SPIRITS giant Diageo has embarked on its twelfth annual search for Britain’s top bartender.
Submissions for the UK leg of the World Class competition – the global final for which took place in Glasgow’s SWG3 venue last year – opened on Thursday (February 20) and will close at midnight on March 9.
This year, bartenders are to submit digitally one or two serves inspired by Diageo’s chosen modules, Acid House and Heritage Highballs; the former is designed “to celebrate the whole citrus fruit that forms an integral part of premium gin brand, Tanqueray No. TEN” and the latter “challenges entrants to produce their own highball serve using Johnnie Walker Black Label.” Contestants must also post a picture of the end products on social media using the hashtag #WorldClassGB2020.
The top twenty bartenders will then be shortlisted from a group of 100 to battle it out in the UK final in June following an in-bar heat judged by previous UK winners and Diageo brand ambassadors; the winner will then go on to represent Britain in the worldwide final which will take place in Sydney.
The overall prize for the successful bartender will include a tour of Diageo-owned distilleries in Scotland, a guest bartending shift in a European bar, and an allocation for bar tools and equipment.
Jack Sotti, World Class GB brand ambassador at Diageo Reserve, said: “World Class has become a hotly anticipated calendar date for bartenders across the globe and it is fantastic to have built such a strong community.
“GB representative Cameron Attfield came in fourth at the Global Finals in 2019 and this year, we will be watching closely to see if any of our bartenders can go that one step further and bring home the coveted title of World Class Bartender of the Year 2020 – let’s watch this space!”
Full entries should be submitted online at www.TheWorldClassClub.com
