Kuala Lumpur – The world’s most luxurious cognac, Hennessy, has selected their final winners of the #HennessyMyWay 2022 challenge. Amongst the Global Top 5, Malaysian Chloe Tan from Cabinet 8 by JWC emerged as the only female bartender out of more than 500 bartenders to earn the coveted Global Top 5, putting Malaysia in the global map in creating expressive cocktails.
Chloe Tan’s #HennessyMyWay cocktail, called “Loco Coco”, celebrates the local cacao from her hometown of Pahang, Malaysia. Served in a cacao husk, the cocktail is zero waste incorporating all parts of the cacao fruit. “Loco Coco” tastes of delicious smoky melting chocolate with notes of honey and a hint of citrus to compliment the dark chocolate and toffee notes of Hennessy XO.
Table of Contents
- How did you end up doing what you do now?
- How do you feel your win and tell us about your passion for the craft.
- For those that haven’t visited, tell us a bit more about Cabinet 8 by JWC in your own words.
- Congratulations on your win! Can you tell us more about the story of Loco Coco?
- Is zero waste and sustainability a big part of what you do, or a trend the bartending scene is moving towards?
- Women in the F&B industry
- Giveaway! Stand a chance to experience Loco Coco for two
- About #HennessyMyWay Sustainable Cocktail Challenge 2022
How did you end up doing what you do now?
It started with a very naive intention, I just love having good cocktails. To me, a cocktail session means making memories. My close friends and I would always end our hangout dates with a cocktail session in a nice bar, and having great cocktails just makes the memories better.
I eventually began making cocktails at home as a hobby, and after some time I made the decision to learn how to do it professionally, which led to my foray into bartending when I joined Cabinet 8 as part of their team!
How do you feel your win and tell us about your passion for the craft.
It still feels very surreal, yet happy for what I’ve achieved. I think my passion has transitioned from just making great cocktails for myself and my friends to having the strong desire to introduce cocktail culture to more people.
For those that haven’t visited, tell us a bit more about Cabinet 8 by JWC in your own words.
For first-timers, a visit to Cabinet 8 by JWC will be one to remember – from the minute you enter our establishment and navigate your way around, through the way we take your orders, the flavour of our cocktails, and the atmosphere.
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For our regulars, Cabinet 8 by JWC is a place where they come for memorable cocktails. You can always expect new flavours from our lab. We do not confine our customers to a cocktail menu which is why you would find that conspicuously missing when you step into our bar. Instead we tailor each cocktail to what our customers desire that moment which may be based on their taste preference or mood and our bartender’s creativity. We are located in Johor Bahru, the southern tip of Malaysia, next to Singapore.
Congratulations on your win! Can you tell us more about the story of Loco Coco?
Thank you! I am definitely enjoying it and I thank my fellow Cabinet 8 bartenders for their constructive feedback when I was developing the concept of my winning cocktails. So this award is something that I wish to share with my fellow Cabinet 8 bartenders.
Loco Coco is created based on the delicious notes of dark chocolate and toffee from Hennessy XO, and also my desire to promote Cacao from my hometown, Pahang, Malaysia. This creation embodies the love from my heart, the Cabinet 8 team, and also our dear friend, Ning from Chocolate Concierge, who is an expert in Malaysia on single origin chocolate.
The RnD process was fun, especially the making of the kombucha foam, which is the essence that gives the cocktail a refreshing hint. I stayed in our own little RnD lab for a few days to create all the different creative elements for this Loco Coco.
Is zero waste and sustainability a big part of what you do, or a trend the bartending scene is moving towards?
Sustainability is definitely a big part of what we do here at Cabinet 8. In fact the bar started our journey for zero waste and sustainability since 2018. It is really exciting to see the bartending scene moving in this direction. I guess through the pandemic, it reminded us about the importance of preserving nature together.
I would like to be known as the bartender who creates great memories.
Women in the F&B industry
We often hear these stereotyping phrases directed at young females in our industry, or sudden lack of enthusiasm or disappointment when they realise it’s a lady behind the bar. Snarky remarks like. “oh, you are a young girl” or “you must have gotten these opportunities because of your gender”, etc. But I’ve learnt that once you show people your dedication and positive & professional attitude they’ll come around and even be your advocate, and eventually you’ll be recognised and taken seriously as a bartender.
Three learnings that I can share with young ladies out there:
- Never let others decide who you are. You can do anything that you want, you can be anyone that you want to be.
- Work hard. Work harder.
- Look at the brighter side for everything. There’s always something to learn!
For all the aspiring female bartenders, let’s go and rock the world. This win is proof that lady bartenders can be just as good as the men. (By the way, some research shows that females are generally better in recognising tastes than males!) And what I have also learnt is that we can be just as good as any other bartender outside of Malaysia. There are many talented bartenders in Malaysia who are not all known or found out, like me.
I do hope more ladies, and men, will come forward next year to take part in the #HennessyMyWay challenge next year. It’s been an amazing experience and surely something I will remember for all time.
Giveaway! Stand a chance to experience Loco Coco for two
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How to participate:
- Follow @cabinet8_jwc and @setthetables on Instagram
- Like, comment and tag a friend that you would like to bring to experience Loco Coco
- Each comment will be counted as a new entry
- One winner will be selected by 7th October 2022, 6pm.
Terms and Conditions
- Winners will be reached via DM by 10th October.
- Your Instagram account has to be a public profile. Winner details will be given to Cabinet 8 by JWC – Name, email, mobile number, IC number for verification purposes.
- This is not applicable with any running promotions at Cabinet 8 by JWC
- Other T&Cs applied
- Redemption is valid until 31st December 2022 and has to be redeemed at Cabinet 8 by JWC.
About #HennessyMyWay Sustainable Cocktail Challenge 2022
Receiving over 500 entries worldwide, the judging panel shortlisted 40 winners to compete for a lucrative spot in the Top 5. A tasting session took place in Cognac, France at the Maison Hennessy by a panel of judges including Hennessy Global Brand Ambassador, Jordan Bushell. Renaud Fillioux de Gironde, 8th generation Hennessy Master Blender, also involved in the tasting session aligned with the panel judges on their selection of the five winners.
Winners will each receive 2000 EUROS in addition to the 1200 EUROS won at the previous stages of the competition. They will also receive a luxury trip of their choosing to either a Hennessy experience in Cognac, France, or a VIP NBA experience.
For more exciting updates, follow Hennessy Malaysia’s official Facebook page.
#HennessyMyWay #HennessyMY
