How have you seen sustainability evolve in the cocktail world over the past few years?
I’ve been bartending for 16 years and the idea of sustainability at the beginning was quite simple, thinking about ways to use cocktail waste and ingredient waste, now it’s almost become a concept within bars, which is really interesting. Also I think the mindset of being able to apply sustainable practices to your bar has become a practice rather than being a trend or performative. Being able to apply sustainable practices to what you do has become quite a luxury thing – only so many people, so many bars, so many teams, can afford to put that extra effort and time into making sure they’re actually being sustainable.
How do you think competitions like this will shape the future of the drinks industry?
I’ve been involved since I was a winner in 2021 and the more I get to know the business, the brand and the team, the more I really love the product and love working with them. Not just because of the product but because of all the responsibilities they take on as a brand – it’s really heartening to see. One of the things they do with the finalists during the trip is take them out to one of their R&D sites where they run a lot of tests to develop more sustainable practices, like phasing out using growers who use pesticides. With My Way it’s really the true commitment of the team to make sure that it becomes a community in itself and that it’s something that’s feeding back to grow and lift up younger bartenders as well. They really put a lot of effort into making sure they provide opportunities for previous finalists. They’re also getting everyone, not just the finalists, involved in mentorship programmes and developing them as mentors so it really is a community that’s trying to grow itself.
What does sustainability look like behind the bar – not just on paper?
It’s quite interesting because I hear and see a lot of people talking about sustainability across a lot of different factors with their businesses, not just in their practices – so minimising waste, minimising use of electricity etc. Also sustainability within your team, the practices that you put into your team to make sure everybody is avoiding burnout, or whether it’s providing care, resources and support in terms of people in their daily lives so they’re able to go on and have long careers in hospitality. Having just come from De Vie, which opened last year in Paris, sustainability is really at the heart of what they do both in the kitchen and in the bar. It’s interesting because it becomes practice behind the bar and it doesn’t feel like an extra step.
From your perspective, what separates a good entry from an outstanding one?
With Hennessy My Way you have two themes surrounding it: Ritual and Sustainability. I think it’s maturity through the concept of the drinks or the entry or behind the drinks themselves, something that’s quite elevated, something that also keeps in mind that it is a luxury company and a luxury product as well.
What’s your top piece of advice for someone entering this year?
I think it would be the advice I have for general competitions. I’m lucky enough to be involved with other cocktail competitions as well and the number one piece of advice is to first of all make sure your drink is tasty. And to be careful of how many additives you’re putting into your drink, not just in terms of ingredients but acids in particular I find people can get quite heavy handed. Particularly for Hennessy My Way I like to stress to people to think about their concept and how it’s formed and try not to forget that you are working with a luxury product as well.
The second round of Hennessy My Way will take place from May to August before the global finals this October in Paris.
