Andrea Marseglia from Teresa Cocktail Bar, Hawke’s Bay New Zealand is ANZ’s Most Sustainable Bartender winning the Australia/New Zealand regional final of Flor de Caña’s Sustainable Cocktail Challenge.
Hosted at Door Knock in Sydney by Mitch Townsend, the live finals featured a panel of expert judges including Natalie Ng, Evan Stroeve, and Priscilla Leong.
The winning cocktail, L.O.C.A.L standing for Land of Change, Adapt & Learn, celebrates Flor de Caña’s historic commitment to sustainability and inspires the industry to adapt to new habits.
With years of global hospitality experience and after working in many prestigious establishments across Australia, Italy, and the UK, Andrea now co-owns Teresa Cocktail Bar in Hawke’s Bay.
To create the L.O.C.A.L cocktail, Andrea sourced left-over food products from local charities and his community to upcycle their potential waste for good. With a base of Flor de Caña 12 Year Rum, Andrea adds cocoa husk and Single Vineyard Syrah verjuice made from grapes given to him from a local winemaker, foraged local dandelion and mallow root. Once made, the cocktail is poured into beeswax cups made by Hohepa, a not-for-profit organisation supporting people with intellectual
disabilities through vocational programmes and creative workshops.
The final touch was a QR code link which gave the opportunity to see the exact location of where the ingredients were sourced: https://www.localfdc.site/.
“It’s crucial for our community to actively minimise waste and incorporate eco-friendly practices whenever feasible. Flor de Caña’s Sustainable Cocktail Challenge is such a fantastic initiative that spreads the word and encourages others to get creative when it comes to reducing food waste in bars. I am super excited to see another group of sustainably made cocktails in Nicaragua. See you there,” Marseglia said.
With over 30 countries involved in the competition this year, Andrea will travel to Nicaragua in February to compete alongside the best global bartenders to win the title of World’s Most Sustainable Bartender and a $10,000 USD cash prize.
In addition to these achievements, the winner will also form part of Flor de Caña’s Sustainable Society Exchange Program, offering international guest shifts and masterclasses.
Flor de Caña is a sustainably crafted premium rum that’s Carbon Neutral & Fair Trade certified distilled with 100% renewable energy. The brand is recognized as a global leader in sustainability, receiving distinctions such as “Green Distillery of the Year” (Caribbean), “Ethical Award” (UK) and “Green Award” (Hong Kong).
