After reporting a couple of local finales of the biggest cocktail competition on earth, Diageo World Class, I got to travel to Berlin to be part of the official media team that covers the global finals of ‘the big circus‘ for a full week.
The Diageo World Class cocktail competition is a prestigious annual event that gathers the world’s top bartenders to showcase their creativity, skill, and knowledge of mixology. Bartenders from around the globe compete in regional and national heats, with the winners advancing to the global finals. Throughout the competition, participants are challenged to create innovative cocktails using a wide range of spirits from the Diageo portfolio, demonstrating their mastery of flavor combinations, presentation, and storytelling.
After having to decline an invitiation to the Global Finals in Johannesberg (South Africa) due to a busy work schedule, and remotely covering the Global Finals in Miami and Mexico-City, I finally managed to be there for the Global Finals in Berlin.
I was one of only two journalists present, writing for a Belgian newspaper and website of a media company. But in total 200 journalists from +60 countries were present in Berlin to cover the event. When they described it as a big circus, they weren’t lying!
Ghent Bartender David Lebeer (Piu di Piu) was sent as winner from Belgium. He did great, but unfortunately didn’t win the global finals. The Australian bartender with Italian Roots, Orlando Marzo, was crowned as global winner.
