Chivas Regal, the world’s first luxury whisky, has revealed the 21 national winners heading to the United Kingdom to compete to be crowned Chivas Masters Global Champion 2018.
For the first time, the Chivas Masters Global Final (taking place from 24th-28th June) will return to Chivas’ roots with the five-day finale starting at the Strathisla distillery in Speyside, the home of Chivas, before culminating in London, one of the most exciting and diverse cocktail capitals in the world.
The Chivas Masters is a global competition that champions bartenders who share Chivas’ core values of community, collaboration and generosity. It is built around the belief that generosity and success go hand in hand – a belief originally held by founding brothers John and James Chivas who were determined to share their success with the local community. Community is the theme at the very heart of this year’s competition, and the 21 finalists have already excelled in the national heats by producing some outstanding Chivas serves inspired by their local community.
With more bartenders competing in the global final than ever before, the contestants are facing the fiercest challenge yet, and will need to show both exemplary bartending skills and team spirit to impress the judges. Throughout the week, they will take part in a series of masterclasses and intense individual and team challenges designed to test their skills, creativity and teamwork.
They will then be shortlisted to three grand finalists who, in an exciting new twist, must win over the hearts and minds of consumers as well as the judges. As part of the final challenge, the bartenders will be tasked with establishing their own bespoke pop-up cocktail bar and menu, where they will be looking to excite the senses of their most important judge – the everyday public – with their local community-inspired signature cocktail.
The 21 finalists will be mentored over the course of the week by a distinguished panel of internationally-acclaimed judges, who hope to inspire the contestants with their own unique skill-set and experience. The panel comprises:
Matt Whiley – ground-breaking London bartender behind an impressive list of award-winning bars, including Purl, Worship Street Whistling Shop, Dach & Sons, Talented Mr Fox, Peg + Patriot, and Scout.
Laura-May Coope – social media superstar and co-founder of Social Life – the premium social media agency for entertainment brands.
JJ Goodman – globally recognised personality and thought-leader in the world of mixed drinks. Goodman is also the Founder of The London Cocktail Club bar group, Craft Cocktail Co. bottled cocktails, and Keystones Cocktail Club.
Bea Bradsells – storyteller and daughter of Dick Bradsell – the Soho cocktail expert who created the Espresso Martini and the Bramble.
Richard Black, Global Marketing Director at Chivas Regal, comments: “Our 21 national winners have already amazed us with their tenacity and teamwork, but this year’s competition is fiercer than ever before. We have 21 of the world’s best bartenders coming together and we want them to show us that success really does taste better shared – by creating their own pop-up cocktail bar with their peers and fellow competitors. The finalists will not only need to impress our esteemed judges, they face the ultimate critic in the form of our consumers, with their high expectations, pushing the competition to a whole new level.”
The 2018 Chivas Masters Global Champion will be decided at the Oval Space, London, on the evening of Thursday 28th June, and will win an all-expenses-paid trip to Tales of the Cocktail 2018 in New Orleans, and the chance to travel the world with Chivas to inspire the bartenders of the future.
Follow the Finalists
Follow the finalists’ journey in the United Kingdom and tune in live throughout the Global Final from Sunday 24th June through our Instagram Stories: @chivasregal / www.instagram.com/chivasregal.
Meet the 2018 Chivas Masters Global Finalists
- Argentina –Martin Suaya from JW Bradley
- Australia – Louis Marcpherson from Baxter Inn
- Brazil – Alex Sepulchro from Frank Bar
- Bulgaria – German Gochev from The Martini: Food & Cocktails
- China – Michael Chen from The Cannery
- Cuba – Fabián Ramos from Restaurante Divino
- Czech Republic – Filip Jančárek from the Bankers Bar
- Dominican Republic – Julio Ruiz from Salitre Restaurante
- France – Louis Lebaillif from Little Red Door
- Hong Kong – Yuta Inagaki from Butler
- Japan – Kentaro Wada from The Ritz-Carlton Tokyo, The Bar
- Mexico – Oscar Jesus Armenta Garcia from Puebla
- Morocco – Houssam Bennani from The Hilton
- Peru – Angel Solorzano Chumpitaz from Felix Brasserie
- Poland – Bartosz Konieczny from Ceviche Bar
- Switzerland – Chloé Merz from Angels’ Share
- Thailand – Arron Grendon from Tropic City
- The Netherlands – Rick Marson from The Duchess
- The United Arab Emirates – Stefano Ruocco from Flamingo Room by Tashas
- United Kingdom – Alex Godfrey from The Milk Thisle
- USA – Valentino Longo from Le Sirenuse Four Seasons