Julia Engel Triumphs at Licor 43’s Bartender & Barista Challenge


Julia Engel poses with her Licor 43 Bartender & Barista Challenge trophy.

Out of more than 524 competitors, nine national coffee cocktail champions came together in Spain to battle for the global title.

FROM STAFF REPORTS
Photos courtesy of Licor 43

Hailing from Hamburg, Germany, Julia Engel has been crowned world champion of the annual competition Bartender & Barista Challenge, in which professional baristas and bartenders pair coffee and Licor 43 spirits.

After winning their national Licor 43 championships in Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Estonia, Germany, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, and the United States, nine winners flew to Spain for the grand finale in late September. They spent two days with judges and educators in masterclasses and participated in creative competitions leading up to the big finish.

Competitors form the Licor 43 Bartender & Barista Challenge use by a table.
Nine bartenders and baristas traveled from around the world to Cartagena, Spain, in late September to take part in the eighth annual Bartender & Barista Challenge hosted by Licor 43.

“This year, we returned to our roots in Cartagena, Licor 43’s homeland, and also increased the competition’s focus on education,” says Zamora Company’s chief marketing officer for spirits, Blanca de la Infiesta. The Bartender & Barista Challenge has previously been held in Madrid and Gran Canaria. “For eight years now, we’ve been exploring the natural marriage of aromas and flavors between Licor 43 and coffee, but our mission for 2024 was also to take our community deeper into the science and knowledge of cocktails.”

Merijn Gijsbers stands in front a projector and describes a slide.
Former Dutch Barista Champion and global coffee consultant Merijn Gijsbers taught a coffee masterclass to the nine competitors.

To achieve this, Licor 43 brought together experts, authors, and champions from the spirits and coffee industries. On the coffee side of things, former Dutch Barista Champion and authorized Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) trainer Merijn Gijsbers instructed the nine mixologists and baristas in cupping and pairing coffee with the popular and versatile Licor 43, which is notable for its custom combination of citrus, coriander, vanilla, and lemon blossom characteristics.

A hand holds a cup with latte art poured in it by a Licor 43 sign at the Bartender & Barista Challenge.A hand holds a cup with latte art poured in it by a Licor 43 sign at the Bartender & Barista Challenge.
The bartenders and baristas practiced their latte art with Merijn Gijsbers.

After their various seminars, the champions competed in three challenges: the Speed Up Challenge, in which they were tasked with preparing four perfect Carajillo 43s in the quickest time possible; the Mystery Box Challenge, which saw finalists graded on their use of cocktail clarification techniques by 2022 Bartender & Barista Challenge winner Yefferson Avila; and the Switching Challenge, where they called on skills learned from world-renowned mixologist Iain McPherson’s seminar on alternative flavor creation.

The Bartender & Barista Challenge 2024 champion Julia Engel poses with the judges.The Bartender & Barista Challenge 2024 champion Julia Engel poses with the judges.
Winner Julia Engel (center) poses with the judges: (from left) Iain, Chris, Julia, Gabriela, and Merijn.

Julia’s drink, A Day In the Life, brought together Licor 43 Original, Bokma Oude Friesche Genever, Hörner Pinot Noir Rosé 2021, and “Candy Crush” filter-brewed coffee. As one of three finalists, Julia, a bartender at Koer Bar in Hamburg, prepared her drink for the judges on the final evening of the competition and was named the winner. Her prizes include €3,000 worth of training, materials, and equipment.

A bottle of Licor 43 is pouring into a glass to create the winning drink A Day in the Life from the Bartender & Barista Challenge.A bottle of Licor 43 is pouring into a glass to create the winning drink A Day in the Life from the Bartender & Barista Challenge.
Julia’s winning drink, A Day In the Life.

BARTENDER & BARISTA CHALLENGE FINALISTS

Ricardo Alexandre Leal Da Souza, Brazil

Andres Felipe Kisic, Colombia

Josué Chavarría, Costa Rica

Jirí Malis, Estonia

Julia Engel, Germany

Daniel Diaz, Guatemala

Daniel López Romero, Mexico

Jean Paul Poblet Clemente, Perú

Mike Vander Horn, USA

BARTENDER & BARISTA CHALLENGE JUDGES

Iain McPherson

Chris Levitt

Merijn Gijsbers

Gabriela Wong

Stay tuned for information for the 2025 edition of the Bartender & Barista Challenge!

Subscribe and More!

Out now: It’s the October + November 2024 issue of Barista Magazine! Read it for free with our digital edition. And for more than three years’ worth of issues, visit our digital edition archives here.

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