Bartenders strut (and shake and stir) on awards night

CHINA DAILY

"What they need to do to win is to make sure they are well-prepared," says David Cordoba, global brand ambassador of Bacardi rum. "You need a good recipe, which is simple and easy to produce. You need a great, short and cool name for the cocktail, and a nice story for it. "

"Bacardi is one of our priority brands in China," McHugh says of the rum label that features varieties such as gold and dark. "We've worked with some popular Chinese TV shows such as Ipartment 4. It's very successful. We are looking for new shows and music festivals to work with this year," he says.

"That's why we are developing cocktail culture. You can share that moment with friends and enjoy the experience of what the drink brings. We want to engage people looking for something new."

While cocktails have been around for centuries, the beverages are still relatively new in China, he says, though they're growing in popularity.

"You see a lot more small bars and pubs opening in China. It is growing rapidly in China so we run the competition to help build the trend and expand the consumer needs. We're already planning next year's competition," he says.