Candela Bartender Competition 2018
At the 1 HOTEL South Beach
Published in
4 min readJul 18, 2018
Our first-ever bartender competition was one for the books. The energy and excitement in the room was remarkable.
We had serious talent competing. 9 of Miami’s top bartenders created cocktails using Candela Mamajuana as the main ingredient.
Competitors:
- Marco Balza, Novikov -Miami (1st Place) @macoeche
- Marcus Rodriguez, Casa Tua Cucina -Brickell (2nd Place) @marcusrod
- Nikos Matzaridis, Taquiza -Miami Beach (3rd Place) @barmanikos
- Zabdi Cobon, Alter -Wynwood @zee_mjm
- Leonardo Fundora, Marion and El Tucan -Brickell @leonardo_fundora
- Martin Garcia, Repour Bar -Miami Beach @qbanhulk
- Jeff Poggio, Le Chick -Wynwood @jpoggio
- Nick Ferreira, EastSide Taqueria -Miami
- Claudio Torres, 1 Hotel -South Beach @bar.sage
The 1st prize went to Marco Balza, of Novikov Miami, who created a unique cocktail that came in a wooden treasure chest, filled with dry ice, housing the actual cocktail in a little bottle, resembling a ‘love potion’.
The results were truly amazing:
