Bacardi U Mix 2014-2015 ...a Legacy on it's own.

Last February 21,2015, Pinoytender Management Consultancy in cooperation with Bacardi-Martini Philippines staged the Bacardi U-Mix Bartending Challenge ,a bartending competition for students that focuses on the “talking bartender” and the search for that ultimate cocktail. This is the culminating activity of the advocacy program of Bacardi Philippines, the Bacardi University for students which is now on its 2^nd year.

The competition was held at en Route Distillery Tomas Morato in Quezon City. The venue itself gave its attendees a feel of what Bacardi is all about. A bottomless Cuba Libre bar with stunning models, Cuban songs filling the area, wood planks and barrels which takes us back to the country where the best international rum was founded. 

The program started with the opening remarks given by the organizer of the event and proprietor of Pinoytender and Philippine Bartending.com Mr. Richie Cruz. As he puts it, “This is the first competition in the country to adapt this format for students (the talking bartender) because we want to develop the future players of the beverage industry in how they express themselves while making a drink. Our goal is to produce bartenders that can compete in international competitions and be future ambassadors of our brand.  A bartender takes pride in the drinks he makes, a cocktail is a whole story on its own. We always invest in the youth and believe that one day we will achieve our road to LEGACY.

In order to know who is best for this year, 5 distinguished panel of judges were invited and these included:

Mitos Semana – Champion Bacardi U-Mix 2013-2014

Jericson Co – Partner in Curator and Edsa Beverage Group

Rian Asiddao – Bartender of Long Bar in Raffles Makati

Jerry Miranda – Head Bartender Prive Luxury Club

Adrian Gearing – Training Director of Holland America

The mechanics of this competition is to make a cocktail in 5 minutes. But the twist is that they have to talk and explain what they are doing in English.

Criteria for judging:

Name                                                                                                  10

Technical Skills and presentation                                                       10

Appearance                                                                                         10       

Aroma, balance flavours and character appeal                                   40

Ingenuity and innovation                                                                    10

Inspiration and story behind the recipe                                               10

Product knowledge                                                                               5

Promotional Plan                                                                                  5

TOTAL                                                                                                 100

Deductions would include over time if the drink yield is appropriate

After the competition all of the participants were asked to sit down with the judges and had a debriefing of how they performed. As one judge said, “ You are all winners the fact that you are here in this competition. Never stop honing your craft and expose yourselves in the world of cocktails.”

Bacardi U Mix 2014-2015 Official Scores
Ansherina                    Vicente Umali                          56.2
Tropical Sensation      Joseph Tibayan                        62.6
Cucuban Delight         Joshua Parcero                         68.6
Pristine                        Ansherina Bautista                     57
Rogue                          Ralph Romasanta                       44.8
Burst                            Jhon Parraba                             73.6 3^rd University of Santo Tomas
Facundo’s Special        Venian Duque                      72.6 4^th Manila Tytana College
Storge                          Charmaine Dela Paz   74.4 1^st   Lyceum of the Philippines University Manila
The Summer Class      Rizele Camille Trinidad             68.8
Cocorumba                 Emervin Torlao              73.8 2^nd Lyceum of the Philippines University Manila
The heart of Flamel    John Caballes               71.4

Best in Cocktail John Anthony P. Caballes Lyceum of the Philippines University Manila

1^st P5,000 trophy,medal.certificate, gift packs from Bacardi and World Class Concepts

2^nd P3,000 trophy,medal.certificate, gift packs from Bacardi and World Class Concepts

3^rd P2,000 trophy,medal.certificate, gift packs from Bacardi and World Class Concepts

Best in Cocktail

P2,000 trophy,medal.certificate, gift packs from Bacardi and World Class Concepts

Schools that participated include: Lyceum of the Philippines University Manila, University of Santo Tomas, Manila Tytana College and St. Paul University of Quezon City.

Official Media Sponsors of this event are: When in Manila.com and Hospitality News Philippines.

This is indeed another historical event for Philippine Bartending in the aspect of Mixology.

Kudos to Ito Zamora and Bobby Campos of Bacardi Philippines for making this event a reality.

Let us see where the road will take us.

Bacardi U Mix Bartending Challenge 2014-2015

On February 21,2015, Pinoytender Management Consultancy in cooperation with Bacardi-Martini Philippines will stage the Bacardi U Mix Bartending Challenge ,a bartending competition for students that focuses on the “talking bartender” and that ultimate cocktail. This is the culminating activity of the advocacy program of Bacardi Philippines, the Bacardi University for students which is now on its 2^nd year.

