Mexico in a Cocktail

fátima león will represent mexico at the world class 2017

​This month, Mexico City will host the global finals of the World Class cocktail championship. It is the most important competition in the industry, bringing together 50 bartenders from all over the world. 

Although, at nine years old, this is a relatively young event, it has become increasingly important among bartenders from all the continents, who go through a yearlong training period, which includes local competitions so that they can earn the right to represent their country in the global finals.

It is a formal competition with qualifying rounds, semi finals and finals where judges grade the competitors based on their skills and technique, as well as the flavor and originality of each drink, but they also consider factors like the bartender’s charisma and presentation skills, and even what they are wearing.
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Mexico wasn’t chosen to host the event by chance. Over the past years, Mexico City has positioned itself as one of the world’s fine drinking capitals: we have a culture of high quality drinks, a sort of liquid gastronomy in our bars, where prime ingredients and high-end techniques are used in order to surprise whoever comes by the bar, looking for a proper cocktail. 

There are several bars in our city that perfectly represent this movement, and that have not only earned the respect and loyal of local customers, but they’ve also placed themselves within the drinking bucket lists of cocktail aficionados around the world.

Take Licorería Limantour, which is currently ranked #13 in the World’s Best Bars list; or Fifty Mils –at the Four Seasons Mexico City–, one of 10 finalists in the International Hotel Bar category at the Spirited Awards by Tales of the Cocktail, competing against some of the best bars in Europe and Asia. And it’s not just the award-winning bars; the city has a wide array of options that includes spots that are constantly innovating and improving, like Baltra, Hanky Panky, Xaman, Maison Artemisia, and Landina, just to name a few. Is is what everyone who comes to the World Class finals will find when they land in Mexico City.

Fátima is Mexico

This year, 25-year-old Fátima León will represent Mexico in the finals. This talented young woman has earned her place in this historically male-dominated world, and although she works at Fifty Mils, she won’t just be representing the bar, but she’ll be competing in the name of her country and the creative moment we are living. 

Fátima has an excellent support system behind her, which includes two previous World Class Mexico winners: Ricardo Sandoval, who won three years ago, and last year’s champion Mica Rousseau, who finished the competition as #7 in the world –the best result for a Latin American country in the tournament’s history. This is a clear reflection of what’s happening in Mexico in terms of fine drinking.

With the support of the national industry and her fellow bartenders, Fátima will feel right at home. She has a deep understanding of Mexican cuisine, and is capable of adapting it into a drink. Among her creations are everything from a cocktail with bull blood to another one with her grandmother’s jam (a secret family recipe). They might sound odd at first, but they’ve managed to make judges fall in love and earned her a spot in the finals. If Fátima continues to pour a little bit of Mexico in each of her drinks, it will be a very exciting and inspiring final.
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Good luck, and may the best win. Cheers!