Japan’s Kaneko named ‘world’s best bartender’

The manager and sole bartender of The Lamp Bar in south Kyoto, Michito Kaneko won last week’s Diageo World Class Global Bartender competition, beating 54 others in the final in Cape Town.

Kaneko with his fellow top six finalists celebrating in Cape Town

Alongside UK winner, Ali Reynolds of the Hawksmoor in London, Kaneko was one of six bartenders who made it through to the final last week to take on the challenge of building their own pop up bar “that reflected their personality and bartending style.”

For the past three years Kaneko has run his own bar, The Lamp Bar in Nara, south of Kyoto where he is the manager and sole bartender. He gave up his job as a construction worker to become a bartender 13 years ago, he said.

His winning entry was inspired by his own name. Michito means “Man on the Road”, so he incorporated the iconic “Striding Man of Johnnie Walker” into his bar’s theme, “The Travelling Bar Man”. The installation was covered in maps and treasure chests, and Kaneko “took visitors on a journey from Scotland to France to Japan with his creations.”

Spike Marchant, World Class judge and global brand ambassador, said: “Michito produced some wonderful performances throughout this year’s World Class. As a bartending personality he was the personification of Japanese hospitality with an engaging spark of gentle humour and whimsy.

“His cocktails across all the challenges were subtle, harmonious, and impeccably calibrated. He is a complete professional and produced a sustained level of excellence throughout the competition.”

The other top six entrants were; Jack Sotti of Australia, Viteslav Cirok of the Czech Republic, Alistair Reynolds of the UK, Manolis Lykiardopoulos of Greece and Ariel Leizgold of Israel.

Hong Kong’s Antonio Lai from Quinary also came a respectable eighth where he commented: “My journey at World Class has completed tonight. Thank you, Diageo Reserve World Class for the experience of a lifetime. It has been an honour to meet the finest bartenders from across the globe. Loaded with unforgettable memories from both old and new friendships at this years amazing event. Top eight is more than I could wish for. A lucky number to add on my CV!”