“Marvelous” Marv Cunningham followed up his Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association’s gold medal and Bartender of the Year win by pulling off a successful title defense at the 2nd Stoli Premium Vodka Cocktail Masters Competition.

Cunningham, a bartender in the Aura Nightclub at the Atlantis bested six other contestants to claim the coveted Stoli Cocktail Master title and bragging rights as the new Stoli brand ambassador, free Stoli for the rest of the year, $500, two paid quarterly training events, and an all-expense paid trip to St. Maarten for the August 21-23 Regional Stoli Cocktail Masters Competition where he will compete against other Stoli Cocktail Masters from other participating Caribbean countries.

Contestants had to create two Stoli cocktails. The first had to showcase a twist on a signature Stoli cocktail (either Stoli Lemonade or Stoli Moscow Mule); the second libation had to be the bartender’s own creation in the Caribbean Freestyle competition, to demonstrate the versatility of Stoli through incorporation in the cocktails. Points were awarded for taste, aroma, appearance and presentation.

For the win, Cunningham presented a twist on a classic Stoli cocktail — “Stoli elit Lemonade”. His second drink was his “Stoli Passionate Caribbean Dream”.

His libations, according to the judges were perfectly balanced.

Cunningham who has more than a decade-and-a-half of experience under his belt, not only stood out for his concoctions, but his flamboyant nature, technicality, and industry knowledge.

Gino Wilson, of the VIP Services at The Cove, Atlantis was second; third went to another Atlantis employee, Roosevelt Roberts from Harbourfront Lodge.

All of the winners received a bottle of Stoli elit — the ultra-luxury vodka that is considered to be sleek, sexy, and sophisticated.

Winning was a relief for Cunningham. While he says a win is a win, he wanted to blow away the field and was a little disappointed in the fact that he only won the competition by two points overall.

“After the first round which I didn’t win by a wide margin I felt a bit disappointed, so I was like I really have to pull up my socks,” he said. “Trying to defend anything, is tough, and some people think once you win you ride off into the sunset and don’t want to do it anymore, but that’s not me. I’m competitive.”

He recalled the judges telling him that he appeared to be too relaxed during the competition.

With the successful title defense he now looks ahead to the August regional finals. For Cunningham, nothing changes, it will be about the same regimen — putting flavors together and presenting something unique.

Last year he did not fare well at all at the regional finals. He wasn’t even top five out of the 10 competitors. Since then he’s watched the replay of the competition a number of times so that he could try to get into the minds of the judges and what they’re looking for.

“The key thing they said was that they wanted bartenders to push the boundaries and show how versatile Stoli is. And after working with the culinary team [during] Taste of the Caribbean, I can show tons of things,” he said. “Taste 2015 was a journey and helped me dig deep into concoctions. I think I will be successful at the regionals.”

But before he gets to St. Maarten, another boost to his confidence would be if he could snag the Hennessy title as well. Cunningham and 11 other competitors competed in the Hennessy preliminary last week; he was among the top five that will compete in the semi-finals on Saturday at Senor Frogs. He’s confident he will be one of the top three moving onto the finals at Sapodilla on Saturday, July 25.

His thought processes with the Hennessy competition he said would be simplicity and flavors that go well together to showcase the quality of the cognac. He said his intention is to showcase the renowned, sophisticated delicate flavor and aromatics of the spirit and not ruin it.

Marv Cunningham’s winning Stole elit Lemonade

Serves: 2

4 ounces Stoli elit

3 ounces lime juice, fresh squeezed

4 ounces watermelon syrup (can be substituted with 4 ounces of simple syrup and watermelon juice from Welch’s or Tropicana)

3 ounces coconut water

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice, shake and double strain over ice.