In 1994 the Bacardi Martini Grand Prix was won by a Dutch bartender, Patrick Schreven, at that time tending bar at the Amsterdam's Sofitel Hotel. The "Grand Finale" of the event took place on June 25th, in the beautiful special events hall of the big Martini & Rossi plant in Pessione, a small Piedmontese town, near Turin, Italy. Schreven was one of 38 finalists from 26 countries participating in the international event. The Bacardi Martini Grand Prix was considered to be one of the most important events of its king going in the '90s, which had started in 1966 as the Pensiero Paissa Prize, a special competition to stimulate the spirit of competitive creativity among Italian bartenders under the age 0f 28. In 1970, in an attempt to provide the event with more international prestige, the name of the contest was changed into International Paissa Prize. Then as the fame and prestige of the event grew around the world, it was decided to make it a "Formula 1" type of competition for mixing cocktails, thus the decision to change the name to Martini Grand Prix and later to Bacardi Martini Grand Prix. Finally, all participants at the Bacardi Martini Grand Prix were expected to create a new cocktail on the spot, Patrick Schreven's Signature Cocktail D-Day winning the 1994-edition.