Diageo Americas Global Travel Team (GTME) WORLD CLASS Competition

"To the north, to the south, to the east, to the west. The call is out: Are you the best bartender?" This was the mantra for the Diageo Americas Global Travel Team (GTME) WORLD CLASS Semi Final held in Miami, on June 6th, at the Casa Moderna Miami Hotel & Spa in Brickell. Four top bartenders competed for a spot in the finals, which will be held aboard a luxurious, boutique cruise ship sailing the Mediterranean from July 4-10. Following the creation of a new Diageo GTME cruise line partnership for 2013, the GTME final featured the best bartending talent from Princess Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line. The talented bartenders came from around the globe representing Argentina, United Kingdom, India and Romania.

 

 

Saundra Vaucher, Customer Team Director for Diageo, explained that "customers expect great food, a great cruise and especially great cocktails. Our program has trained over 500 bartenders with the purpose of ultimately enhancing the passenger experience. Our goal for 2014 is to train over 1500 bartenders." The competitors of this semi final were tested on their bartending knowledge, skill and showmanship in two rounds: the first one consisted of preparing three specific cocktails in under five minutes, and the second one entailed creating an original cocktail and then explaining the story behind it. The highly esteemed judges were industry greats Angus Winchester, Tanqueray Global Brand Ambassador; Ricky Gomez, 2012 U.S. World Class Bartender of the Year; and Philip Duff, award-winning spirits and cocktail educator at Liquid Solutions.

 

After an impressive presentation by all four competitors, 28 year old Dominic Laverty from the U.K., representing Princess Cruises, was crowned Diageo Reserve WORLD CLASS Global Travel Team's Best Bartender.  His signature drink and entertaining style left an indelible mark on the judges, earning him the win.  Dominic Laverty commented: "I'm thrilled to have won the GTME Diageo Reserve WORLD CLASS Final and am excited to have been selected from so many talented cruise line bartenders to take part in the global grand finale of one of the word's most prestigious mixology competitions."

Dominic Laverty from Princess Cruises was the winner

 

Dominic will go on to compete against the world's best bartenders from over 50 countries at the WORLD CLASS Global Final. The voyage will begin in the French Riviera and will include stopovers in some of the Mediterranean's most iconic and chic destinations including St. Tropez and Ibiza.

Diageo is the world's leading premium drinks business with an outstanding collection of beverage alcohol brands across spirits, beer and wine. These brands include Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, J&B, Windsor, Buchanan's and Bushmills whiskies, Smirnoff, Cîroc and Ketel One vodkas, Baileys, Jose Cuervo, Captain Morgan, Tanqueray and Guinness. Diageo is a global company, with its products sold in more than 180 countries around the world. The company is listed on both the New York Stock Exchange (DEO) and the London Stock Exchange (DGE). For more information about Diageo, its people, brands, and performance, visit them at Diageo.com.