America kept the prize at home as the United States won the 2016 Bacardi Legacy Cocktail Competition crown at the Global Final in San Francisco late last month.

In the photo, posed with all those lovely Bacadir bat emblazoned bottles, stands Gn Chan who works at Angel’s Share, in New York. He won the global competition from a field of 36 countries (and one cruise ship), with his cocktail inspired by the Piña Colada. Keep in mind that in each competing country hundreds of bars also compete for their respective national titles prior to sending a winner off to vie for the international prize. So, Mr. Chan essentially defeated thousands of others for the title.

Chan’s drink: The Venceremos, features Bacardí Carta Blanca, coconut liqueur, pineapple juice, cucumber juice, lime juice and a dash of sesame oil. It was exotic and a tasty enough mix to  beat out the field of 36 other original drinks in front of 150 guests at Bentley Reserve in San Francisco, California. Reports from some other countries were suspicious and hinting that the New Yorker had more than an edge since the finals were held in America. However, those complaints fail to take into consideration the heated rivalries that exist between West and East coast on so many levels.

Chan is the eighth person to win the Bacardí Legacy Global Cocktail Competition, and was mentored by former champion Shingo Gokan, who won the title in 2012, and who is now the beverage director at Angel’s Share where Chan works.

Judge Dale de Groff declared the result a unanimous decision, saying that the winning cocktail was “compelling”.

“The pineapple flavor is very delicate, and then there is cucumber juice which worked really well with a touch of sesame oil,” de Groff said. “The name Venceremos, which is Spanish for ‘we will overcome,’ worked with Gn’s own personal story of how he overcame challenges in his life to go on to work in one of the world’s most elegant bars, and that of the Bacardí family which has endured through adversity.”

As for Chan, he expressed his shock and delight. 

“Right now it doesn’t feel like this is real, but hopefully it will sink in by the morning,” he said. “I have been mentored by a bartender and in a bar that both have a deep relationship with Bacardí, so this has always been the competition I wanted to win.”

The Bacardi Legacy competition is now in its eighth year, with thousands of entries from 45 countries received during the year-long national rounds that culminated in the global final.

Bacardí will now work with Chan over the next year to provide bespoke opportunities and support for his career development, help gain worldwide recognition for his drink and provide a platform from which he will serve Venceremos at some of the finest bars in the world.

The two runners-up in the final were Moe Aljaff from Norway and Lizaveta Molyavka from Belarus.

So, how do you make this magnificent cocktail?

The Venceremos by Gn Chan

1-1/2 parts Bacardí Carta Blanca

1/2 part Coconut liqueur

5/6 part Pineapple juice

1/2 part Cucumber Juice

1/6 part Lime juice

1 Dash sesame oil

Method: Shake and strain.

Glassware: Hurricane or rocks glass

Email us at American Bars and let us know how yours turns out!