The Canadian winner will represent
Canada at the Diageo WORLD CLASS
Global competition in Shanghai
China, this coming September.
TORONTO, March 28,
2024 /CNW/ - Over the past fifteen years WORLD CLASS
has supported, trained, and inspired over 400,000 bartenders across
the globe. Yesterday, in Halifax Nova
Scotia, WORLD CLASS CANADA
crowned Keegan McGregor as the WORLD CLASS Canada
Bartender of the Year 2024. After demonstrating his bartending
prowess in seven unique challenges across a three-day competition,
Keegan McGregor from The Highwayman
in Halifax , Nova Scotia proved that his style of
creativity behind the bar set them apart in the final stages of the
competition. Last year's winner, Jacob
Martin of Bar Banane in Toronto
Ontario, was there to pass the torch to Keegan McGregor who now has the privilege and
challenge of moving on to represent Canada at the WORLD CLASS Global competition
in Shanghai, China from
September 9th - 13th, 2024.
"This has truly been a deadly week and I am deeply humbled and
honoured to take home the title of WORLD CLASS Canada Bartender of
2024," said Keegan McGregor, the
2024 winner. "This competition and the other nine competitors from
across Canada have pushed my
creativity, hospitality style, and bartending craft further than I
would have expected and I am excited to represent Canada on a global stage in Shanghai!"
Diageo's WORLD CLASS challenges are crafted to showcase the five
key characteristics it takes to be a WORLD CLASS bartender:
hosting, craft, flavour analysis, knowledge, and WORLD CLASS
advocacy. With each challenge, judges are not just looking for a
beautiful cocktail, but also a masterful display of storytelling
that embodies these five pillars.
Inspired by the latest industry trends, each challenge requires
the use of specific spirits in the Diageo portfolio and is designed
to showcase different skills in a bartender's toolkit. Challenges
featured spirits from the Diageo Reserve portfolio, including
Don Julio, Ketel One Vodka,
Tanqueray No. Ten and Johnnie Walker Scotch Whisky. Some of
this year's activities included Talisker By The Sea,
inspired by the amazing seafood in Halifax and meant to showcase the bartender's
knowledge of pairing. Love Letter to Hospitality asked
bartenders to create a menu of three (3) cocktails that may be
enjoyed throughout the course of a meal that were prepared table
side and had to tell a cohesive story to truly challenge and
showcase each participant's hospitality skills.
"This year we are celebrating fifteen years of WORLD CLASS, a
place where we immerse ourselves in cocktail culture and top-tier
hospitality. Every year we bring together the most talented
bartenders and I am always pleased by our industry's extraordinary
creativity and unparalleled sense of community," said Michael Armistead, Diageo Canada's National
Reserve and Sponsorship Manager. "We are thrilled to celebrate
with Keegan McGregor, our 2024 winner! He
deeply impressed our panel of esteemed judges pulling
inspiration from his surroundings, as well as his
high-quality hospitality and technical bartending skills. We are
excited to see how they approach the competition in Shanghai this September at the global
final."
When experimenting with your own mixology skills or enjoying
award-winning cocktails from your favourite local bartender, WORLD
CLASS CANADA reminds you to drink
responsibly.
For additional information about the program, and for details on
the upcoming global competition, follow @WorldClassCa on Twitter,
@WorldClassCanada on Instagram, use the hashtag #WorldClass and
visit Facebook.com/WorldClassCanada.
About Diageo
Diageo is a global leader in beverage alcohol with an
outstanding collection of brands, including Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, Bulleit and
Buchanan's whiskies, Smirnoff,
Cîroc and Ketel One vodkas, Captain Morgan, Baileys, Don Julio Tequila, Tanqueray and Guinness.
Diageo is listed on both the New York Stock Exchange (DEO) and the
London Stock Exchange (DGE) and our products are sold in more than
180 countries around the world. For more information about Diageo,
our people, our brands, and performance, visit us at
www.diageo.com.
Visit Diageo's global responsible drinking resource,
www.DRINKiQ.com, for information, initiatives and ways to share
best practice.
Follow us on Twitter for news and information about Diageo North
America: @Diageo_NA.
About Diageo WORLD CLASS
Diageo WORLD CLASS is transforming fine drinking experiences and
cocktail culture around the world and in the home. The industry's
largest, most credible investment in the luxury on trade, it
discovers the next generation of bartending talent who set the
latest mixology trends and bring these to the best bars worldwide.
At the core is an outstanding, global training program and
internationally recognized platform that elevates the craft of the
bartender and builds careers in the industry culminating in an
annual luxury landmark week where the Diageo WORLD CLASS Bartender
of the Year is announced. Launched in 2009, over 400,000 bartenders
have been inspired and educated in the craft of mixology using the
finest spirits in the Diageo Reserve collection. A partnership and
collaboration with gurus, media, partners and owners, Diageo WORLD
CLASS is widely recognized as a mark of sophistication and
distinction of international fine drinking culture by bartenders
and customers alike.
SOURCE Diageo