Diageo has extended its annual hunt for the world’s best bartender to travel retail for the first time this year in an exclusive collaboration with Princess Cruises. The cruise line’s inclusion in the Diageo Reserve World Class bartending competition recognises its commitment to best-in-class bartending and outstanding on-board cocktail offerings.
More than 10,000 contenders from 50 countries – including some 300 competitors from Princess – have been battling their way to the prestigious Global Final to win the title of Diageo Reserve World Class Bartender of the Year.
Argentinian bartender Matias Grosso of the Star Princess topped the semi-final of the competition held in Miami’s Ice Palace Studios last week. He joins a roster of talented bartenders from around the world at the Global Final Week taking place in Rio de Janeiro on 8-12 July.
In April and May bartenders on Princess Cruises received training and competed in several locations on their itineraries including Asia, US and Europe. Diageo brand ambassadors educated bartenders on spirits from the Diageo Reserve luxury portfolio, including Ketel One vodka, Cîroc vodka and Don Julio tequila.
Four Princess bartenders made it to the Miami semi-finals and vied against each other in a two-pronged challenge. In “Cocktails against the Clock” each of the contenders had to produce three classic cocktails – a mojito, a cosmopolitan and a margarita –within three minutes.
In the “Market Challenge”, entailed the creation of an original cocktail using ingredients from three of five categories: fruits, protein, herbs & spices, vegetables and sweets. Each bartender had seven minutes to prepare their drink, and was expected to explain all the thinking behind its creation.
Winning recipes created during the Princess competition will be showcased on-board Princess Cruises during 2012.
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Judges Julie Reiner and Marcy Rudershasen, winning Princess bar-tender Matias Grosso, MC and Regional Brand Ambassador Rebecca Quinonez and Judge Spike Marchant at the Miami semi-final. |
Diageo Regional Marketing Director – Global Travel Americas Louise Higgins said: “We hope that this experience enthuses and energises cruise lines from other parts of the world to join us and come onboard for next year. It is not only about the drinks, it is also showing how to create this experience for the consumers, which at the end of the day is why bartenders have their jobs, and we have ours and the cruise lines have theirs.”
Diageo Global Travel Americas Customer Director Cruise Sandra Vaucher added: “World Class is the only global event that recognises the craft of the bartender, discovers new talent and previews the latest fine drinking trends. The cruise industry is a perfect match for World Class and Princess Cruises is a natural partner as we open the competition in the sector and work together to set new benchmarks for great passenger experiences.”
The competition, no in its fourth year, began as a bartending training programme in the UK and is now an internationally recognised annual event that the company says elevates fine drinking and cocktail culture by creating luxury experiences for consumers.
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