Diageo Kenya has officially launched the World Class Bartender of the Year competition; one of the industry’s most prestigious and respected mixology competitions worldwide.
Sixty of Kenya’s bartending elite will be part of the competitors battling it out for the World Class Bartender of the Year title; which will be held at EABL offices.
Mixologists will go through a programme dubbed ‘World Class Studios’, which is a series of training sessions that seeks to push boundaries, educate and inspire bartenders around the globe. The sessions will be hosted by a collection of Diageo Reserve brand ambassadors and World Class national champions including Brian Kassim Owango; one of Kenya’s pioneer mixologists and the previous winner, Angeliqua Rivera.
From Left: World Class Bartender winner 2019 Angeliqua Rivera with Diageo Reserve Brand ambassador Alexander Kavita
Every year, the competition creates a one-of-a-kind training module for the World Class Studios; challenging the bartending skills of every mixologist to create unique, contemporary cocktails that showcase the future of cocktail culture.
For this year’s competition, bartenders will have three training modules that each examine the different skills required to become a World Class bartender.
- The ‘Rituals of Hospitality’ module will focus on creating signature serves with Bulleit Bourbon.
- The ‘Singleton Rule of Three’ module will focus on creating cocktails with only three ingredients.
- The ‘Highballing’ module explores the Highball trend, revealing the tricks of the trade and creating memorable serves; with a nod to Johnnie Walker Black Label.
World Class Bartender 2019 winner Angeliqua Rivera and Diageo Reserve ambassador Sharon Mwangi take bartenders through the 2019 World Class competition
“Hot topics in the industry will be at the centre of conversations and workshops hosted by highly reputable drinks professionals in the sector; sharing knowledge from one bartender to another,“ said Diageo Reserve World Class National Advocacy Manager Douglas Duncanson.
“WorldClass is on a mission to improve the cocktail culture by training up bartenders and enabling them to hone their craft. The skills they learn through WorldClass make them more competitive, resulting in higher incomes and provide a higher quality experience for the customer. A higher number of trained bartenders will enable the hospitality industry to diversify and create more signature drinks with each restaurant looking to make its own mark on the industry,” he added.
The Kenyan bartender competition is part of the Global World Class competition which set to take place in Sydney, Australia this September. The global competition is now in its twelfth year and has trained and educated over 250,000 bartenders in 60 countries.
