded to recognise and nurture extraordinary bartending talent, whether competitors are savvy mixologists with years of experience and a strong network within the industry, or aspirationalists looking for a mentor and launch pad to become the next big thing. Winning the competition offers not only the prestige of having been named the best out of thousands of entries, but an exceptional opportunity to work with BACARDÍ over the next year promoting their cocktail and profile around the world.
The other finalists were:
Bartender - Country - Name of cocktail
Mario Hofferer - AUSTRIA - Cantineros Gentleman Daiquirí
Dennis Wolf - GERMANY - A Hazy Shade of Apple
Nick Koumbarakis - SOUTH AFRICA - The Tourist
Boudy Ghostine - SWEDEN - Latin Quarter
Suwincha Singsuwan - THAILAND - The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
Chris Moore - UK & IRELAND - The Encantador
Nick Nistico - USA - The Garden Gimlet
