Beverage Dynamics is the largest national business magazine devoted exclusively to the needs of off-premise beverage alcohol retailers, from single liquor stores to big box chains, through coverage of the latest trends in wine, beer and spirits.
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16 Beverage Dynamics • November/December 2015 www.beveragedynamics.com TRIP REPORT I TRAVELED TO AUSTRALIA earlier this year for the 2015 Bacardi Legacy Cocktail Competition. The annual event challenges top bartenders from around the world to create and present Bacardi-based signature drinks. National winners ad- vance to the global fi nals — held this year in Sydney — where a champion is crowned, and their cocktail given every chance to leave a legacy of its own. COCKTAIL COMPETITION The 2015 contest welcomed 34 bartenders. Competitors came from larger markets including America (represented by Boston's Ran Duan), France and China, as well as smaller cocktail scenes like Lebanon. During preliminary rounds, entrants had seven minutes to mix together and explain their drinks before a panel of cocktail elite. Judges also considered the marketability of the cocktails, including bartenders' own social media campaigns. The event seemed to exist as much on Twitter and Instagram as it did in Sydney. The 34 hopefuls were whittled down to eight fi nalists — sadly, Duan and his Father's Advice cocktail were not among them. That number referenced Bacardi's Ocho Años Rum, an eight-year-aged spirit featured in countless cocktails served throughout the weeklong tournament. The fi nal ocho presented again. Rather than in a hotel ballroom, the setting this time was beneath the grand organ in Sydney Town Hall. France's Frank Dedieu emerged victorious for his Le Latin cocktail. Dedieu is now traveling around the world with Bacardi, presenting the brand and his drink to numerous different markets. LIQUOR LAWS Sydney was an apt location for the 2015 Bacardi Legacy. Much of the trip was com- prised of visiting various bars and restaurants, sampling local food and drink. The city boasts a diverse, thriving nightlife, and an interesting legal history with alcohol. Cocktail bars were essentially impossible to open in Sydney until 2008. Licensing laws tied serving alcohol to operating kitchens and gambling machines, which made smaller bars fi nancially unfeasible. Thankfully, a much-needed amend- ment eight years ago lifted the stifl ing regulations. But then a series of tragic incidents scaled back some of what was gained. Fatal street fi ghts in 2012 and 2013 led politicians in 2014 to enact restric- tions in the Entertainment Precinct, the center of Sydney nightlife. Bars there cannot admit new patrons past 1:30 a.m. Large establishments must stop serving at 3 a.m. Retail alcohol sales now end at 10 p.m. Industry professionals were unhappy with the legislation, which they consid- ered a political overreach. Some bars have had to scale down or close. How- ever, studies show that assaults decreased 40% since the new laws took effect. CRAFT BEER While the trip focused on cocktails and rum, I also took the opportunity to sample Australian craft beer. Hops were in short order. Even the Australian IPAs that advertised their extra hoppiness contained IBUs well below that of your typical American IPA (though nearly every beer bar I visited featured at least one U.S. brew on the menu, and locals told me that they were just now getting into hoppier fl avors). Australian craft beers, like their European counterparts, were instead noteworthy for their range of smooth, crisp, and subtly fl avored lagers. These were ideal matches for the array of seafood I ordered while in Sydney. I was perhaps four sips into the best Australian beer I tasted the entire trip — Coopers Brewery Best Extra Stout — when our trip organizer suggested we ditch the bar for the nearby beach. I asked to fi rst fi nish my brew. She said that we lacked time for both. I refused to abandon the smooth, tasty stout. She asked how often I got to drink beer, versus running along an Austra- lian beach. One day I hope to return to Austra- lia and fi nish a Coopers stout. BD Ran Duan, from The Baldwin Bar in Boston, represented the U.S. CELEBRATING COCKTAILS IN SYDNEY BY KYLE SWARTZ