Mixologists from the US, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Russia, China, South Africa, Malaysia, India, Caribbean and Trinidad battled it out at the final in Port of Spain, Trinidad. Second place went to Rikki Carter from New Zealand with Jamaal Bowen from the Caribbean awarded third place.
The judging panel featured Tony Abou-Ganim, Hine cellar master Eric Forget, Jacob Briars, Vidia Persa-Doodnath executive director technical operations at Angostura and 2011 winner Andy Griffiths.
Vidia Persad-Doodnath said: “Now in its 5th year, the competition gets tougher every year and 2012 was no exception. The creativity and technical ability from our finalists was very impressive. It was a very close final but in the end David was crowned the winner.”
Each contestant was asked to create two original cocktails, one for the rum category and one for the freestyle category. The cocktails were then sampled by each of the judges and awarded points for appearance, aroma, taste and presentation.
As the overall winner, David received $10,000 and a year-long contract as Angostura’s global brand ambassador.
Delaney Jr said: “This has been such an amazing experiencing for me. To compete against some of the world’s best mixologists is a real honour, the competition was fierce. I’m really looking forward to the year ahead as Brand Ambassador for Angostura and teaching people about the uniqueness of this amazing brand.”
Winning cocktail recipes:
1. Freestyle category
Title: On Second Thought
1 ½ oz Lairds Applejack
½ oz Benedictine
½ oz Cherry Heering Liqueur
½ oz Maple Syrup (medium grade “A”)
¾ oz Freshly squeezed lemon juice
5 Dashes Angostura Aromatic Bitters
2. Rum category
Title: Five Island Fizz
1 ½ oz Angostura 5 Year Gold Rum
¾ oz Velvet Falernum
½ oz Fresh squeezed lime juice
¼ oz Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
1 ½ oz Ginger Beer
5 dashes Angostura Aromatic Bitters
