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Carl Kanto at World Cup Spirits in Brazil
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World Cup of Spirits
World Cup of Spirits – Concours Mondial de Bruxelles
- by Carl Kanto
In 2014 Brazil, the country, became a household name with regards to sports– football to be exact. This is the year of world cup football and the competition is being held in Brazil, the largest South American country with land space of approximately 8.5 million square kilometers and a population of approximately 195 million people.
Florianopolis – capital city and second largest city of Santa Catarina state is located in the southern region of Brazil with coordinates 27o 50’ S and 48o 25’ W. It is made up of a main island – the Island of Santa Catarina and a part of the main land.
Costaodo Santinho resort is located facing the sea on the lush Santinho beach, north of Santa Catarina Island and permeated by dunes, cliffs, trails and archaeological sites. Set in the natural back drop of preserved Atlantic Forest and built area, the resort includes a golf course, sport complex, seven restaurants and the largest collection of indoor and outdoor heated pools in resorts in Brazil.
On 06 – 08 June, 2014, Concours Mondial de Bruxelles held the ‘world cup’ of spirits at the Costaodo Santinho resort in Florianopolis, Brazil. What a way to start the festivity of world cups – spirits (cachaca) and football.
At the end of the 3 days of judging, the whisky Octomore 5 years Old Scottish Barley from the Bruichladdich distillery (Remy Cointreau) was awarded the Best Spirit Award.
I have sat on a number of judging panels for various competitions but was blown away by the organizing of this competition. The selection of the teams and the environmental setting gave the tasting a business like atmosphere. The special evaluation sheets, the tabulation of results and the final discussions gave credence to the uniqueness of the team of judges. It should be noted that medals are awarded and only the elite can aspire to be rewarded a medal. Medals are stringently awarded to the highest achievers as follows: Double Gold medal – 92.5 –100%, Gold medal – 87 – 92.4% and Silver medal – 8 4 – 86.9%.
Other than the competition, the judges were rewarded with knowledge. We all left knowing in detail how Cachaca and Pisco are produced and what makes them so unique. We also had the privilege of visiting a Cachaca producer and see the actual production of the spirit.
In all it was a fantastic world cup but unlike football there were no tears, only the sound of joyous laughter filling the air and nostalgic memories of so many friends you have gelled with over the three days.
Carl Kanto