Marcis Dzelzainis

Marcis Dzelzainis, born in 1982, is a bartender who works at the Quo Vadis, a restaurant in London, England. He grew up in France but he is half-English and half-Latvian.

Marcis is a well-known mixologist in the UK and internationally. His talent and reputation earned him the representation of the UK team in the 2010 Havana Club International Cocktail Grand Prix in Havana, Cuba and take home first place.

His performance in the Grand Prix began with a variation on a Honeysuckle he called a Honeycomb using Havana Club 3 Años as the base. His second drink, also using Havana Club 3 Años, included double-distilled calvados and chartreuse. Marcis informed the judges that this cocktail was an hommage to Serge Gainsbourg, calling it the Gainsbourg Daisy.

His third drink, The Smoky Bear began with Grade C Canadian maple syrup and a few dashes of bitters and Crema de Mezcal and finished with a dose of Havana Club 7 Años. After making it to the final round, it was time for Marcis to improvise his fourth and last cocktail of the contest using a bag of surprise ingredients.

In the bag of secret ingredients given to him he found green chartreuse, an orange, and some mint leaves. "So," he declared confidently, "let's do a variation on a Chicago Fizz ». Adding blend of Havana Club Anejo 3 Anos, Havana Club Anejo Reserva, vermouth Carpano Antica, he called this El Niño.

As winner of the 2010 Havana Club International Cocktail Grand Prix, Marcis left Havana with the pride winning this prestigious competition and a silver cocktail shaker and a bottle of Havana Club Maximo signed for him by Maestro Ronero Asbel Morales