A bartender from ferry group, Tallink, has beaten rivals from large cruise lines to take the top honour in Bacardi’s annual Cruise Competition to find the best on-board bartenders. This is the first time Tallink has won the competition which Bacardi says produced the most creative entries yet.

 

Liisi Kütt (right), who works on the M/S Victoria I which travels between Stockholm in Sweden to Tallinn, beat five other finalists to the prize with her cocktail creation, Summer Fair Cocktail (* see below) in the final held in Miami, Florida at the end of last week.

 

This year’s event – the ninth from Bacardi – attracted hundreds of entries from bar professionals across 14 cruise lines and ferry companies. Five cruise companies with the best entries were then asked to nominate their top five bartenders and cocktail recipes utilising one of the Bacardi family of brands.

 

The five companies were Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Royal Caribbean International, Norwegian Cruise Line and Tallink & Silja Lines.

 

The final 25 semi-finalist recipes were hosted on www.cruisecritic.com – a consumer website for cruise lovers – from early June to mid-July and, for the first time, the public were able to vote for their favourite recipe.

 

Judges from Bacardi’s Global Brand Ambassadors and Bacardi Global Travel Retail selected five of the finalists, with the sixth finalist selected by the public vote, enabling cruise fans to play their part in finding the 2014 cocktail champion.

 

WOMEN ON TOP

The runner up to Kütt was Ionna Luncean from Carnival Sunshine. The two women beat the other finalists Brian Bent representing Carnival Liberty, Allan Garcia from NCL Star, Joeped Garrido from NCL Getaway and Vera Restarovic [the People’s Choice Winner] from Carnival Conquest.

 

Commenting on the result, Magnus Skjörshammer (left), Business Development Director for Tallink Duty Free, tells TRBusiness: “This win means a lot to us as a company, to compete alongside bartenders from cruise companies like NCL and Carnival. It underlines the fact that we are a ferry/cruise line with highly professional staff on board, ready to give our passengers a unique experience.”

 

He adds: “Travelling with either Tallink or Silja Line is much more than just getting from A to B. It is often considered a mini-cruise holiday, full of experiences, including shopping, entertainment, fine dining, various spa options and, of course, the possibility to try exciting cocktails in one of our many bars onboard.”

 

‘OVERWHELMED…’

Commenting on the standard of entries this year, Bacardi Travel Retail Americas Regional Director Geoff Biggs (right), says: “We were overwhelmed with the professionalism and innovation shown in creative cocktail recipes submitted. The quality… is truly extraordinary, in creative vision and in the accounts the entrants gave explaining the inspiration behind their uniquely personal cocktail creations.”

 

In the past two years the competition has been won by Adri Ford, bartender with Carnival Cruise Lines. Her winning entries were the Bacardí Oakheart Caribbean Hideaway in 2013, which features the combination of basil, pineapple, lime and Monin Chipotle; and in 2012, she won with the Grey Goose Pink Victoria containing Grey Goose L’Orange with freshly squeezed orange juice, passion fruit and fresh mint, topped with Martini Prosecco.

 

* SUMMER FAIR COCKTAIL by Liisi Kütt, bartender on Tallink’s M/S Victoria Ingredients • 2 parts Bacardi Grand Melon • 2 parts Martini Prosecco • 2 parts apple juice • 0.5 parts simple syrup • fresh lime juice (half lime)   Method Shake all ingredients, except the Martini Prosecco. Strain into a wine tulip glass filled with ice and top it off with Prosecco. Garnish with a slice of melon, apple and a few geranium flowers for that magic touch.