Diageo Reserve’s bartender competition, World Class, is now open for entries in Kenya. This is one of the industry’s most prestigious and respected mixology.
Sixty of Kenya’s bartending elite will be part of the competitors battling it out for the World Class Bartender of the Year title to be held at the East African Breweries Limited (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 World Class Bartender of the Year, Angeliqua Rivera.
Angeliqua Rivera Crowned Kenya’s World Class Bartender of the Year 2019
Every year, the World Class Global Bartender 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.
Since its launch in 2009, Diageo Reserve World Class has been instrumental in transforming fine drinking and cocktail culture around the world.
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.
“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.
“WORLD CLASS 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 World-Class 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.