In our beverage industry we have always strived in developing the competence of our bartenders in crafting the best drink in town. Through seminars and training that is being conducted by our global ambassadors, we are able to monitor the interest and progress of our bartenders.

Last 2013, we have decided to tap our future industry players which are the students. Given the right training, they will be able to apply not only the theories but the techniques and trends that were shared by our competent brand ambassador Arijit Bose from India.

In our first run last 2013, we were able to tap 6 schools that have Beverage Management subjects and are taking up the course of Hotel and Restaurant Management.

This year, we were able to tap 9 schools including schools from the north which included Holy Angel University and University of Baguio.

The Bacardi University,an advocacy program held last August and September of 2014, this is a seminar that not only focuses on the brand and its uses but on Bartending in general that includes theories, demonstration and trends. This seminar also included cocktail appreciation so that the students can hone in on the flavors that would make a perfect cocktail. To cap this activity, we include a competition to see if the participating schools are able to integrate their leanings with their participants.

This event included a distinguished panel of judges that will help us decide the best “bartender” and the best cocktail. Our panel of judges are all from the beverage and hospitality industry.

In a nutshell the mechanics of the competition is for the contestant to make a drink in 5 minutes while talking about his drink. Communication is one of the skills we want to nurture in this competition for we believe that a world class bartender should express himself articulately as well as with his creation.

This competition promises to be an exciting and interesting competition to find out who are the future bartenders of this country.

Show starts at 2pm and will be held at En Route Distillery in Tomas Morato, Quezon City. The champion will receive P5,000 plus trophy and certificate. There will also be an award for the BEST IN COCKTAIL that will receive P2,000.

Come and join us.

STAND UP PINOYTENDERS

Our day usually starts by reading the newspaper. After the headlines, we turn the page to the Lifestyle and Entertainment section . What do we see? Browsing along, a full two-page article on food, articles about different cuisines(Japanese, Chinese, American, Mexican, Portuguese, and of course, Filipino) and about this famous chef who came to Manila to conduct a one-week cooking workshop together with a Filipino in-house chef of a newly opened resto in Quezon City.

Wait a minute? Readers might choke themselves upon reading too much about FOOD & CHEFS. No offence meant, but what about DRINKS? People like to eat but they also like drinking a lot. We have been so educated about food just by reading these articles but we haven’t really learned that much about what we are drinking. Have we? Well, there are a “few” drops of articles regarding drinks, but they only appear once in a blue moon or after a rain dance. There are some pictures of “Drinks of the Month” of some of the five-star hotels here in Manila and we have read this very successful article about red wine being good for the heart and about an anniversary of this famous bourbon whiskey giving a brief description of its history and that's it. We give credit to those who contributed these articles for at least we readers have something to sip while gobbling up the other articles.

But what about the people behind these exciting, colorful, exotic and at times intoxicating drinks? If the chefs are given credit for the creations they have made, don't they deserve an article as well? When one goes to a bar or restaurant, who dispenses those drinks, and who does the cocktails? Who whips up the frappuccino? Did anyone notice them? It’s about time that they’d be given equal recognition as well since not only do they concoct drinks but they concoct them infront of the guest, thus making them elite in the industry.

Let’s call them PINOYTENDERS. Who are they? Technically, they are the Filipinos who tend the bar. In the industry, they are known as bartenders and baristas. They are the ones who come up with those specialty drinks and “drinks of the month” that we long for. They give us a shot of Tequila, a double on the rocks, and a well-crafted blow job. They are the ones that we approach whenever we need someone to talk to. And of course, they are the ones who do those death-defying bar flairs and mind-boggling tricks behind the bar that after you leave the place you’d still be wondering how they were able to do that. I was even surprised that there’s a bar in Manila that has its own version of Coyote Ugly.

No offense again, but maybe it’s time to focus on the beverage aspect of F&B since this is the more profitable side of the Industry if given the proper attention…right Mr.Cost Control?

We raise a glass of SHERIFF that we drink at THE BARN as a toast to all Pinoytenders that we’ve talked to, laughed with, encountered, and befriended. May you continue to whip up those drinks to quench our thirst. Cheers!!!!!!