Flor de Caña crowns ‘world’s most sustainable bartender’
Nicaraguan rum brand Flor de Caña has named Jez Carreon as the winner of the fourth edition of its Sustainable Cocktail Challenge.
The Flor de Caña cocktail competition, held on 27 February in Nicaragua, brought together more than 18 mixologists worldwide, including from Mexico, the US, Costa Rica, the UK, France, Spain, and Japan.
After impressing the judges with his sustainable cocktails, Carreon from Singapore bar Employees Only was crowned the ‘world’s most sustainable bartender’.
The winning cocktail, ‘Nicaragua is Calling’, has a minimum waste approach and was made with Singaporean ingredients like corn, coconut, pineapple and Flor de Caña 12-year-old rum.
Furthermore, the cocktail was served in a sustainable jicara cup and a biodegradable coaster made from the cocktail’s leftovers.
Carreon commented on his win: “I feel amazing. What once seemed like a distant dream, something I never thought possible, has now become a reality. This is truly a career-defining moment. I’ve made my loved ones proud, and now I can finally say: I am the best in the world at something.”
Andrea Pagliarini from Paradiso bar in Barcelona, Spain, secured second place, while Simone Sacco from Piano35 in Torino, Italy, took third place.
The cocktails were evaluated based on taste, aroma, appearance, story, presentation, creativity, and adherence to sustainable practices.
The panel of judges comprised Danil Nevsky, founder of Indie Bartender; Patrick Pistolesi, founder of Drink Kong in Rome; Gina Barbachano, manager of Mexico City’s Hanky Panky; and Marcus Voglrieder, corporate beverage director of the Nobu Restaurant Group.
More than 30 countries participated in the Sustainable Cocktail Challenge, which celebrates Flor de Caña’s commitment to sustainability and aims to promote these values within the global bartender community.
Credited as the world’s first carbon-neutral and Fair Trade-certified rum, Flor de Caña is distilled using 100% renewable energy. Additionally, the brand captures all CO2 emissions produced during fermentation and has planted over one million trees since 2005.
In February 2024, Julie Nguyen from Opium Bar, Thailand, took home the title of 2023 World’s Sustainable Cocktail Champion by Flor de Caña.
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