The Bartenders of Seville: The Fifty-Second Annual International
Bartenders' Association Meeting & World Cocktail Competition
In competition, as in drink making, the cream always rises to the top.
The world’s best bartenders at this year’s World Cocktail Competition
in Seville, Spain, underscored that fact during a two-day event filled
with creativity, technical savvy, and grace under pressure.
The world’s most prestigious cocktail competition makes its home in a
new host city each year, invites teams of bartenders from around the
world, and selects its roster of "World Champion" bartenders using just
one main theme to which all entrants must adhere. This past year, the
IBA Meeting and World Cocktail Competition was held October 18 to 22 at
the Hotel Al Andalus in Seville, with the competition theme,
"Pre-Dinner Drinks." Within that theme, participants were judged in two
competitions, Classic Cocktail (with a subcategory award for Technical
Champion) and Flairtending.
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Each competitor must adhere to strict rules as determined by the IBA
and can use only ingredients from associate members (obvious exceptions
include juices and mixers). To further foster creative problem solving
and generate excitement, each competitor must use a product from a
particular associate member whose name has been drawn the prior year.
In 2002, the United States drew Havana Club Rum and had to create
cocktails at the 2003 event using this product.
Such a framework creates a real win-win situation for both liquor
brands and the bartenders. Because competitors must use not only
associate member products as a main ingredient but also as secondary
and tertiary ingredients to complete a recipe, IBA bartenders develop
close relationships with, and affinity for, the associate member
products. As such, associate members of the IBA can count on champion
bartenders from around the world to help promote their brands.
The winners of the 2003 World Cocktail Competition are:
Classical Cocktail Competition
First Place: Sergio Serrano Rivero, Cuba, "Adam y Eva"
Second Place: Dusan Szabo, Slovak Republic, "Surprise for Seville"
Third Place: Riccio Pasquale, Italy, "Don Carlo"
Technical Champion: Stephan Ginouves, France "French Victoria"
Flairtending Competition
First Place: Alexander Rodoman, Russia, "Victorytini"
Second Place: Juan Llorente, USA, "The Patriot"
Third Place: Hasan Sivrikaya, Switzerland, "Shieka"
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