And obviously, competition season isn’t over yet—in fact, you could say it’s barely getting started. We’re sitting in pole position for some, playing spectators for others, and taking on major roles in the rest.
On September 13th, we had the duty—or rather, the pleasure—of sitting on the jury for ETSU GIN. Yes, us—the very people who’ve proven over the last few months that we don't pull our punches.
We found ourselves seated alongside someone who’s become a true friend of Spaghetty: Federico Leone, who besides being on the jury and serving as Brand Ambassador for Etsu Gin, deeply loves to write. Next to him was Gregory Camilo, one of the pillars of the Jerry Thomas group, and Bogdan Tanasoiu, the group's founder. The haters out there might wonder why we were there... but let’s move on.
The event was hosted at Bar della Musa inside Palazzo Talìa in Rome (and if you haven't been yet, do yourself a favor: it’ll leave you breathless—and probably broke, we imagine). It was the warm-up act before the Roma Bar Show kicked off, featuring the Official Opening Party hosted by Etsu and D&C.
But back to the Competition: 8 bartenders, different countries, different cultures, and that distinct dread of standing in front of judges who will evaluate months of your hard work in just a few minutes. Yet maybe that’s the true beauty of a competition: pushing your limits and putting yourself to the test.
Because beyond the score, beyond the win, a competition forces you to face a very clear concept: the culture of sacrifice. Something we in the West tend to romanticize, but which serves as the foundation of any discipline in Japan.
Shokunin—"artisan"—takes on a much deeper ethical and spiritual meaning in Japan. A Shokunin isn’t just a craftsman; they are someone who assumes a genuine social and moral obligation to their craft.
We found this exact philosophy inside every bottle of Etsu, a name that translates to "pleasure"—a pleasure that is never accidental, but the result of an obsessive balance between rigor and harmony. From the clean, citrusy profile of the Original to the extreme challenge of Etsu Pacific Ocean Water—where using ocean water demands absolute precision during distillation to balance salinity and minerality—every single drop tells the story of Japan’s obsession with detail and respect for raw ingredients.
That was our journey with these bartenders: sometimes confident, sometimes terrified. A journey that ultimately awarded the winner an experience we would've loved to snag ourselves: a trip to Japan.
And we’d like to wrap up this piece with a phrase that sums it all up:
七転び八起き (Nanakorobi Yaoki) — "Fall seven times, stand up eight."
Now, let's close by heading back to the Opening Party—a statement of intent to be right at the heart of one of Roma Bar Show's most key moments with Etsu Gin, a brand gaining serious momentum across the bar scene. For those who were there—and there were many—set in a stunning location (though we already told you that), it was an event built for bartenders, the industry, and the press that transported us all to Japan in a single night.
