Helsinki, Finland – The world’s most elite bartenders came together in Helsinki, Finland for the 14th Annual International Finlandia Vodka Cup on February 1, 2012. At stake was international bragging rights and a chance to win up to $25,000. This year’s championship prize was awarded to Krzysztof Rathnau of Poland who scored the highest in the overall competition. Additional prizes were awarded to Monica Berg of Norway who received top honors in the Quick Mix category, Jarkko Issukka of Finland for his aperitif cocktail, and Andrei Todosi of Romania for his long drink.
“The Finlandia Vodka Cup brings together the world’s most elite bartenders
and this year’s competition further demonstrated the excellent skills and creativity that our competitors bought to the competition” said Neil Punwani, Senior Vice-President and Managing Director of Vodka at Brown-Forman.
“We were extremely lucky to have such outstanding ambassadors for our brand as the event truly brings out the best in our industry.”
During the Vodka Cup finals, a total of 12 judges critiqued bartenders on
the art, style and craft of three original Finlandia cocktails: aperitif, a long drink and the “Quick Mix.” The international FVC Final followed the same format as in previous years but with a slight twist as each cocktail category featured a specific Finlandia product. Finlandia vodka was required to be the primary ingredient of each.
The competition’s new format allowed for bartenders from around the world to
enter by submitting their recipe, along with a picture of the finished cocktail and description of its ingredients, online at Finlandia.com.
