All the candidates went on a rhumbullion rumpus, but only the lady came out Victorious! Photography by Geertrui Van Goethem It has been two or three years since we last judged the Saint James Cocktail Competition and one thing was very clear, even from the beginning, the level of this competition has risen dramatically. The…
Category: Cocktail Competitions
Observations from Diageo World Class 2018 Benelux Finals
Well, the first one is easy of course, David Lebeer won for Belgium! He’ll be representing Belgium on the Global Finals hosted this year in Berlin and we wanted to create a little buzz (pun intended) here. Didn’t get the pun? Well he has a thing going on with bees and with a surname which…
Gold Gin 999.9 Competition
In every aspect Gold Gin would be the perfect gin for a Bond villain. I mean take a look at that bottle, it utterly demands to be looked at, you can’t miss it, but at the same time you can’t read what’s on it. It’s complex and mysterious. Just like its origin story, listen to…
Saint James Rhum Cocktail Competition
Last week one of the cocktail competitions we judged was the Saint James Cocktail Competition. Fifteen candidates squared off against each other in the lovely ‘La Tricoterie’ in Brussels in the hope of winning one of the great prizes – amongst them one of the last bottles of Saint James 250 for Belgium. Saint James…
What really makes a Negroni, a Negroni?
Sometimes you really start wondering, seeing these countless and delicious variations and dedications. Quite a few people go very extreme in this, resulting in the unavoidable remark by someone: “is this still a Negroni?”. The question is, if not, what is then? The answer must be sought in its clouded and disputed origin… photographs by…
Jurgen Nobels became the fastest bartender on Earth at the Diageo World Class Global Finals
Although he didn’t make it to the final 6, Belgian bartender Jurgen Nobels managed to successfully impress the jury of the Diageo World Class Global Finals on several occasions with his excellent drinks, unbridled creativity and amazing speed. It heralds the start of a busy, but interesting year for Jurgen. Diego World Class is the…
Jurgen Nobels wins Diageo World Class Belgium 2015!
Wow! Ladies and gentlemen, what a match! If you think bartending is easy feel free to enlist next year in what is commonly known as ‘the Olympics of Bartending’ – Diageo World Class! After more than 10 hours of competing, Belgium finally has a candidate to send to the Global Finals in South Africa: Mr….
The 10 bartenders who made it to the Belgian finals of Diageo World Class 2015
After an intense two round preselection we finally selected 10 contestants who will compete against each other for the title of Best Belgian Bartender and only one of them will win a ticket to the World Finals of the most prestigious cocktail competition in the world which will take place in South Africa. Your’s truly…
Dogma Cocktails – Antwerp
Boozy Excitement Under The Cathedral’s Bell Tower It’s almost a year now that you can visit a new exquisite cocktail bar near Antwerp’s Cathedral. Head bartender and owner is Didier Van den Broeck who became third at Diageo World Class Belgium 2014. This guy is a hurricane, he manages two or three different conversations and…
Diageo World Class 2014 – 3 movies of Hannah Van Ongevalle’s Challenges
Shaking your way to the top 12 best bartenders of the world in less than 2 years is not an easy feat, especially not in a Competition like World Class. Hannah Van Ongevalle (The Pharmacy, Knokke, Belgium) did it, not to mention as 1 of the only 2 remaining women in the Top 12. Below…
