Vladimir Reitenbakh, Josh Black and Rohan Matmary are the winners of this year’s Jameson Black Barrel Bartender Series 2024 competition.
The final was held at Jameson Hosts Global Summit this week (3 September), with 10 bartenders battling it out in front of more than 100 industry guests.
Judges included bartenders Danil Nevsky, Priyanka Blah and Ethan Liu, alongside spirits experts Remy Savage, Anna Sebastian and Midleton Distillery master blender Dave McCabe.
For the first time in the competition’s history, cocktails were prepared, presented and voted for anonymously to ensure a fair judging process.
Each of the three winners took home a cash prize of €5,000 (US$5,550) and will be given access to the first Jameson Hosts mentorship programme, where industry experts will mentor participants in a series of face-to-face and virtual sessions. Topics will include building and operating a successful bar business, social media brand building and ideating a bar concept and menu.
The 10 finalists represented four continents, with their cocktails featuring Jameson Black Barrel as well as regional ingredients, including fermented mare’s milk from Kazakhstan and Zambian Mabuyu fruit.
Matmary’s entry, Day & Night, was inspired by his native Malaysia’s breakfast culture, featuring local coffee and cacao and riffing on kaya toast, a dish of buttered toast with coconut jam.
He said: “The competition was amazing – very well divided in two parts. The first part was very visual on one hand; on the other hand, when we came to Ireland, it was not about how your cocktail looked but how it tasted. The competition tested both sides of being a bartender really well.
“Overall being at the distillery and seeing what Jameson does with whiskey is great. Winning means a lot, I am probably one of the only global Indian champions in the bartending community.”
Hailing from Cbón bar in Kazakhstan, Reitenbakh mixed fermented mare’s milk, aged camel milk and Navat grape sugar for the ‘Nomad’ cocktail, stating: “The competition process was very transparent, and I enjoyed how there was a blind tasting and a visual part with an in-person tasting. The community aspect of having bartenders together from all parts of the world was very cool, and the education element has been important also.”
The final winner, Josh Black from Dram bar in London, created a cocktail called ‘Paint it Black’, which paired Jameson Black Barrel with British raspberries, cream soda and black tea.
He said: “The brief had a lot of scope for being creative. I partnered with a friend who’s a photographer and videographer to bring the dream to life. It is a big competition and it’s great for me to be in my home country and win at a global scale with friends and industry mentors. The event has been sensational, the community vibes are great, and it’s been a lot of fun.”
The remaining finalists were: Melanie Hack from Whisky & Alement, Melbourne, Australia; Borty Jessika from Bali Boozy Kitchen and Bar, Bali, Indonesia; Yu Kajitani from Daruma, Dublin, Ireland; Andrea Marseglia from Teresa Cocktail Bar, Napier, New Zealand; Linus Schwaerzler from Süd Bar, St Gallen, Switzerland; Parbun Bunragsatrakul from Ray Cocktail and Bite, Thailand; and Natasha Sinkala from The Chic Bar, Zambia.
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Author: Lauren Bowes
