Bacardi said it is reworking the format of the postponed 2020 Bacardi Legacy Global Final to offer all competitors the opportunity to secure a $5,000 grant, in addition to competing for the global title in a virtual final in June.
The grant will fund each competitor’s time to devise and develop a project or enterprise that supports the industry’s recovery, following the huge impact that the pandemic has had across the bartending world.
The El Coco grants – named after the iconic palm tree planted outside the first Bacardi distillery in Cuba that came to symbolize strength and resilience – will be paid directly to each of the 2020 global finalists upon receipt of their project idea in order to ‘seed’ their initiative and allow it to grow.
The competitors will also then be invited to bring their original ‘Legacy’ cocktail to the world and compete for the global title in a virtual competition to be live-streamed, with the winner announced on 30th June.
The Bacardi Legacy Cocktail Competition is one of the world’s largest cocktail competitions and receives thousands of entries each year. As finalists prepared to bring their original Bacardi Legacy cocktails to the world in Miami last May, the week-long event could not go ahead due to the COVID-19 pandemic which has seen the hospitality industry largely shuttered in many areas across the globe.
Bacardi has maintained since announcing the postponement its intention to reschedule the event and enable all involved to showcase their hard work and talent on a global stage.
In delivering this promise with the addition of the El Coco bartender grants, Bacardi said it hopes to offer real financial support to the competitors who have worked so hard to develop and promote their unique Legacy cocktails, while also helping them to germinate innovations and solutions to boost their careers and the hospitality industry as it looks to recover from the troubled past year.