By
Rebecca Gibson |
Bartenders from Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises will compete to for a place in the Diageo Reserve World Class Global Travel Final on 9 July.
Held at the Diageo 396 Bar in Miami, US, the event will see Norwegian’s Wade Cleophas, Celebrity’s Santos Mercedes Enriquez and Royal Caribbean’s Shekhar Grover compete to represent Global Travel at the World Class Bartender of the Year Global Grand Final in Cape Town later this year.
All three entrants will be judged by Enrique de Colsa, master distiller for Tequila Don Julio; Spike Marchant, World Class Global brand ambassador; Erik Lorincz, who was named World Class Bartender of the Year in 2010; and Julio Cabrera, managing partner of The Regent Cocktail Club in Miami.
Cleophas, Enriquez and Grover were selected from the 5,500 cruise line bartenders who initially entered the competition. All of the entrants completed the World Class bartending programme where they were taught how to provide ‘exceptional’ customer service and showmanship, and how to use ‘innovative’ ingredients and the latest cocktail-making trends.
“It was truly thrilling to see the trainees advance through the programme and the heats,” said Sarah Lawrence, a renowned mixology expert and Wolrd Class programme trainer. “Each of the finalists has proved themselves the best in the cruise line bartender business and I’m excited to see who will be crowned Diageo Global Travel champion.”
Last year’s winner, Charles Joly, has since mixed cocktails at various events including the Grammy Awards and the wedding of British racing driver Jenson Button.