First Diageo World Class Western European final names 12 winners

The first ever Diageo Western European World Class cocktail competition was held last night at the London Syon Park, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel, yielding 12 winners for the grand final which will be held in Rio later this year.

The event, which lasted two days, required each of the 42 bartenders – who were all national finalists from countries in the Western Europe bracket – to undergo four separate cocktail challenges: ‘on the spot’ where contestants had to make two classic cocktails that were picked by the judges from a list of 18; ‘box of secrets’, Asian inspired cocktails including a ‘surprise’ Asian ingredient that was unveiled only on the day; ‘gentlemen’s drinks’ with a focus on product knowledge; and finally ‘flying down to Rio’ – a Brazilian inspired cocktail.

The cocktails were judged by a panel of 12, including previous winners of the competition, such as Manabu Ohtake, World Class 2011 global winner, industry experts such as Alison Forrestal, general manager of the Reserve Business at Diageo Western Europe, and media experts including Charlie Burton, commissioning editor at British GQ. The competition was described by Forrestal as being “the biggest of all the competitions”, thanks to the range and quality of the spirits that can be used.

The contestants had free rein on the choice of spirits used, so long as they were part of Diageo’s Reserve portfolio which specifically looks after the premium brands including Ketel One, Ciroc, Don Julio Tequila, Tanqueray 10, Zacapa, Johnnie Walker Gold Label Reserve and Blue Label, and Talisker.

The winners were announced last night at an event with a buffet dinner, dancing and cocktails attended by some 200 people from the media and industry.

Previously, countries would host the national finals themselves at much smaller scale events but following the reorganisation of Diageo’s market governance last September, the newly created Western European zone, headed up by Forrestal, decided to run a combined final which was much more similar to the grand final.

The competition is central to the brand’s customer-focused strategy which puts its energy into educating and inspiring bar owners and mixologists.

World Class 2012 Western Europe country winners:

Austria: Bert Jachmann of Oswald Haerdtl, Vienna
Belgium: Olivier Jacobs of Jigger’s, Gent
Denmark: Kasper Riewe Henriksen of Ruby, Copenhagen
France: Winner to be announced in Paris on Tuesday 5th July 2012
Germany: Harry Glockler of rivabar, Berlin
GB: Andy Mil of The London Cocktail Club, London
Greece: Vassilis Kyritsis of The Gin Joint, Athens
Italy: Dennis Zoppi of Smile Tree, Turin
Netherlands: Fjalar Goud, Vesper Bar, Amsterdam
Norway: Jesper Høst of No. 19 Bar, Oslo
Spain: Guiseppe Santamaria of Ohla Boutique Bar, Barcelona
Sweden: Rikard Enell of Le Rouge, Stockholm
Switzerland:  Armando Archundia of Hirschli, Aarau