Hosted every year in over 30 countries and with the global finals in a different place each year, The Bacardi Legacy Cocktail Competition is one of the most prestigious bartering competitions out there. At the finals, each country is represented by the winner of the local edition, and the winner, apart from a number of prizes, receives the most precious of them all – global recognition.
This year’s Thai edition of the contest began last September, with entries from more than 65 candidates. Later, each of 15 semi-finalists had one month to prepare his next creation, to be presented at the Ku De Ta in Bangkok. There, except for their own signature cocktail, the contestants also served a classic Bacardi Daiquiri, with just 7 minutes to prepare both cocktails, while keeping the audience entertained.
After a nerve wrecking few hours of heated competition and demonstrations, the top 5 finalists were announced. They are the ones who will compete in the national finals this March. And among them is…
…The Traveling Mixologist
From munching on sweet local pineapples in Hawaii, to serving his self-crafted imaginative cocktails at the top of the world in Bangkok, the story of Mitchell ‘Kai’ Lum is an inspiring tale of where passion can take us.
Mitchell ‘Kai’ Lum was born just 27 years ago, in Honolulu, Hawaii. It took him another 23 years to realize his passion for bartending. It was four years ago that he decided to quit his bank job and follow his dream of becoming a professional mixologist instead. To begin somewhere, he popped into his local liquor store and bought 50 different bottles to supply a makeshift bar he set up in his basement. His first “customers” were his friends, who didn’t mind turning into guinea pigs for Kai’s project, as long as the cocktails were free. To his friends’ disappointment, three months later, with a bit of experience behind his belt, Kai set out into the world.
His first stop was Australia, where he was given the opportunity to work as a bartender for a restaurant on one of the busiest streets in St. Kilda, Melbourne. Two months later he was the bar manager. Since then he has lived in Wellington, New Zealand, Phuket, Thailand to finally settle down in Bangkok, improving his skills all along the way.
His passion and commitment has landed him a number of high profile jobs, including those of the Bar Manager at the Santa Ana Tapas Bar in Melbourne, Bar Manager at the Champions Bar of the DoubleTree by Hilton in Phuket and the Outlet Manager & Mixologist at Vertigo & Vertigo TOO at the Banyan Tree Bangkok. Honors and awards followed – 1st Place Winner of Bacardi True Rum Night 2015 Thailand, 2nd Place Winner of Monkey Shoulder Ultimate Bartender Challenge 2015 Thailand and 1st Place Winner of the MONIN World Cup 2014 Phuket to name just a few. But his thirst for success isn’t quenched just yet.
For the “Top 5” category for the title of Bacardi Legacy Cocktail Competition 2016 Thailand, Kai prepared a cocktail he personally named “The Haole” which, in his own words is “A combination of my childhood snack, pineapple, with my adulthood passion of bartending. Hawaii has the most fresh and succulent pineapples available, and I wanted to incorporate it into my drink.
“The word “Haole” means “foreigner” in Hawaiian, and I chose this name because it represents my status as a foreigner, everywhere I go. I am a traveling mixologist but I’m also very proud of my humble beginnings in Hawaii”.
