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Lyaness’ Lexie Constantinescu dies
Alexandra ‘Lexie’ Constantinescu, a bartender from Lyaness bar in London and a finalist in Havana Club’s Cocktail Maestros competition, has died.
According to Havana Club, Constantinescu passed away on 20 April in Havana after extending her stay beyond the competition.
Posting on Instagram, Havana Club said: “As a finalist and through her journey in the competition, Lexie played a very important role within the bartenders’ group and in this sad moment we would like to express our deepest condolences to her family and friends.”
Constantinescu was originally from Romania and moved to the UK 10 years ago.
Lyaness bar also paid tribute to Constantinescu on the brand’s Instagram: “It’s impossible to be prepared to know what to say when a loved one passes, but needless to say we’re all heartbroken over the sad news about Lexie.
“It’s so hard to compute when you’ve been dealing with such vitality, warmth and excitement to learn that you won’t get to share in that again — but it certainly remains the memory we all get to carry forward, and that’s a sentiment that so many of y’all get to retain too, as this was Lexie’s demeanour not only with the teams, but with all the guests coming through Lyaness as well.
“It’s come as a huge shock to us all, so please share some consideration and sensitivity with us all and, of course, her family and friends. We’re sending all our love to everyone close to her, and our heartfelt condolences go to Lexie’s family, at this tragic time.”
Constantinescu competed in the final with her Lyaness colleague, Shreya Basu.
Speaking to The Spirits Business during the competition, Constantinescu spoke of the great relationship she had developed with Basu: “Shreya knows me very well. I make mistakes. I can be stalling a little bit and she’s like: “what’s wrong?” And I’m like: “How have you already read my mind?”
Basu added: “We work together a lot. There’s just a very good coordination between the two of us. And through the competition, we’ve learned to work around each other.”
Basu paid tribute to Constantinescu on Instagram: “Thank you for always bringing out the best in everyone. You were always the brightest smile in the room with the loudest laugh and the reddest hair, never hard to notice.”
A JustGiving page has been set up to raise funds to support Constantinescu’s family with the costs of her death.