First Clément Ti’ Punch Cup goes to Dirk Hany

While the contest was mainly about raising the profile of agricole (which is made with cane sugar, as opposed to molasses), it also aimed to draw attention to the ingredients which complement the spirit. To that end, round two of the final invited the contestants to choose locally sourced ingredients from a ‘marketplace’ table. But there was a twist – each cocktail had to hero Martinique fruit Caimite, which most finalists had never even heard of it. All rose to the challenge, producing some inventive and well-balanced cocktails within the ten-minute time slot each was allotted – including grabbing their ingredients from the table.

Over the course of the three rounds, the competition provided entertainment, education and a good serve of rum fun and Clément will repeat Ti’ Punch Cup in 2017, already with eyes on a larger event.

The judges: (Round 1) David Malouta, Rhum Clément; Katherine Gombart, UMIH; Nick Ferris, the Rum Collective; Stefano Nincevich, Italy; (Round 2) Peter Holland, the Floating Rum Shack; Frank Martucci, US Bartenders Guild; Gaelle Hardy, Rhum Clément; Jeremy Edward, Martinique Radio.

The finalists: Bruno Simons, Mixing Tales, Antwerp; Caspar Monniche, Mash, Aarhus; Nicolas Margeot, Carry Nation, Marseille; Marie Picard, Chez Claude, Paris; Pierre Blin, Le Galion, Cancale; Andreas Giaprakas, Vogatsikou 3, Thessaloniki; Timothy Ching, Bibo, Hong Kong; Valentina Grilli, Mag Café, Milan; Riccardo Marinelli, Jerry Thomas Speakeasy, Rome; Livia Verin, Le Boli Bar Hotel Simon, Martinique; Cassandra Droz, Apothicaire Cocktail Club, Geneva; Dirk Hany, Widder Bar, Zurich; Tiago Semblano, Pachamama, London; Emily Reynolds, The Blue Pig, Manchester; Kayleigh Speck, the Grange, Providence; Chris Amirault, the Corner Door, Los Angeles; Rob Crabtree, Armadillo Palace, Houston.