World trip for Havana Club Gap Year winner
A thrill-seeking restauranteur has embarked on an around-the-world trip after winning a competition with the Havana Club.
Alejandro Bolívar (left), expert bartender at El Floridita, Havana, with Julián Medina (right), winner of the Havana Club Gap Year Competition
Havana Club Gap Year competition winner Julián Medina, a Colombian chef and restaurant owner, was selected by a panel of judges to share his experiences with consumers across the globe.
The competition was launched as a means for the rum brand to engage with its international customer-base, with the lucky winner being treated to an all-expenses-paid trip to 12 countries.
Medina will be whisked off to London, Barcelona, Berlin, Toronto, Tokyo, Melbourne, Rio De Janeiro, Valparaiso, Buenos Aires, Paris. Moscow and Havana, where he will experience the individual cultures of each country at an authentic local level.
This month, Medina arrived in Cuba to immerse himself in the Havana way of life and learn the ways of first-class cocktail-making with a lesson from established bartenders Alejandro Bolívar from El Floridita. He then visited Havana Club’s distillery where he was taught how to craft authentic Cuban rum by the Maestros Roneros.
Jérôme Cottin-Bizonne, Havana Club’s managing director, said: “We launched the Havana Club Gap Year competition with the aim of helping people to discover the world, experiencing each country the way it should be done, with the locals – an outlook on life that is very much at the heart of Havana Club’s brand essence.
“We are excited to be able to give this experience to one of our fans around the world and we hope all our followers will be inspired to live their lives the Havana way from reading all about Julián’s adventures over the coming months.”
Medina has yet to mix with leading Tokyo DJs, travel across Canada with a jazz band, hone his photography skills in Buenos Aires, and explore Russia, Mongolia and China on the Trans-Siberian Express with a travel writer.
To follow his adventure, go to Julián’s blog www.the-havana-club-gap-year.tumblr.com or follow him on twitter @Julian_Medina.
