Santa Teresa Rum hosts classic cocktail competition in Ybor City

There was a lively cocktail competition yesterday at Big Easy Bar in Ybor City starring Santa Teresa Rum. Bartenders made a number of cocktails to compete including classic daiquiris, a Hemingway Daiquiri, a Hotel Nacional, and a rum old fashioned. The top two bartenders competed with a cocktail of their choice.

Jacob Ceciro from M.Bird, located at Armature Works, won the cocktail competition and a $500 prize.

Other competitors were:

• Caroline Lease- The Bricks
• Jonathan Coll- Ciro's
• Joey Frasco- The Getaway
• Brandon Waters- The C House
• Chris Tribulas- Zydeco Brew Works
• Kat McKenna- The Hall on Franklin
• Philip Vanhorn- Mandarin Heights
• Anthony Ciecalone - The Getaway
• Connor Bert- Sage SRQ

Santa Teresa Brand Ambassador, Sean O' Connor, shares:

"The Santa Teresa 1796 Daiq Off competition is a classic cocktail speed bartending competition, where the participants don’t compete against each other, but themselves. Much in the way that Santa Teresa’s Project Alcatraz challenges former criminals in Venezuela to be better than their former selves and become an agency for positive change in their communities."

"The Hacienda Santa Teresa was founded in 1796, a plantation growing coffee, cacao, and sugarcane. In 1830, Gustav Vollmer came to Venezuela from Germany and married Panchita Ribas, and their family still operates Santa Teresa today."

"Alberto Vollmer, the current president of the company, created Project Alcatraz to recruit, rehabilitate, and reinsert criminal gangs into society. Using vocational training, values formation, psychological assistance, formal education, and competition in the form of rugby. Since 2003, Project Alcatraz has spread beyond the state of Aragua and into prisons and communities all across Venezuela."

Santa Teresa Rum is available around the Tampa Bay area. Tampa has a great bar scene with mixologists pouring craft cocktails all the way down to Sarasota. The United States Bartenders Guild (USBG) brings bartenders together to refine their craft and grow as individuals. Learn more at USBG.org

Follow Carlos Hernandez on Twitter @CarlosEats or visit him at CarlosEats.com