Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/687399
june 2016 / the tasting panel / 65 JOSE SANCHEZ GAVITO, RETIRED MASTER BLENDER FOR BACARDÍ Jose Sanchez Gavito was one of the first, if not the first, non-family member to be welcomed into the BACARDÍ world of making rum—learning about the unique strain of yeast they used, the particular charcoal mix of tropical woods and coconut shells, the aging in lightly charred American oak and the tasting at each step in the process—all of it to ensure that BACARDÍ tastes as it did when it began 150 years ago, when Don Facundo Bacardí Massó began it all. And Gavito's story all began with a newspaper ad. "July 18, 1972, was the most impor- tant day in my life," Gavito says jovially, when BACARDÍ hired him after he responded to their ad in a local paper. He was teaching chemical engineering at the time, but he wanted to get out of Mexico City. "I'm not a family member," he said in the interview, "Is it possible?" It was: A new CEO had opened the doors for him, and he burst through. There were other prominent industry people taking part in the judging. The semifinal judges included local San Francisco bar owner Martin Cate; Global Rum Ambassador Ian Burrell; Bar Manager Ivy Mix; 2014 BACARDÍ winner Tom Walker; and Jacob Briars, BACARDÍ Global Advocacy Director. In the finals, the judges included author and James Beard winner Dale DeGroff, noted New York cocktalian Julie Reiner and 2015 BACARDÍ winner Franck Dedieu, along with Gavito. But it was Gavito who represented the strongest link to the BACARDÍ Global legacy. Since he retired as a Master Blender in 2008, he has taken part in events like this, traveling the world, teaching the joys of rum. Bartenders from the 2016 BACARDÍ Legacy Global Cocktail Competition took a cruise of San Francisco Harbor. THE JUDGE: Jose Sanchez Gavito, a retired Master Blender for BACARDÍ, and a finals judge for the 2016 BACARDÍ Legacy Global Cocktail Competition.