Nine bartenders are competing to represent the Grand Duchy at the International Cocktail Championships in Colombia.
The contestants had to undertake five tasks in Rollingergrund on Monday to show off their bartending expertise.
The competition is organised by the Association of Luxembourg Barkeepers, which celebrated its 40th anniversary this year. President Clément Elie said a good bartender has to master many skills:
"What makes a good barman? It's about knowledge, technique, and knowing how to market the product to clients. It's not just a case of following a menu of cocktails, a barman also has to know how to improvise. Everyone has customers who come to the bar and ask for an original creation, so a good bartender has to be able to make something on the spot."
Alexandre Karagiannis moved to Luxembourg two years ago. The passionate bartender is excited to participate in the competition – his first. Along with the other contestants, he will have to master the five tasks, and compete against former winners of the competition.
This year's theme is 'Sparkling Cocktail', requiring the contestants to work with Luxembourgish crémant. A difficult topic for Alexandre, he says.
"Crémant is a complicated thing, a real challenge. I would have preferred a different theme. You can't mask it, you have to enhance the drink, and it's very difficult to find a balance which won't hide the overall flavour, I think. You want to be able to taste it, not hide it."
The competition is not only an opportunity to represent the country at the world championships, but also a chance for contestants to meet other bartenders and network, as well as showing off their abilities.
