Tim Philips, Hemesphere, Australia hailed industry's newest mixology talent
Following a week of mixology trends unveiled, red carpet events and a showcase of the industry’s brightest stars, Tim Philips, Hemmesphere, Australia was crowned DIAGEO RESERVE WORLD CLASS Bartender of the Year 2012, rising above 50 other finalists to win the most prestigious accolade of the industry.
Philips captivated judges with his winning signature serve, a twisted chic cocktail: Hot Toddy Australia made with JOHNNIE WALKER®GOLD LABEL RESERVE™ Blended Scotch Whisky, honey, cinnamon quill, ginger and innovative technique.
Following in the footsteps of mixology giants Manabu Ohtake, Erik Lorincz and Aristotelis Papadopoulos, he displayed exceptional style and technique, truly showing the artisanship of his craft and a talent beyond his 28 years. Hailing from Hemmesphere cocktail bar in Sydney, Australia, Philips’ brilliant creative vision, passion and commanding presence behind the bar personifies the relenting standards, showmanship and professionalism that success in the industry demands.
Over the past year, contenders from the most esteemed bars around the world have competed in local and regional heats, each aspiring to attain a coveted place at the Diageo Reserve WORLD CLASS Global Final in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, an internationally renowned highlight in the luxury calendar.
Just 50 from over 15,000 hopefuls were selected to showcase their creations in front of some of the most revered names in the industry - Salvatore Calabrese, Dale de Groff, Peter Dorelli, Gary Regan, Daniel Estremadoyro, Hidetsugu Ueno, Arturo Savage, Steve Olson and Aristotelis Papadopoulos.
DIAGEO RESERVE WORLD CLASS Bartender of the Year 2012, TIM PHILIPS said: “I am thrilled and humbled to be awarded Diageo Reserve WORLD CLASS Bartender of the Year amongst all the exceptional talent I was competing alongside this week. Diageo Reserve WORLD CLASS is taking bartending from a humble trade to a profession. If I can be an ambassador for that, it’s a dream come true. I have been inspired this week by the high standards and limitless talent and look forward to the year ahead, travelling the world, meeting my peers and continuing to create experiences through my creations that immerse customers in another world.”
Congratulating the winner of the fourth global Diageo Reserve WORLD CLASS Bartender of the Year, Rudy Paoli, Managing Director GLOBAL RESERVE said: “Tim is the epitome of a Diageo Reserve WORLD CLASS bartender and this prestigious accolade will set him on a life changing journey. He will become a recognized industry name and travel the world as a Diageo Reserve WORLD CLASS Ambassador, championing the art and craft of the bartender by educating and inspiring new talent, participating in international high-profile events and transforming fine drinking and cocktail culture.
Diageo Reserve WORLD CLASS judge Ueno Hidetsugu commented: “To succeed within Diageo Reserve WORLD CLASS you must possess boundless creativity, precision, a sense of showmanship and an innate ability to connect with the customer. Each year I am astounded and inspired by the level of talent, skill and innovation that the participants bring to the Global Final Week. Tim blew me away with his ingenuity, vision, and insightful interpretation of the Retro Chic trend and is an ideal ambassador for our profession.”
Philips will become a recognized industry name and a global ambassador for Diageo Reserve WORLD CLASS, travelling the world, educating and inspiring new talent while widening his own knowledge, honing his skills and techniques along the way.
Challenges at the Global Final required bartenders to explore fast growing industry trends, with a particular focus on Retro Chic, a global luxury trend encapsulating the glamour and simplicity of the golden era of 50s and 60s. Retro Chic has infused the Maisons of fashion, design, art and stylized TV shows and was expressed throughout the 2012 Global Final Mixology Challenges giving rise to the latest most inspiring new serves.
The sophisticated and elegant Retro Chic inspired cocktails created during the Diageo Reserve WORLD CLASS Global Final used the finest spirits from the Diageo Reserve luxury collection – KETEL ONE® vodka, CÎROC® vodka, TANQUERAY® No.TEN™ gin, TANQUERAY® gin, DON JULIO® tequila, ZACAPA® rum and JOHNNIE WALKER® GOLD LABEL RESERVE™ Blended Scotch Whisky and JOHNNIE WALKER® BLUE LABEL™ Blended Scotch Whisky.
Follow the competition on Facebook at the ‘Global WORLD CLASS Finals’ page
www.facebook.com/GlobalWorldClassFinals. For live updates on Twitter follow @WorldClassLive and join the conversation with #WCRio; or, follow our boards at pinterest.com/WCSociety for our top selection of luxury photos from the 2012 finals.
-ENDS-
THE DIAGEO RESERVE WORLD CLASS 2012 GLOBAL WINNER
GLOBAL DIAGEO RESERVE WORLD CLASS BARTENDER OF THE YEAR 2012: TIM PHILIPS, HEMMESPHERE, AUSTRALIA
THE DIAGEO RESERVE WORLD CLASS 2012 REGIONAL WINNERS
ASIA PACIFIC DIAGEO RESERVE WORLD CLASS BARTENDER OF THE YEAR 2012: KAE YIN, MARSALIS, TAIWAN
LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN DIAGEO RESERVE WORLD CLASS BARTENDER OF THE YEAR 2012: STEPHON SCOTT, TRINIDAD, ON DECK PUB, TRADEWINDS HOTEL
WESTERN EUROPEAN DIAGEO RESERVE WORLD CLASS BARTENDER OF THE YEAR 2012: FJALAR GOUD, VESPER BAR, NETHERLANDS
REST OF THE WORLD [UAE, USA, RUSSIA] DIAGEO RESERVE WORLD CLASS BARTENDER OF THE YEAR 2012: JIMMY BARRAT, ZUMA, UAE
THE DIAGEO RESERVE WORLD CLASS 2012 FINAL CHALLENGE WINNERS
TROPICAL JOURNEY
JIMMY BARRAT, ZUMA, UAE
Judged by: Aristotelis Papadopoulos, Daniel Estremadoyro
In the Tropical Journey challenge, bartenders were asked to create two cocktails inspired by the flamboyant and fun, or cool and sophisticated cocktails that were born in the tropics.
