Held in Amsterdam this year, Bacardí Legacy is one of the leading International cocktail competitions and Kanivichaporn beat 42 other bartenders at the global finals which begun on Sunday.
“It’s like a dream, I never allowed myself to think this could happen,” said Kanivichaporn. “But once I got into the top eight I realised that this is a very big thing. I didn’t come here tonight with any expectation at all, but instead I thought ‘I’m going to share my inspiration with you guys.’
“It’s been amazing this week here in Amsterdam with my fellow competitors and Bacardí – as important as coming away as the winner is the fact that I now have a new family.”
Kanivichaporn had been the first of the 43 competitors to present his drink in the semi finals - the largest number ever - earlier this week and having won the grand finale held at Rode Hoed, he will now get the opportunity to work with Bacardí for the next 12 months to further his career and promote his drink.
Kanivichaporn is co-owner of Backstage cocktail bar in Bangkok and he is the first person to win Bacardí Legacy representing a country in Asia.
His drink is a new take on the classic Pick Me Up cocktail called Pink Me Up. It combines Bacardí Carta Blanca rum with fresh muddled tomato, orgeat syrup, lemon juice, olive brine and fresh basil.
The judges for the grand finale consisted of: Maestro de Ron Bacardí Juan Piñera, global rum ambassador Ian Burrell, Julie Reiner and last year’s winner Eric Van Beek.
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“Ronnaporn’s drink and his performance were both just so original and unique to him,” said Reiner. “I felt like we just walked into his bar and he made that drink for us; in a room full of hundreds of people, to make you feel like you are the only one is such a gift.
"The drink itself was just so delicious, I can see it being consumed everywhere; it’s a daytime drink and it can also be an evening drink, it was just so well balanced and really tasty.”
Dickie Cullimore, global ambassador Bacardí rum, added: “I think in terms of energy level, diversity and spirit we have never hosted a group of bartenders quite like the one this week in Amsterdam; they have been just phenomenal and will leave as one family. We are all in love with Ronnaporn’s Pink Me Up cocktail - which to me feels both incredibly innovative and yet somehow familiar, which is, of course, its genius.”
Previous editions of Bacardí Legacy have been held in Mexico City, Berlin and Australia making it one of the most global cocktail competitions taking place every year.
Thousands of bartenders enter the competition each year to qualify for their regional rounds with the ambition of reaching the global final.
