This year’s La Maison Cointreau 2016 competition was held at the Belle & Dragon in Makati. The cocktail competition was joined by 7 bartenders from Metro Manila that were hand-picked to create their own special concoction. The winner of the competition will be awarded a cash prize and a chance to represent the Philippines for the La Maison Cointreau regional competition in Thailand.
This year, the 7 competing bartenders were tasked with a featured Cointreau challenge — “The Muse”. They have to create a drink that has to exude the flavor of Cointreau and inspired by any French Muse such as Rene Lacoste, Marie Antoinette, Marion Cotillard and Brigitte Bardot, not to mention Daft Punk, the Annecy Venetian Festival and the meeting of French and Filipino cultures.
With different kinds of ladies drinks at La Maison Cointreau 2016, the vibe at Belle & Dragon was definitely sexy.
Each bartender came up with their own innovative, unique and great looking cocktail drink.
La Maison Cointreau 2016 drinks
Gossip by Cedric Cello
MUSE: Marion Cotillard
Picasso by Shelom Exconde (Togs)
MUSE: Daft Punk
And God Created Woman by Sean Carlo de Vera
MUSE: Brigitte Bardot
Antoinette by Jason Ranario Hussein Ali
MUSE: Marie Antoinette
Chitterling De France by Orman Bag-ao
MUSE: The Annecy Venetian Festival
Other entries were:
A Walk To Remember by Christian Gonzaga Uy
MUSE: Rene Lacoste
Kam and Dalandance by Larry Guevara
MUSE: The meeting of French and Filipino cultures
The grand winner of La Maison Cointreau 2016 was to be selected based on the best overall score and rated using the following criteria:
- Presentation
- Story and Relevance
- Technique
- Use of Cointreau
The judges for the final round of La Maison Cointreau 2016 were:
- Cheryl Tiu – Editor At Large of Lifestyle Asia and maintains a personal blog: www.cheryltiu.com.
- Chef Katrina Kuhn-Alcantara – owns Mesclun, Paulene Chocolats Suisses, Chuck’s Deli and Lit. She studied at Le Cordon Bleu, Paris.
- KC Queyquep – Represents Remy-Cointreau
But, guess what! The La Maison Cointreau 2016 competitors had no clue as to who the judges were. With so much prestige and honor at stake, each bartender aimed to impress through their concocting skills and expert know-how.
In the end, there could only be one winner. The winning drink of La Maison Cointreau 2016 is Gossip by Cedric Cello! Congratulations, Cedric and Good luck on your next competition in Thailand!