Bartenders will next week battle it out to see who is the best on the island.

Ryan Gibbons, of Baracuda Grill, will defend his title, having won the City Food Festival Bacardi Bartender Competition last year.

The 32-year-old said he’s feeling confident but is not taking a win for granted.

“I’m up against some stiff competition,” he said. “I believe in myself but I’m not strolling in there thinking, I won before so I will win again.”

Five bartenders will each create a cocktail using the same basket of goods as part of Friday’s competition at Pier 6.

A panel of three judges will present the winner with a trip to Puerto Rico and a visit to the Bacardi distillery there.

Stephany Outerbridge doesn’t work with a lot of fancy equipment at Bailey’s Bay Cricket Club.

Patrons like basic drinks.

She sometimes tries out her own creations but the most unusual drink her regulars ask for is Goats’ Milk.

“It is chilled Baileys with Jamaican white rum on top,” said the 33-year-old, who has never competed against other bartenders before. “Another bartender showed me how to do it.”

She entered the competition to spread her wings a bit and try something new.

“I love making more sophisticated cocktails for parties and family events,” said Ms Outerbridge, who has spent hours practising at home for the competition. “I think I have a good chance of winning.”

What she plans to make next Friday is a secret, but she said it’s a favourite at the club.

“From the day I first made it, people have been coming to the club and asking for it,” she said.

Stefano Troja is a bit nervous about the upcoming competition.

It will be the first time he’s gone head to head with other bartenders.

“I think I have a 50/50 chance of winning,” said the 29-year-old, who works at Red Steakhouse & Bar. “I would consider myself a decent bartender and I know some of the others and they are great at what they do.”

He trained as a chef in London, England, but thought the wages were “terrible”, so he switched to the front of house.

“I found I really liked bartending,” he said.

Mr Troja worked at a pub in a shopping centre in the capital city for six years before moving home in December. He was hired at Red a month later.

“I’ve been waiting for the competition ever since I came back,” he said. “Then the other day, someone at my job said, ‘Hey, I’ve signed you up’.”

He described his style as balanced and consistent, with a bit of flair.

Not all of his early cocktails went well. His first martini exploded everywhere, and the glass shattered.

“The customer was looking at me like you better make that again,” he said.

In the years since then, he has learnt a thing or two. He’s particularly proud of a home-made limoncello cocktail he created at Red and dubbed the Amalfi Coast.

Yannis Heracleous plans to use a classic touch to take the title from reigning champion, Ryan Gibbons.

He has been the head bartender at Yours Truly on Chancery Lane since it opened three months ago. Before that, he worked at Port O’ Call.

As for the win, he thinks his chances are good but, as he’s expecting a tough fight, he’s spent hours pouring over old cocktail books.

“I love to see what they were drinking before and after Prohibition,” said the 25-year-old. “There is a lot of bartending talent on this island.”

He’s a great fan of Bacardi and was attracted to the competition because of the prize: a trip to its distillery in Puerto Rico. “It is an awesome spirit,” he said. “

It would be an awesome opportunity to go there.”

He studied culinary arts at George Brown College in Toronto and then moved to London, England to work as a bartender.

“I came back after a year there,” he said. “My biggest mistake was not staying longer. If I had, I would have learnt more.”

• The City Food Festival is on from September 17 to 23. Buy tickets at Ptix.bm. For more information see www.cityofhamilton.bm.