Ginbo named the Best Bar in the Balearics, one of the top ten in Spain

Of all the gin joints, in all of the Balearics, in all of Spain, the Diageo Reserve Coaster Awards 2015 for Best Bar in the Balearics had to go to Ginbo in Palma.
Diageo  is  British  and   the world’s largest producer of spirits and a major producer of beer and wine. Every year it holds national, continental and then global award ceremonies for the best bars and this year, Ginbo is the pride of the Balearics.
What is more, it is not a competition that can be entered, so the owner and staff  are over the moon with their award.
Yesterday, Santiago Cebrián Morales, who only opened the cocktail bar in 2009 with his brother, celebrated this momentus industry  award  with all of the staff.
Santi, from Girona on the mainland, said that he chose Palma because the climate and culture are  very similar to where he comes from plus the fact that Palma is a nice compact multi-cultural cosmopolitan city which  is a magnet for tourists.
A mixologist himself who has worked in New York and Barcelona, with that experience behind him he decided to open a cocktail bar specialising in gin -  hence the name which, in Catalan means good gin.
“The initial concept was to open a quality bar specializing in the very best gins and cocktails. I guess initially we began serving the classic cocktails until Argentine Matias Iriarte Tunes joined us five years ago and then we began to start thinking out of the box, experimenting and offering some new and exciting drinks. We began serving cocktails in milk bottles, jam jars, we set out to break the mould and I  like to think that this award recognises the passion, talent and care we have put into developing our cocktails and our clients over the years.
“Obviously, certain members of  staff have come and gone, but they have all played their role, left their mark and now, this great team has just won one of the most prestigious  awards in the industry.
“Another thing is that, irrespective of all the regions in Spain, Diageo only awards ten in Spain every year, so we are also one of the best ten bars in the country, it’s great for us and it’s great for Palma,” Santi said.
Mati is also excited. “We’ve been doing a lot of work on social media and over the past few months we’ve had some of the country’s best mixologists come and visit us.  In fact, on Tuesday night, the best inSpain came to see us and what we’re doing.
“We’re an international mix, we’ve got Charles Harrington-Clarke from London, Diego Bravo Chang from Ecuador, Leandro Cometta Garcia from Argentina and Borja Triñanes Dieste from Galicia and they’ve all brought something from their origins,  cultures and experiences to the menu.
“It’s like gastronomy for us, we want to give people something really special that  they can enjoy, will not forget and therefore come back and we’ve built up a real mix of clients. We’re now  50 percent local and 50 percent international “And, as in the case of Charles who has developed a specialSoller cocktail using local products, we all use what ever catches our eyes and sparks off an idea and , it looks like it’s working,” Mati added.