Four places on an exclusive food, culture and cachaça-filled trip to Brazil are up for grabs after Love Drinks’ pioneering organic cachaça brand Abelha announced its latest mixologist competition.
With the deadline for entries set for the 1st May 2024, bartenders from across the UK are being tasked with creating their own local twist on a classic Caipirinha cocktail that represents the cocktail culture of their city or town, and the loyal customers who visit their bars.
The Abelha Organic Cachaça Caipirinha Competition is being supported by a nationwide promotion undertaken by Love Drinks, which will support and reward competing bars and their customers throughout the summer.
Organised by BarLife UK, a paper judging process will take place following the deadline with the successful bartenders invited to compete in the inaugural Abelha Organic Cachaça Caipirinha Competition grand final in London this October.
There the finalists will battle it out with two winners eventually chosen for the once-in-a-lifetime trip to Brazil. Both winners will also be able to nominate a workmate from their bar to accompany them.
The party of four will then be whisked away to immerse themselves in Brazilian culture and visit the Abelha distillery.
Samantha Burke, Managing Director of Love Drinks, commented: “I think it is an extremely exciting time for cachaça, just like it is for other Central and South American spirits and we are still only at the beginning of the cachaça education journey in the UK. Driving trial of Abelha and explaining the heritage of the spirit will continue to be key. Yes, we want to introduce more consumers to the Caipirinha, but cachaça is versatile and no one trick pony. With creativity at an all-time high in bars cross the UK, we can’t wait to see what they serve up this summer.”
About Abelha Organic Cachaça
Sitting at the luxury end of the cachaça market, Abelha Organic Cachaça starts life in the beautiful protected national park of Chapada Diamantina in Bahia, Northern Brazil, where a collective of small-holding farmers grow sugar cane 100% organically on highland sandy soils.
The cane is processed within 24 hours of being cut to ensure freshness, and then fermented using yeast found growing naturally on green sugar cane. From here the fermented cachaça is distilled in small batches in a traditional copper still. Only the heart or curacao, a small fraction of the distillate, is kept to ensure the highest possible quality.
The resulting spirit is then either rested (descansada) for 6 months in steel tanks or aged for 3 years in small 250L garapeira wooden barrels. It is then cut with water from a deep natural aquifer under the farm which has the perfect pH acidity and is totally unpolluted. The result is a naturally full-flavoured, well-balanced cachaça.
The Responsible Trading Company (RTC) who produce Abelha Cachaça, are developing fair partnerships with small holding farmers that enable them to grow sugar cane 100% organically, because, as the RTC founder says: “The fewer artificial chemical products we spray around, which in our case is zero, the better the cachaça, the better the environment and the better for everyone.”
ENTRY TERMS AND CONDITIONS
- To enter the Abelha Caipirinha Competition, submit your recipe twist before the 1st May 2024 via the form at www.barlifeuk.com/abelha-organic-cachaca-launch-caipirinha-competition-win-four-trips-to-brazil/
- The Caipirinha twist recipe should contain a minimum of 30ml Abelha Cachaça. There are no other ingredient limitations for the competition.
- The Abelha Caipirinha Competition Cocktail and a standard Abelha Caipirinha must be on your cocktail menu by May 10th and available to customers until the 31st October.
- The winner and the nominated travelling companion must be over 18 years old and hold valid passports which allow travel to Brazil.
About Love Drinks
Love Drinks is an independent import, distribution and marketing company for premium quality spirits, liqueurs and craft beers. Their portfolio represents quality, craft-distilled and family-owned brands that have a rich provenance, heritage and history.
Founded by Kirsty Loveday BEM in 2007, Love Drinks represent Abelha Organic Cachaça, The Bitter Truth Cocktail Range of Bitters and Liqueurs, Conker Distillery, Einstök Icelandic Craft Beers, Goslings Bermuda Rums, Hernö Gins, Ron Matusalem, The Ikigai Collection from BBC Spirits, Puerto De Indias, Virtuous Spirits, White Heron Drinks and the Recuerdo and ZIGNUM® Mezcal Brands.
Love Drinks pioneered Love Well – an initiative to help the health and wellbeing of people working in the hospitality industry. The company was named Drinks Business Drinks Distributor of the Year in 2019.