Ti’Punch competition winner crowned

Timothy Ching, bar manager of upmarket French bistro Bibo was crowned winner of the 2015 Ti’Punch cup competition held on Monday.

Timothy Ching centre, with Ryan Nightingale from Ham & Sherry’s Back Bar and Ana Souza from Pontiac Bar

Sponsored by Rhum Clément, several bartenders from Hong Kong battled it out to create an original cocktail focused on Clement White Rhum Agricole 40° – either the white, gold or aged expressions – and sugarcane syrup or natural raw sugar and lime.

Timothy Ching, the bar manager from Bibo was crowned the overall finalist and will jet off to Martinique with other regional winners for the world final from 9-13 March 2016.

Ching’s winning creation was “Prunus Punch” – a heady mix of Rhum Clément 1ere Canne, calamansi puree, white sugar and three drops Falernum Bitters.

Matthieu de Lassus, the export director for Clément spoke of the competition’s raison d’etre was to position Clément as a premium spirit around the world – setting it apart from entry-level rum brands “which people really need to mix in order to make them drinkable.”

“It was great to witness the excitement surrounding Clément and the unusual cocktails mixed by several of Hong Kong’s best bartenders,” he said.

“Clément has been produced since 1887 only in Martinique and using free-running raw cane syrup and not molasses, unlike many other rum brands.

“Events like these are important to highlight the purity and versatility of Clément. We’ve already been to the US, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, the UK, France, Denmark and Greece for this competition and look forward to welcoming all the finalists next year.”

Herve Leroux, founder of Sino Vantage Asia who is the sole distributor of Clément in Hong Kong, commented for the Asia market:

“The rum category is still very young in Hong Kong. Until quite recently, only super commercial brands were recognised for their entry level qualities.

I started importing premium rums four years ago, many people were thinking there was no business for the category and most of them could not believe rum even had a premium level

Several brands have been introduced into the market the last few months but I still think the market needs to understand the different expressions of rum and its price points. “

Leroux also spoke about the fact that Martinique is the only rum-producing region to have its own AOC system, ensuring there is tighter regulation on quality.

“Unfortunately, in other countries, this is not the case. We cannot be certain of its providence, ageing conditions and even the contents. Several recent reports have highlighted the additions of glycerol, sugar and vanillin in some brands which pretend to be on the premium end.”