THE Tanduay Rum Festival in Bacolod City staged a flairtending and mixology competition at the Centro Planta Hotel on Monday, August 16, 2022.

The contestants were Gemoel Kryss Guanzon of Refill Restobar; Jeffrey Tingoy of Barholics Mobile Bar Bacolod; Kate Jaraiza Tecson of the University of St. la Salle Bacolod; Orlan Mata Desucatan of VMA Global College and Jude Ernst Barcelona of VMA Global College and Training Center and Harry Servancia of Kampo Hiyang Hiyang.

The contestants showed their respective styles of flairtending and mixology and afterwards, the members of the board of judges tasted each of their rum cocktail creations.

Only Guanzon, Tecson, Servancia and Tingoy are set to compete for the finals on Saturday, August 20.

Guanzon made a Rumbana cocktail. Tingoy made an El Magnifico cocktail.

For her part, Tecson made “La Còcktel Pepino” while Servancia created “Lychee DeNegrense.”

Moreover, the festival was held to pay homage to the sugarcane crop and the province that produced the best raw materials for rum making.

Charmaine Pahate, Tanduay Bacolod Rum Festival director, said, “We will continue to showcase Filipino ingenuity in the area of culinary arts, mixology, flairtending, visual arts, dance and music. The Rum festival’s flairtending and mixology competition encourage participants to come up with an amazing sequence of choreographed show-stopping routines while creating authentic and innovative rum cocktails.”

Through this initiative, they hope to further strengthen the bartending scene in the country and continue to motivate practitioners and aspiring bartenders to explore opportunities to hone their skills.

With this exhilarating showcase of local talents, we can amplify the importance of entertaining customers through positive experience, craftsmanship and distinct style, she added.