Ti’Punch Cup: Martinique celebrating the best rum in the world
Rhum Clément will receive the world’s best bartenders at Habitation Clément in Martinique for the Grand Finale of its global cocktail competition, the Ti’Punch Cup. For this second edition, the brand pushed across borders and will welcome participants from 14 countries as far as Spain, Germany and China. Rhum Clément has always been eager to promote the richness of Martinique discovered through rhum agricole. The goal of the Ti’Punch Cup is no exception, focusing this time on the classic cocktail of the island, the Ti’Punch.
The national finals held in 2017 in each participating country starting in New Orleans in July, and moving around the world concluding in Vietnam in December 2017, bartenders from all over the world have shown great creativity in bringing their personal “twist” to the traditional Ti’ Punch recipe. Inspired by the Martinican culture, bringing an artist’s look to an iconic classic and breaking the rules of recipes are some of the attributes that allowed 15 bartenders to win their tickets to the world finals.
“It has been simply amazing to see talented bartenders around the world be inspired by Rhum Clément for their cocktails and to watch them dance with our Martinican spirit and create their contemporary version of a Ti’ Punch cocktail” remarks Audrey Bruisson, marketing director for Rhum Clément. “Once you have advanced to the global final, all the bartenders are winners! We have a fun competition planned that will be challenging and entertaining for everyone there.”
The Clément Ti’ Punch Cup will kick off again in Martinique from March 12 to 16, 2018 for a journey to discover the universe of Rhum Clément in its native island, Martinique. The Grand Finale is scheduled for March 14 with three rounds of competitions to determine which of the world’s top bartenders will take home the 2018 Ti’ Punch Cup trophy.
The world finals will be held on March 14th, 2018 at Habitation Clément in front of an international jury from the world of fine spirits and cocktails. The candidates will be challenged on three successive rounds with two secretive elements to challenge the bartenders. They will be judged for their signature cocktail based around the Ti’ Punch, their knowledge of rhum agricole, and how well they have incorporated the wealth of Martinique and the world of Rhum Clément in their presentation.
The grand winner of the 2018 Ti’Punch Cup will become a new ambassador of the Ti’ Punch and will hold the Ti’ Punch Cup trophy in their bar, made by one of GAAM’s artists (Group of Artisans Martinique Art) following a local competition launched by the brand. Germany, England, Belgium, China, Denmark, United States, Spain, France, Greece, Italy, Martinique, Netherlands, Switzerland, Vietnam … who will win the second edition of the Clement Ti’Punch Cup? See you at Habitation Clément on March 14th!
WORLD FINALISTS
Atelier Classic Bar | Ivan Urech | Thoune, Switzerland
Bar de Vlieg | Vincent Nouws | Amsterdam, Netherlands
Birds & Bees | Bethany Ham | Los Angeles, California
Black Smoke | Donald Simons | Anvers, Belgium
Clover Club | Leanne Fevre | New York, New York
Dr. Stravinsky | Yeray Monforte | Barcelona, Spain
Le Cloud | Yannick Brunot | Fort-de-France, Martinique
Le Monfort | Francois Badel | Rennes, France
Lighthouse | Nguyen Nguyen Canh | Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
MASH | Rasmus Greve Christiansen | Odense, Denmark
My Lounge | Michele Picone | Cesana Brianza, Italy
Spitaki Cocktail Bar | Konstantinos Ristanis | Ioannina, Greece
The Beachcomber | Ashera Goonewardene | London, United Kingdom
The Haploid | Dave (Ching Yin) Lam | Shenzen, China
Tumbar | Florian Springer | Hamburg, Germany
INTERNATIONAL JURY
Catherine GOMBART – Martinique – regional delegate Antilles of UMIH Formation, specialized organization on the Café Hotel Restaurant Tourism sector
Dimitri MALOUTA – Martinique – commercial director of RHUM CLEMENT Martinique
Dirk HANY – Switzerland – 2016 TI’PUNCH CUP World Winner
Jonathan POGASH – USA – founder: The Cocktail Guru website www.thecocktailguru.com
Simon DIFFORD – England – creator of the cocktail guide DIFFORD’S GUIDE
Sullivan DOH – France – co-founder of the cocktail bars LE SYNDICAT (34th best bar of the world in the ranking World’s 50 best bar 2017) and LA COMMUNE in Paris and the event agency Syndicat Agency
Thanos PRUNARUS – Greece – owner of the BABA AU RUM cocktail bar in Athens (30th best bar of the world in the World’s 50 best bar ranking 2017)
TRAVEL PROGRAM
Monday, March 12 – Arrival of candidates
Tuesday, March 13 – Discovery of the Habitation Clément and workshops with local producers
Wednesday, March 14 – 2018 Ti’Punch Cup World Finals at 18th century Habitation Clément
Thursday, March 15 – Tour of the North Atlantic
Friday, March 16th – Discovery of the south of the island and departure
