Competition Winner

The Chance of a Lifetime

> Shingo gokan winS Bacardí gloBal legacy cocktail competition

by Robert A. Burr

Joining some truly iconic drinks like the Original Bacardi Cuba Libre, the Daiquiri and the Authentic Mojito, Shingo Gokan’s legacy cocktail, the ‘Speak Low,’ was inspired by his grandmother. The final competitor of the night in the Bacardi Global Legacy Cocktail Competition recently held in Puerto Rico, Shingo shared the story of his grandmother’s influence and left the audience in tears as he spoke of his personal story of not being able to see his family after last year’s devastating earthquake in Japan.

As a young man, his grandmother taught him the elegance and simplicity of the traditional tea ceremony, represented in his cocktail by green tea and the use of a bamboo whisk to deftly combine ingredients. Shingo stated that tea is always served with something sweet as an accompaniment, as in his sweet sherry ingredient. His use of Bacardí Superior clear rum and Bacardí dark Solera rum gives the cocktail a unique balance of subtle and rich flavors.

The heartfelt presentation and a simple, classic, elegant cocktail brought Shingo, famed bartender at Angel’s Share in New York, the coveted prize of Bacardi Global Legacy Cocktail Competition winner for 2012. “This is the best week I’ve ever had, this is the best night I ever had, thank you so much,” said Shingo.

The competition brought together 26 winning bartenders and their cocktails from around the globe to compete in the world finals during a week of seminars, special events and training sessions before engaging in the semi-final and final rounds.

It was a whirlwind week for the competitors and their associated Bacardi Brand Ambassador from each territory. They were given special tours of the Bacardí distillery, learned advanced bar tending skills and studied philosophies from some of the industry’s most influential tastemakers. They attended parties and visited some of San Juan’s most interesting watering holes and cocktail venues. Dinners were held at outstanding local restaurants, many within walking distance of host hotel, The Conrad San Juan Condado Plaza.

This year’s competition was held in concert with the 150th anniversary of Bacardí rum, established by Don Facundo Bacardí Massó in 1862 in Santiago de Cuba. Facundo Bacardí is remembered for his pioneering techniques of optimizing yeast in the fermentation process, blending heavier and lighter rums to achieve balance, aging his clear rums for one year in American Oak barrels and refining a methodology for filtering his rums with activated charcoal for smooth flavor, clear color and consistent quality.

The final event was held at the Bacardí Distillery near San Juan. Each contestant had ten minutes to prepare and demonstrate their legacy cocktail for an esteemed panel of judges including Bacardi master blenders Jose Sanchez Gavito and Luis Planas. In a surprising twist, Shingo just barely completed his cocktail in the allocated ten minutes so his fellow competitors leapt up to help him clear his bar so he wouldn’t be penalized for exceeding the time limit. The audience of brand ambassadors, journalists and key influencers in the rum universe were impressed and amazed with each bartender and their presentations. After a 45-minute deliberation, the winner was announced. Having presented his expertise and mastery of the bartending craft and having designed and developed a true legacy cocktail for the global competition, the award went to Shingo Gokan and his “Speak Low” cocktail.

Shingo will join Bacardí Global Ambassador David Cordoba on a series of visits to leading venues and special events around the world in the coming year to demonstrate his legacy cocktail and share his skills and philosophy on creating great cocktails with many bartenders and consumers. He will also have the honor of creating his own unique blend of Bacardi rum by working with top master blenders at the Bacardi distillery in Mexico.

Eight top competitors and their legacy cocktails emerged from the semi-finals to compete for the award of global winner. lukaS motejzik, germany, ‘pop it!’ zdenek kaStanek, uk, ‘la hermoSa’ hayden Scott lamBert, ireland, ‘the colonial cocktail’ matteo zamBerlan, italy, ‘the golden mai tai’ anaStaSiya gvak, ruSSia, ‘a. priori’ Boudewijn meSritz, the netherlandS, ‘what if?’ jimmy hult, Sweden, ‘Sin tiempo’ Shingo gokan, uSa, ‘Speak low’

Shingo is a bartender at Angel Share in NY, a bar tucked away behind a curtain on the second floor of a Japanese restaurant. He has sold 1,800 Speak Low cocktails in eight weeks there.

SpEAk LOw

IngredIents

1oz. Bacardi Superior rum 1oz. Bacardi Solera rum 1/2 oz. Osbourne Pedro Ximinez sherry 1 tsp Matcha (green tea) and zest of yuzu

PreParatIon

Mix the Bacardi Superior and matcha with a chasen matcha whisk (tea whisk) in a glass tumbler. Strain into a shaker and add Bacardi Solera and sherry. Hard shake and double strain into an Old Fashioned glass and spray yuzu zest on the top.