Jacob Martin Crowned World Class Canada Bartender of the Year

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Jacob Martin Crowned World Class Canada Bartender

TORONTO — WORLD CLASS CANADA has crowned Jacob Martin from Toronto’s Bar Banane as the World Class Canada Bartender of the Year 2023.

After demonstrating his bartending prowess in seven unique challenges across a three-day competition hosted at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, Martin proved that his style of hospitality set him apart, edging out nine other top bartenders from across the country. He will go on to represent Canada at the WORLD CLASS Global competition in Sao Paulo, Brazil in September 2023.

Diageo’s WORLD CLASS challenges are crafted to showcase the five key characteristics it takes to be a World Class bartender: hosting, craft, flavour analysis, knowledge and World Class advocacy. With each challenge, judges are not just looking for a beautiful cocktail, but also a meaningful display of storytelling that embodies these five pillars.

Each challenge requires the use of specific spirits in the Diageo portfolio and are designed to showcase different skills in a bartender’s toolkit. Some of this year’s activities included a Johnnie Walker storytelling challenge to showcase knowledge, presentation and most importantly, highlight the bartender’s storytelling abilities. There was also a Don Julio Tequila Mystery challenge that tested time management and budgeting as if they were a bar manager creating a new cocktail menu. Only four contenders advanced to the seventh and final challenge, which was a speed round where they crafted eight classic cocktails and two wild cards in honour of WORLD CLASS CANADA’S 10th anniversary.

This year’s competition was judged by a panel of past WORLD CLASS CANADA winners, including Massimo Zitti (2022) and global winners James Grant (2021) and Kaitlyn Stewart (2017). The panel also featured special guest judges Tim Philips-Johansson, Johnnie Walker’s global ambassador; Dennis Tamse, Ketel One’s global distillery ambassador and Global World Class Winner 2012; and Lynnette Marrero, craft cocktail pioneer and founder of Speedtrack.

“To represent the Canadian bartending community and be amongst such innovative and respected bartenders is such an honour; winning the title is just the cherry on top,” says Martin. “It’s incredibly rewarding to see the time, dedication and determination of a competition of this nature take pay off and I’m excited to push my creativity even further on the global stage this September.”

“Diageo WORLD CLASS is designed to evolve the craft of bartending while creating unforgettable experiences in the process and after nine successful years, it’s an honour to be celebrating our 10th anniversary of WORLD CLASS CANADA in partnership with Vancouver Cocktail Week,” says Michael Armistead, Diageo Canada’s national reserve and sponsorship manager. “Congratulations to Jacob on your well-deserved success. Jacob’s approach to hospitality and outstanding technical skill impressed the judges throughout the competition and we look forward to working closely with him to prepare him for the Global Final taking place in Sao Paulo this September.”

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