A Russian bartender was named world champion in a World Flair Association (WFA) competition held in London with support from De Kuyper liqueurs and purees.
A “show-stopping” routine by Alexander Shtifanov earned him the title of WFA Grand Slam World Champion, beating bartenders from 15 other countries at the event at Clapham Grand in Battersea, south London.
They were challenged not only to demonstrate their flairing skills but to be able to create an original cocktail recipe and to make a top-quality Porn Star Martini, using De Kuyper Passion Fruit or ODK Passion Fruit. Drinks contributed 15% to their overall score, which can easily make the difference between first and sixth places.
Their drinks were judged by three leading UK bartenders: JJ Goodman, co-founder of London Cocktail Club bars; Douglas Ankrah, the founder of Lab bar in Soho and creator of the Porn Star Martini; and legendary bartender Peter Dorelli.
JJ said: “I’m really impressed with the quality and consistency of these incredibly gifted and creative bartenders.”
The flair judges at the final were UK-based TGI Friday’s World Champion Tony Adams plus Szabolcs Szoke of Hungary and Sergiy Sidorenko, who are two of the 10 WFA Grand Slam judges required for all Grand Slam competitions.
Second place at the WFA Grand Slam in London went to Tomek Malek from Poland while another Polish bartender, Marek Posluszny, was third.
After adding up the points from London’s event and all other Grand Slam competitions around the world, the title of WFA Grand Slam World Champion went to Tomek Malek.
