Singapore announces final World Class four

After six months and four gruelling rounds of competitions, Diageo has revealed the four finalists from Singapore who will go on to compete in the regional finals in Bali and win the title of Southeast Asia Bartender of the Year.

Sin Kim Shin, Boo Jing Heng, Tom Hogan and Kino Soh celebrating their win with World Class judges Jason Crawley, director of The Drink Cabinet and Will Thompson, global brand ambassador for Don Julio Tequila.

The four hopefuls – Kino Soh, Tom Hogan, Sin Kim Shin and Boo Jing Heng – emerged from the original 36 contenders and competed in a series of tough challenges set to test each bartender’s “knowledge, craftsmanship and creativity.”

“Diageo Reserve World Class is not just a prestigious accolade but it also represents a life changing journey for any bartender,” said Fabricio Marques, Diageo Reserve’s brand development manager for Asia Pacific.

“The competition element challenges bartenders to push their limits, leave their comfort zones and think outside the box. But at the core of the programme is the valuable opportunity to be mentored and trained by some of the world’s best. At the end of the day, it is our mission to help the world drink better.”

All four bartenders served up 38 creations between them, set to the theme of ‘Retro, Disco, Future’ in a test against the clock.

“The calibre of talent I’ve seen here has surpassed every expectation I could imagine. The finalists triumphed over very tough competition and everyone should feel proud of what they’ve achieved and collectively, we should be proud too as they are the finest examples of the ground-breaking creativity our industry is capable of,” said Jason Crawley, World Class judge and director of drinks agency, The Drink Cabinet.

The Diageo Southeast Asia World Class Finals 2016 which represents Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam will take place in Bali from 31 May-2 June with the winner going on to compete in the global finals in Miami this September.

Hong Kong and Macau recently revealed their top World Class 12 finalists and the final six will be announced via the drinks business HK very soon.