Jameson reveals Bartender Series 2025 winners
Irish Distillers-owned Jameson Irish Whiskey has named Matt Smith, Stefan Codrea and Yu Kajitani as the winners of the 2025 Jameson Black Barrel Bartender Series competition.
On Monday 1 September, following a record 425 entries from 50 countries, the top 10 finalists of the Jameson Black Barrel Bartender Series 2025 competition gathered at the Jameson Hosts Global Summit in Cork to showcase their Jameson Black Barrel cocktails in front of more than 100 industry guests, including the global judges, summit speakers, and hosts.
The finalist’s cocktails were presented to a judging panel including Millie Tang of Devie Bar, France, Claudia Cabrera from Kaito del Valle in Mexico, and Danil Nevsky of Indie Bartender, Spain.
The top 10 finalists brought this year’s brief to life by celebrating their local communities while inspiring creativity across the global bar scene.
Their cocktails drew on flavours and traditions as varied as Queensland’s native cinnamon myrtle and macadamia wood smoke, Hull’s beetroot and roasted dandelion roots, Bali’s jackfruit and pandan whey, and a serve capturing the essence of post-rainfall in Ireland with hojicha tea, sesame oil and shiso leaf, each elevating Jameson Black Barrel’s signature notes of vanilla, caramel sweetness, toasted wood, fruit and warming spice.
The judges and mentors assessed the anonymous entries, and submitted independent scores, ensuring a fair and transparent process.
Global winners
The combined votes crowned Matt Smith, Stefan Codrea, and Yu Kajitani as the 2025 global winners at the Jameson Bartenders Ball on Tuesday 2 September.
From the UK, Smith impressed with Dead Bod, a cocktail inspired by Hull’s iconic piece of graffiti art that used locally sourced beetroot and dandelion root to deliver a ‘velvety, nitrogenated texture’, said to be reminiscent of Irish stouts.
Speaking on the win, Smith said: “Dead Bod is part of Hull’s identity, and I wanted my cocktail to capture that spirit. Using local flavours like beetroot and dandelion, I created something fun and vibrant that works beautifully with the caramel and vanilla notes of Jameson Black Barrel. This competition has been a creative challenge, and I’m looking forward to building on that through the mentorship.”
Meanwhile Codrea from Romania created Charred Rose, which combined banana and fig leaf-infused wine, brown butter, coriander seed syrup and pickled beetroot brine.
Reflecting on his inspiration, Codrea said: “Barcelona shaped every element of my cocktail, from the Rosa de Barcelona symbol to the ingredients themselves. I wanted to showcase Spanish culture with bananas from the south, Catalan grapes and fig leaves from Montjuïc park, balanced by modern touches like beetroot. The Old Fashioned format let Jameson Black Barrel’s creamy, spicy character shine.
“Beyond the win, the highlight has been connecting with more than 100 bartenders from around the world, and it is an experience that will keep inspiring me long after the competition.”
Finally, representing Ireland, Yu Kajitani won with Petrichor, inspired by the Irish weather and the freshness after rainfall.
Blending Jameson Black Barrel with hojicha tea, sesame oil and shiso leaf, his serve captured the aroma and taste of rain-soaked earth.
Speaking after his win, Kajitani said: “My cocktail was inspired by petrichor, the scent of rain on earth. Living in Ireland, I wanted to capture that atmosphere with sesame oil for depth, shiso leaves for freshness and hojicha tea for calmness. It also reflects my own journey with the Japanese ingredients expressed through an Irish theme.
“For me, this competition has been about more than winning. It is about learning, connecting and growing, and it has given me the confidence to take my bartending to the next level.”
Mentorship programme
Each of the three global winners has won a cash prize of €5,000 (US$5,820) in addition to a special place on the Jameson Hosts mentorship programme.
The trio will also take part in a series of face-to-face and virtual mentorship sessions with Remy Savage of London’s A Bar With Shapes For a Name and Bar Nouveau in France, bars and spirits journalist Eleni Nikoloulia from Greece, and Nevsky.
The initial mentorship session with the winners and mentors took place in person at the Jameson Hosts Global Summit this week, with further virtual sessions extending beyond the Summit to provide ongoing support for the global winners into the future.
Savage will discuss brand building and creative identity, sharing his expertise in building bars and his experience, working with each winner to define a bar project and brand, discuss venue concept and ideate a menu, while Nikoloulia will lead sessions on establishing and scaling a brand internationally, guiding winners on how to take their brand to a global stage and build long-term recognition within the international hospitality community.
Finally, social media trailblazer Nevsky will utilise his expertise to discuss how winners can build their personal brand, develop a social media strategy and how to lead the game in content creation, creating high engagement and building a distinctive online presence.
Building on Jameson’s global platform ‘Must be a Jameson’, the competition and mentorship programme will continue to welcome more members of the bar community into the family.
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