From March 7 to 9, the Hotel Nacional de Cuba hosted the second edition of the International Barlady Competition (IBC), the only major global competitive event dedicated to women bartenders around the world.
The date is no coincidence: Nafsika Mouzakiti, Greek presenter, creator and director of IBC, decided that International Women’s Day would be the day to celebrate, and above all, to promote and support, the presence of women in a field still dominated by men.
Nearly 20 countries participated in the competition, but the event program included demonstrations and master classes on various styles and products.
This year, Barlady expanded the number of categories in which its contestants competed. Classic cocktail, national cocktail, long drink, Latin style, and sparkling cocktail were the categories in which participants had to showcase their technical skills, product knowledge, and creativity.
Each category would select a winner, who would then advance to the final competition.
Cuba, Iceland, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Belize were the nations competing for the Barlady of the Year trophy. Iceland’s Ashley Marriot took home the grand prize.
“I only entered this competition to be here with these talented women. I never expected to win, especially with these extremely talented, technically brilliant women,” Marriot told OnCuba.
Cuba is no coincidence
For Nafsika Mouzakiti, the fact that her traveling competition was held in Havana is due to reasons ranging from the emotional to the professional.
“For me, Cuba is everything. It was my late father’s favorite place and it’s the country of rum and cocktails; so it’s a great honor for me to have my second edition here,” Mouzakiti declared a few minutes after closing the event with the presentation of the Barlady 2025 awards.
Her competition is still a nascent event. The first edition took place in 2024 in Athens, and Cuba was not only one of the participating nations, but its representative, Kenia Borges, was the winner in the National Cocktail Category. But winning wasn’t the only goal of Cuba’s representation at the event.
“The goal was to go to the world competition, to come back with results, and to bring the venue to our country. Both goals were achieved,” Eddis Naranjo, President of the Cuban Bartenders Association, tells us.
“Throughout history, we have competitors who have represented Cuba in national and international events and are great professionals, and what better merit and incentive for the new generations than holding this championship here,” Naranjo tells OnCuba regarding the reasons why it was in the country’s interest to have the event held in Havana. Another incentive is the opportunity these types of international events offer to maintain Cuban rum’s position as a major global brand. In fact, Cuba Ron Internacional was one of the main sponsors, specifically with Ron Cubay.
“This allows the competitors to study this rum, learn about its characteristics, the particularities of the brand that produces it, and that’s very important for us; it’s a good thing for us because it forces each of the competitors to prepare and learn more about the drink they’re going to defend,” says Naranjo.
Only girls at the bar
IBC “is the first competition made for women by women, and that’s something that’s really needed,” says Ashley Marriot. “It’s a job dominated by men, and women have always had to fight for everything. Little by little, we’re leveling up, but we’re not there yet, and things like this are giving us the opportunity to reach that level.”
The gender gap in the sector is one of the reasons why Nafsika decided to create this competition. It’s not only visible in numbers, but also in the scope of opportunities for women and men.
“Women have been fighting for centuries for the right to an education, to have a proper job, to have the right to vote…and my waitresses needed something grandiose, because they didn’t have the opportunity, the opportunity to compete,” Nafsica explains to OnCuba.
For the participants, it’s not just a space to measure talent or skills; it’s also a time to give and receive support, acquire motivation, and learn.
“Where I come from, there are very few of us; but it’s changing. There are now almost 20 women competing in cocktails,” explains Camila Eguren, a competitor from Uruguay, one of nearly 20 participating nations.
“Growing professionally, sharing with colleagues from different countries, and contributing our own culture,” the Uruguayan believes is the most attractive aspect of the competition.
“It challenges us to keep learning. Competitions like this open the doors for women to showcase the great talent we possess,” is how Dayana Jiménez, from Panama, sums up her experience, adding that women make important contributions to this profession.
“I think we’re more dedicated, more organized, and that we pay more attention to details,” says Jiménez, who has been working in the service and hospitality industry for about eight years; four of those years were dedicated to the bar.
“We all have things that we do very well and others that we don’t so well, and the truth is that the girls here have helped me a lot. The competitor from Uruguay lent me her molds so I can make flowers, the one from Poland lent me her shovel for the ice; in other words, we’re all helping each other. It’s a competition, but more than anything, we’re united as a community,” Barlady 2025 celebrates after these three days in Havana.
