Iain Griffiths wins UK final of Bacardi Legacy

London-based bartender Iain Griffiths has won the UK final of Bacardi Legacy and will compete in the global final of the cocktail competition in San Francisco next month.

Dandelyan’s Iain Griffiths will represent the UK at the global final of Bacardi Legacy next month

Griffiths, who works at London bar Dandelyan, faced competition from two other UK-based bartenders – Oliver Pluck from The East Village, Leeds, and Santiago Michelis from Happiness Forgets, London.

After being named the ‘Most Promising’ three bartenders in the UK last November, the group was tasked with creating a marketing campaign to drive support for their cocktails.

Griffiths impressed judges with his Switchel Academy campaign, which aimed to inspire the next generation of bartenders.

The campaign gained national media coverage, including a cocktail tutorial on how to make Griffiths’ signature Carta Switchel serve on metro.co.uk.

The cocktail featured on printed material in the Mondrain hotel, where Dandelyan is based, and was also the site’s recommended serve in February. Carta Switchel was served as the welcome drink at Elements 2016 – an event organised by Hot Dinners and Selfridges.

In the final part of his campaign, Griffiths took part in guest bartender shifts across the UK, securing nationwide listings for Carta Switchel.

“Iain’s campaign represents everything we are looking for in a Bacardi Legacy winner so we’re thrilled to have him representing the UK in San Francisco at the Global Final,” said Bacardi UK brand ambassador Metinee Kongsrivilai.

“He delivered an exceptional promotional campaign and the passion and determination he demonstrated gained him a lot of support and respect.”

Griffiths will compete against 35 other bartenders next month in the Grand Final of the competition, which will be held in San Francisco.

He said: “There are lots of people I need to thank for helping me throughout my campaign. It was amazing how many people offered to help me so selflessly and give time and effort to the Carta Switchel.

“The UK has been the heart of the international cocktail scene for a while now, so having the daunting task of representing the UK next month is going to be a challenge, but I’m going to give it my all.”