Cape Town named World Cocktail Capital for 2015.
Posted on September 14, 2015 by barryturbotalk
Cape Town –
Cape Town's status as the World Cocktail Capital has been set as
South Africa prepares to welcome 55 of the most talented bartenders
in the world for the WORLD CLASS Bartender of the Year competition.
Taking place from August 31 to September 4 in Johannesburg and Cape
Town, this year's event is the biggest WORLD CLASS competition
yet, with bartenders from over 50 countries including more female
contestants than ever before competing to be crowned the best
bartender in the world.
Diageo Reserve, in partnership with the City of Cape Town, said in
a statement the landmark week on the luxury calendar will be
attended by hundreds of industry experts and media representatives
from around the world – boosting SA international representation
and attention considerably.
"Over 28 million people in 123 countries have watched the TV show
documenting the WORLD CLASS Bartender of the Year competition in
London last year."
Cape Town's designation as World Cocktail Capital follows on the
citys status as World Design Capital 2014
and we're looking forward to hosting talented bartenders from
around the world, showcasing Cape Town's commitment to innovation,
cutting-edge trends and global events, said Garreth Bloor, Cape
Town's mayoral committee member for tourism, events and marketing.
The event, now in its seventh year, is the biggest and most
prestigious mixology event in the world, providing a platform to
celebrate the creme de la creme of the world's bartenders, those
who will set industry trends and standards at the world's best bars
while elevating the craft and building the luxury drinking industry
around the world.
"We are pleased to be a part of the WORLD CLASS Bartender of the
Year Global Final taking place in Cape Town.
It's a perfect complement to our efforts to make Cape Town the
premier events and tourism capital of Africa.
The international exposure around the city and South Africa is
going to be phenomenal. The whole world will see what Cape Town
has to offer, said Enver Duminy, chief executive officer of Cape
Town Tourism.
WORLD CLASS is to cocktails and bars, synonymous with the Michelin
Star status for food and restaurant, sees Domenico de Lorenzo, of
Molecular Bars in Johannesburg, competing as South Africa's
champion and representative at the Global Finals.
De Lorenzo recently spent four days at a mixology boot camp in
Turkey to prepare to take on 55 of the most skilled cocktail makers
WORLD CLASS is a global celebration of the bartender's craft. The
competition has travelled to Athens, New Delhi, Rio de Janeiro and
London, with the 2013 finals taking to the open seas on a
Mediterranean cruise ship. Now WORLD CLASS is coming to Africa for
the first time, to one of its most beautiful countries, South
Africa. Against such a backdrop, there is no doubt this is going to
be one of the most stunning and successful competitions in WORLD
CLASS history, says Johanna Dalley, global director for WORLD
Launched in 2009, WORLD CLASS has inspired more than 35,000
bartenders, representing more than 10,000 bars and restaurants
worldwide. The number of countries participating in the competition
has nearly tripled between 2009 and 2015, from 18 to 53.