The inaugural Beam Bar Legend final was held in Auckland recently and the winner received not only $25,000 worth of prizes, but also the responsibility of acting as a brand promoter for products in Beam's portfolio.
"There will be lots of bits and pieces from now on. Being involved from the other side is a big eye-opener," the Naughty Penguin bartender said.
"They will be using me to help promote their products ... it's going to be a lot of fun."
Although he had competed in other cocktail competitions, he said the Beam competition really challenged contestants to express their personality and brand knowledge as well as the obvious cocktail-making.
The eight finalists were given challenges such as a blind tasting and a "market-style" challenge where contestants were given a set time to create a cocktail from a list of ingredients.
Within the coming year, Mr Bickerton will visit a Beam distillery of his choice, although he has not decided which yet.
"I was deliberately trying not to think about it. It's going to be a tough decision."