HOLLYWOOD, BOLLYWOOD, HONG-KONG
GIUSEPPE SANTAMARIA, OHLA BOUTIQUE BAR, SPAIN
Judged by: Peter Dorelli, Steve Olson
Bartenders were asked to show one signature cocktail and a signature bottle serve using either JOHNNIE WALKER® BLUE LABEL™ Blended Scotch Whisky or ZACAPA® 23 rum as a way of introducing theatre and ritual to the serving of a product.
COCKTAIL MASTERY
OLIVIER JACOBS, JIGGER’S, BELGIUM
Judged by: Gary Regan, Ueno Hidetsugu
Cocktail Mastery tests the bartender’s knowledge of spirits and cocktails with a written and practical test. Following they were asked to make a ‘Fancy’ and ‘Classic’ cocktail from the Diageo Reserve spirit of their choosing.
RETRO CHIC – CLASSIC AND VINTAGE
VARIA DELLALIAN, MOMO AT THE SOUKS, LEBANON
Judged by: Salvatore Calabrese, Arturo Savage
Bartenders created two cocktails from a home bar set-up: one ‘Classic Chic,’ based on a list of 16 classic cocktails and one ‘Twisted Chic’ which was their own interpretation of a classic cocktail.
FOOD MATCHING
ANDY MIL, LONDON COCKTAIL CLUB, UK
Judged by: Steve Olson, Ueno Hidetsugu, Arturo Savage, Peter Dorelli
This challenge presents bartenders with the task of creating a pair of cocktails to match their choice of Latin American dishes.
RIO STREET MARKET
DENNIS ZOPPI, SMILE TREE, ITALY
Judged by: Daniel Estremadoyro, Gary Regan, Salvatore Calabrese, Ueno Hidetsugu
Rio Street Market challenges competitors to create two contrasting cocktails from the extraordinary and unusual fruits of Brazil, directly from the Diageo Reserve WORLD CLASS ‘market.’
COCKTAILS AGAINST THE CLOCK
SHIGEKI YOSHIDA, CERULEAN TOWER TOYKU HOTEL, JAPAN
Judged by: Ueno Hidetsugu, Gary Regan, Salvatore Calabrese, Daniel Estremadoyro
In this challenge, bartenders are given eight minutes to make up to six cocktails of their choice expressing their free-style ingenuity, showmanship and ability to work under pressure.
SIGNATURE SPECIALS
KAE YIN, MARSALIS, TAIWAN
Judged by: Gary Regan, Salvatore Calabrese, Daniel Estremadoyro, Steve Olson, Ueno Hidetsugu, Arturo Savage, Peter Dorelli, Aristotelis Papadopoulos
During this one hour challenge, each bartender will have the opportunity to show off a signature cocktail that really demonstrates their range of skills for the judges and a small invited audience.
For information about Diageo Reserve WORLD CLASS please contact:
Rachel Chan
Brand PR Manager, Diageo Reserve
+65 9618 5320
rachel.chan@diageo.com
Joanna Good
Neville McCarthy Associates
+44 (0) 207 940 2900
joanna@nevillemccarthy.com
ABOUT DIAGEO
Diageo is the world's leading premium drinks business with an outstanding collection of beverage alcohol brands across spirits, wines and beer categories. These brands include Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, JεB, Buchanan’s, Windsor and Bushmills whiskies, Smirnoff, Cîroc and Ketel One vodkas, Baileys, Captain Morgan, Jose Cuervo, 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 and its brands, visit www.diageo.com. For Diageo’s global resource that promotes responsible drinking through the sharing of best practice tools, information and initiatives, visit www.DRINKiQ.com.
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ABOUT DIAGEO RESERVE WORLD CLASS
Diageo Reserve WORLD CLASS is transforming fine drinking experiences and cocktail culture around the world and in the home. The industry’s largest, most credible investment in the luxury on trade, it discovers the next generation of bartending talent who set the latest mixology trends and bring these to the best bars worldwide. At the core is an outstanding, global training programme and internationally recognized platform that elevates the craft of the bartender and builds careers in the industry culminating in an annual luxury landmark week where the Diageo Reserve WORLD CLASS Bartender of the Year is announced. Launched in 2009, over 15,000 bartenders have been inspired and educated in the craft of mixology using the finest spirits in the Diageo Reserve collection.
A partnership and collaboration with gurus, media, partners and owners, Diageo Reserve WORLD CLASS is widely recognized as a mark of sophistication and distinction of international fine drinking culture by bartenders and customers alike.
As an extension of the Diageo Reserve WORLD CLASS training programme, in 2011 Diageo launched the Diageo Bar Academy in Asia Pacific, the region’s largest bartending course accredited by the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET), which has trained 10,000 bartenders to date.
For more information on WORLD CLASS, please visit the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/GlobalWorldClassFinals.
