Amaro di Angostura cocktail competition final looms

Angostura is gearing up for the final of Amaro di Angostura’s inaugural cocktail competition, called Versus, taking place in Lazio, Italy next week.

Danyiel Jones, Amaro di Angostura’s global brand ambassador

Bar teams from London, Milan and Rome battled it out in regional semi-finals to secure a place at the Versus Final, taking place at Bar Blanco in the beach town of Fregene in Lazio, Italy on 13 July.

The competition challenges bartenders to work together in rounds, completing speed, technique and creativity-focussed tasks.

The final, hosted by global brand ambassador for Amaro di Angostura Danyiel Jones, will see The Cocktail Trading Company, London; Jason Atherton’s The Blind Pig, London; Porto Fluviale, Rome; and Pinch Spirits Bar and Kitchen, Milan, battle it out for the title.

“This competition is not for the faint hearted,” he said. “It will be fast, skillful, competitive, intense and above all, entertaining.”

Jillian Kalloo-Escayg, marketing manager, international spirits added: “Amaro di Angostura since its launch in 2014 has won approval of leading bartenders across the world.

“We wanted to create a competition which celebrated the versatility of Amaro di Angostura and also really focused on what bartenders love about their trade – namely intensity, teamwork and fun! Versus will be that but also very technically challenging.”

The winning bar team will travel to the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival in 2018, courtesy of the house of Angostura.

Trinidadian bitters and rum producer Angostura marked its 190th anniversary with the launch of Amaro de Angostura in 2014 – marking the first time the brand had entered a new spirits category in its history.