Trois Rivières names cocktail competition finalists

Following a flamboyant semi-final in Paris this week, six bartenders have been chosen to compete in the final of the inaugural Trois Rivières Rhumbellion cocktail competition.

Trois Rivières Rhum hosted its inaugural Rhumbellion cocktail competition in Paris on Monday

Set to take place in the agricole rhum brand’s native homeland Martinique in April, the six finalists are Kelly Ballett, of Lulu White, Paris; Nicola Battafarano, of Ober Mamma, Paris; Thomas Girard, Hexagone, Paris; Cathy Mutis, of Kjub, Luxembourg; Filip Stránský, of Anonymous Bar, Prague; and Ben Tyler, of Little Red Door, Paris.

The semi-final saw 21 global semi-finalists tasked with designing a cocktail to perfectly match one of five dishes, designed by chef Stéphane Pitré, of Restaurant Louis, in Paris.

Dishes were selected at random from a hat and included carpaccio of scallops with kiwi coulis; meringue honey mustard, yellow beetroot and maracuja juice; duck in filo pastry with cinnamon; oyster in tempura, with cucumber coulis and cumin; and tile of rice, foie gras mi-cuit and miso vanilla.

Joining chef Pitré on the judging panel were Hannah Van Ongevalle, owner and bartender, The Pharmacy in Belgium; Nicolas De Soto, owner and bartender, Mace, New York; Laurence Marot, journalist at Spirit Hunters, Barmag and L’Express; Alexandre Vingtier, founder and writer of Rumporter; Benoit Tarnowski, international brand manager of Trois Rivières; and Melita Kiely, senior staff writer at The Spirits Business.