CHARALAMPOS STYLIANOS KIOUSIS, THE WINNER OF THE GREEK FINAL OF SAINT JAMES RHUM COCKTAILS COMPETITION 2023 BY THE BARTENDERS SOCIETY!

The Greek Final of the Saint James Rhum Cocktail Competition for 2023, organized by GRANIKAL and The Bartenders Society, reached its conclusion on September 27th!

This exciting Final event unfolded at the one-of-a-kind venue known as “LOT51. The 11 finalists were called upon to explain which classic cocktail they had chosen to create a variation of and what was the local “twist” they opted to incorporate into their recipe and why. The competition was marked by remarkable enthusiasm, imaginative creativity, and a genuinely positive atmosphere that made it an enjoyable experience for all those present!

The jury consisted of four distinguished people in the bar scene, namely Panagiotis Fatouros (bar manager of “Baba Au Rum”-World’s 50 Best Bars), Nikos Psarianos (bartender of “Baba Au Rum” with many years of experience and expertise in the biggest bars in Greece), Dimitris Karapanos (co-owner of “Liquid Elements” with years of experience behind bars and awards) and Vassilis Sgouromallis (co-owner of “Liquid Elements” with many years of experience in bars, creative and innovative).

Charalambos Stylianos Kiousis, bartender at “Bel Ray” in Koukaki area, Athens, stole the show with his cocktail named “The Dutchess of Martinique”.

He chose to make a variation of the classic “Green Tea Highball” and the local element he incorporated into his recipe was Corfu kumquat “because it is a very nice and delicate fruit with very strong citrus elements of orange/lemon and it has not been used much in the bar scene”.

Winner’s recipe:

45ml St James Imperial Blanc Agricole (40% ABV), 120ml milky oolong tea & kumquat cordial and gel kumquat as garnish.

Charalambos Stylianos Kyousis will represent Greece at the World Competition in Paris in November 2023, where he will claim the big prize: 2,000 euros in cash, a trip for two to Martinique and one year of exposure for him and his cocktail in the media (digital & print)worldwide!

All the finalists, Michalis Anastasakis, Georgia Vila, Giorgos Peikos, Maria Nissan, Michalis Gambierakis, Giorgos Athanasopoulos, Konstantinos Dormparakis, Konstantinos Kostimpas, Yiannis Hondrogiannis & Dimitri Corbetta, they all deservedly claimed the victory by making impressive cocktails with Saint James as the protagonist!

A big thank you to all the Competitors who took part in this year’s Saint James Rhum Competition, the judges, as well as the whole ‘LOT51’ team who contributed to this unique experience!

With over 250 years of history, Saint James is the #1 Agricole Rhum in the world and a global brand with sales in over 50 countries.

GRANIKAL, proud importer and distributor of Saint James in Greece, wishes Charalambos Stylianos Kiousis GOOD LUCK!!