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Keegan McGregor wins Diageo World Class 2024
Canadian bartender Keegan McGregor has been named this year’s World Class Global Bartender of the Year.
The final took place in Shanghai, with competitors from 44 regions and six continents.
McGregor works at the Highwayman Restaurant & Bar in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
He stood out from his competitors ‘by presenting a series of signature serves that celebrated community, sustainability and innovation’.
McGregor said: “My World Class journey started six years ago, so it’s a really special experience to be recognised as the World Class Global Bartender of the Year 2024. The camaraderie among the competitors this week has been both inspiring and has kept me going. The biggest piece of advice I was given was to be myself and that’s exactly what I did.”
This year’s competition theme was ‘Future Legacy’, with one challenge seeing McGregor use technology to elevate a Johnnie Walker Blue Label serve.
The Don Julio challenge saw him create a duo of drinks reimagining his home town and Shanghai using Tequila and indigenous ingredients. To represent Halifax, he created a drink based on a local vegetable stew dish called Hodge Podge, with aspects blended to create a twist on eggnog.
For the Ketel One part of the competition, he thought up an initiative to support the hospitality community in his neighbourhood, as well as serving up three gin cocktails using Tanqueray No Ten that paid tribute to three different industry legends.
For The Singleton, participants were encouraged to create a Scotch serve that blended taste with sound.
The final challenge was the Shanghai Showdown, where McGregor competed against seven other bartenders to create an ‘immersive bar pop-up experience that transcended the boundaries of bartending and set the tone for the future of cocktail culture’.
Judges throughout the week included Agostino Perrone of the Connaught Bar; Ryan Chetiyawardana of Lyaness and Seed Library; and Julie Reiner of Milady’s and Clover Club.
Kevin Delaney, global senior brand manager of World Class, said: “World Class has gone from strength to strength over the past 15 years and grown a reputation as a hotbed of trends and a pinnacle of bar culture. This year’s program truly feels like the culmination of a decade and a half of learning and growth for our program and global hospitality community.
“Shanghai is a unique meeting of traditional and modern and the city set the scene for an incredible week of creativity, professionalism, and hospitality at its best.
“Diageo has long been committed to celebrating the best of this wonderful industry and tonight we celebrate this year’s winner but also everyone who has been part of World Class over the past 15 years. I couldn’t be prouder of Keegan and can’t wait to be a part of this exciting new chapter of his journey as World Class Global Bartender of the Year.”
The World Class Cocktail Festival ran alongside the competition for three weeks, showcasing Shanghai’s best bars. More than 100 venues participated, including Speak Low, Coa Shanghai and Hope & Sesame.
Last year’s winner, Jacob Martin, hosted a guest shift at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Guangzhou.
Diageo also hosted its first World Class Mentorship program, offering seminars, workshops, and group discussions on industry topics, such as ‘Vibe Architecture’ and ‘Content is Queen’.
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