{"id":1086,"date":"2025-07-17T16:31:23","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T15:31:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/misternegroni.be\/?p=1086"},"modified":"2025-07-17T16:31:23","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T15:31:23","slug":"remymartin-2025-benelux","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/misternegroni.be\/index.php\/remymartin-2025-benelux\/","title":{"rendered":"R\u00e9my Martin BTA25 Benelux Finals judging (Amsterdam)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I had the pleasure of once again serving as a judge for an international cocktail competition. First up was the Dutch final of the R\u00e9my Martin Bartender Talent Academy 2025, organized by R\u00e9my Cointreau. For this round, we visited the finalists in their own bars across Maastricht, Rotterdam, and Amsterdam. Three weeks later, the BENELUX final of the same competition brought us back to Amsterdam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This marked the 37th time I\u2019ve been professionally involved in a spirits or cocktail competition. And still, it never stops being interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the final, a young bartender approached me with a simple yet thoughtful question:
\u201cHow do you actually judge a cocktail in a competition?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The short answer? Every competition is different. Some focus on simplicity, others on innovation. But one thing is always crucial: taste<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that\u2019s exactly where things can get tricky for judges. Tasting a cocktail professionally isn\u2019t about personal preference. As a judge, you need to completely set aside your own palate. Don\u2019t like smoky flavors? Or love them? Too bad. You can\u2019t let that influence your score.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To keep my assessments as objective as possible, I use a flavor model \u2014 for example, the BICA model<\/strong>:
\ud83d\udd39 Balance<\/strong> \u2013 Are the sour, sweet, bitter and other elements in harmony?
\ud83d\udd39 Intensity<\/strong> \u2013 Is the flavor bold and clear, or does it fall flat?
\ud83d\udd39 Complexity<\/strong> \u2013 Are there layers to discover, or is it one-note \u2014 or even chaotic?
\ud83d\udd39 Aftertaste<\/strong> \u2013 Does the flavor linger? And more importantly: do you want another sip?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In competitions where a winner must be chosen, applying such models isn\u2019t always a matter of strict objectivity. What if a cocktail has a long finish, but it\u2019s unpleasant? Or if it\u2019s technically complex, but the flavors don\u2019t quite work together?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s why the composition of the judging panel is so important: it must include people with the right expertise and the ability to minimize subjective bias. With a well-balanced jury, the impact of individual preferences becomes negligible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, taste isn\u2019t the only factor. Texture<\/strong> and creativity<\/strong> also play a key role, each with their own challenges. A judge shouldn\u2019t simply decide whether a texture is pleasant \u2014 they need to know what a perfectly shaken or stirred texture feels like: airy, or silky-smooth. And to assess innovation properly, a judge must have enough knowledge of the global bartending scene to recognize whether a technique is truly groundbreaking \u2014 and not just \u201cnew to me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then there\u2019s storytelling<\/strong> \u2014 so often underestimated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A strong story can elevate a cocktail to the next level. It\u2019s also how a bartender shows they understand the brand, embody it, and represent it authentically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end, judging is not about \u201cwhat do I like?\u201d It\u2019s about technical tasting<\/strong> \u2014 a skill in its own right. And anyone who wants to do it well must keep learning, tasting, and listening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking for someone to help guide your next competition?
Let\u2019s get in touch!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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More info about my competition services<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Yannick<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\"Yannick<\/figure>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I had the pleasure of once again serving as a judge for an international cocktail competition. This marked the 37th time I\u2019ve been professionally involved in a spirits or cocktail competition. And still, it never stops being interesting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1087,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,14],"tags":[113,80,21,81],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/misternegroni.be\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1086"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/misternegroni.be\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/misternegroni.be\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/misternegroni.be\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/misternegroni.be\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1086"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/misternegroni.be\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1086\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1097,"href":"http:\/\/misternegroni.be\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1086\/revisions\/1097"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/misternegroni.be\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1087"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/misternegroni.be\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/misternegroni.be\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/misternegroni.be\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}