Havana Club Sends Bartenders To Cuba

By Annette Shailer

Three lucky staff incentive winners will soon be dancing the rumba, sipping on a Cuba Libre and hanging out in vibrant Havana, Cuba, thanks to Havana Club Rum.

After a three-month promotion, Havana Club Rum has announced that the winners are Thomas Kiltorp from Red Hummingbird in Melbourne, Lachlan Shaun Kemsley from Spice Market in Melbourne and Tara Blinkhorne from the Keystone Group in Sydney.

The winners will be flown to Cuba, where they will enjoy dancing, music, sun, and of course Havana Club Rum from November 23 to 28.

The week will begin in the sugarcane fields, with a ride on the Hershey train to see the canes cut ‘old school’, before going to the distillery in San José, where they will share a rum or two with legendary Master Distiller, Don José Pablo Navarro.

That night the winning trio will enjoy a VIP tour of Havana’s legendary bar scene, including the infamous il Floridita and the Bodeguita del Medio where Hemmingway was rumoured to enjoy a mojitos.

To finish the week winners will head to the Sierra Maestro for a gala dinner.

Havana Club brand manager, Erin James, said the promotion provides a once in a lifetime opportunity to see and experience the real Cuba.

“This has truly been an incredible promotion and one that the trade really embraced - what bartender wouldn’t love to be inspired by the rich cocktail culture of Cuba?” she said. “The in-venue displays we saw from all the participating venues were incredible and the competition was really close.”