23 Jul Cruising with Diageo World Class at Tales of the Cocktail 2013

Every year the United States Bartenders’ Guild and DIAGEO host the yearlong cocktail education program World Class U.S. Over the past 5 years, more than 11,000 bartenders from 50 countries have participated. And each year one bartender is named the “DIAGEO Reserve World Class Bartender of the Year.” At Tales of the Cocktail this year, Diageo World Class U.S. took us on a cocktail journey through the Mediterranean. Concoctions were mixed up by World Class finalists and their bartender mentors. As this year’s global final took place along the French Riviera, each room featured cocktails from a different tropical local: South Pacific, Mediterranean, Indian Ocean/East China Sea, Caribbean and Mexico/Central America. With 33 bartenders, there were 33 cocktails to taste……so the journey began. We started in the back of the book and worked our way from room to room, tasting each cocktail and collecting stamps along the way.     To be honest, after trying 33 cocktails, it’s a challenge to remember each one. But, all in all, lots of tasty concoctions from some of the top bartending talent in the US and abroad!