Forty of the world’s most innovative and exceptional bartenders will compete for the global title and one spot will be taken by the winner of the new Wildcard entry channel – bringing the opportunity to create a lasting legacy and join the BACARDÍ Legacy Gran Familia to more bartenders than ever before.
The BACARDÍ Legacy Cocktail Competition is opening entries on June 20 for its 2020 global finals with exciting news that will allow bartenders from all over the world to enter, regardless of whether their country currently participates.
All bartenders can enter BACARDÍ Legacy from June 20 by visiting www.bacardilegacy.com. Thirty-nine countries will be represented in next year’s final but, until now, bartenders could only enter if they worked in a participating country. Those who do not will, from this year, be able to submit their original BACARDÍ rum cocktail recipes for selection to go through to regional rounds where they will compete with each other under the same process as all other competitors, before a Wildcard final will decide who takes the fortieth spot to compete in Miami.
“I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to be finally making this announcement because I know how many bartenders around the world have been waiting for this,” says Dickie Cullimore, Global Ambassador, BACARDÍ Rum. “As more and more bartenders see the incredible opportunities competing in Legacy offers, we get countless enquiries from them asking how to take part. It’s always been gutting to have to say that they can’t because their country isn’t participating – so we just knew we had to come up with a creative way to make the competition open to as wide a field as possible. The Wildcard is finally here, it opens the competition up now to over 100 countries, and I can’t wait to see what the bartenders who enter it will bring to BACARDÍ Legacy!”
The BACARDÍ Legacy Cocktail Competition is one of the world’s largest cocktail competitions and receives thousands of entries each year. BACARDÍ rum has a long historical association with classic cocktails and bartenders are drawn to the challenge to create an original cocktail that will likewise stand the test of time, become established in the industry and leave a legacy. Competing in BACARDÍ Legacy offers not only a career-defining opportunity to create the next BACARDÍ Legacy cocktail, but also an induction into the ever growing BACARDÍ Legacy ‘Gran Familia’ – an invaluable network of support and shared knowledge, as past competitors have stated.
“BACARDÍ Legacy is not just a competition, it’s much more,” says Nicole Fas, 2019 runner up from Puerto Rico. “It may sound cheesy but REALLY, it is not just a competition. It is a gateway to let the world know your story. It is an opening door for you to enter an adventure that may change your life. My life changed after I entered BACARDÍ Legacy.”
Global Champion for 2017, Ran Van Ongevalle of Belgium, also spoke of his experience since taking part, “Remember that apart from it being a competition, it is also a place where you’ll meet the world’s best bartenders and many new family members. Enjoy every second of it because it could be the beginning of a whole new chapter in your life. Trust me, it changed my life and I know it has done the same with many others. It is truly the best competition in the world that showcases drinks and bartenders. Being a part of ‘La Gran Familia’ is something truly unique.”
The 2020 Global Finals will be held from May 1 – 7, 2020 in Miami, USA – a city with a long-standing association with BACARDÍ rum. During this time the forty finalists will immerse themselves in a week of education and competition, rubbing shoulders with some of the true legends of the bartending world at some of the city’s finest venues and night spots before the 2020 Global Champion is announced at the Grand Final on Wednesday, May 6.
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