Who will be the Chivas Masters Global Champion 2018?

Chivas Regal has revealed the 21 national winners heading to the United Kingdom to compete to be crowned Chivas Masters Global Champion 2018.

For the first time, the Chivas Masters Global Final (taking place from 24th-28th June) will return to Chivas’ roots with the five-day finale starting at the Strathisla distillery in Speyside, the home of Chivas, before culminating in London, one of the most exciting and diverse cocktail capitals in the world.

The Chivas Masters is a global competition that champions bartenders who share Chivas’ core values of community, collaboration and generosity. It is built around the belief that generosity and success go hand in hand – a belief originally held by founding brothers John and James Chivas who were determined to share their success with the local community. Community is the theme at the very heart of this year’s competition, and the 21 finalists have already excelled in the national heats by producing some outstanding Chivas serves inspired by their local community.

With more bartenders competing in the global final than ever before, the contestants are facing the fiercest challenge yet, and will need to show both exemplary bartending skills and team spirit to impress the judges. Throughout the week, they will take part in a series of masterclasses and intense individual and team challenges designed to test their skills, creativity and teamwork.

They will then be shortlisted to three grand finalists who, in an exciting new twist, must win over the hearts and minds of consumers as well as the judges. As part of the final challenge, the bartenders will be tasked with establishing their own bespoke pop-up cocktail bar and menu, where they will be looking to excite the senses of their most important judge – the everyday public – with their local community-inspired signature cocktail.

The 21 finalists will be mentored over the course of the week by a distinguished panel of internationally-acclaimed judges, who hope to inspire the contestants with their own unique skill-set and experience. The panel comprises:

Matt Whiley – ground-breaking London bartender behind an impressive list of award-winning bars, including Purl, Worship Street Whistling Shop, Dach & Sons, Talented Mr Fox, Peg + Patriot, and Scout.
Laura-May Coope – social media superstar and co-founder of Social Life – the premium social media agency for entertainment brands.
JJ Goodman – globally recognised personality and thought-leader in the world of mixed drinks. Goodman is also the Founder of The London Cocktail Club bar group, Craft Cocktail Co. bottled cocktails, and Keystones Cocktail Club.
Bea Bradsells – storyteller and daughter of Dick Bradsell – the Soho cocktail expert who created the Espresso Martini and the Bramble.

Our 21 national winners have already amazed us with their tenacity and teamwork, but this year’s competition is fiercer than ever before. We have 21 of the world’s best bartenders coming together and we want them to show us that success really does taste better shared – by creating their own pop-up cocktail bar with their peers and fellow competitors.

The finalists will not only need to impress our esteemed judges, they face the ultimate critic in the form of our consumers, with their high expectations, pushing the competition to a whole new level.
– Richard Black: Global Marketing Director at Chivas Regal

The 2018 Chivas Masters Global Champion will be decided at the Oval Space, London, on the evening of Thursday 28th June, and will win an all-expenses-paid trip to Tales of the Cocktail 2018 in New Orleans, and the chance to travel the world with Chivas to inspire the bartenders of the future.

Follow the finalists’ journey in the United Kingdom and tune in live throughout the Global Final from Sunday 24th June through our Instagram Stories: @chivasregal

Meet the 2018 Chivas Masters Global Finalists:-

Argentina –Martin Suaya from JW Bradley
Australia – Louis Marcpherson from Baxter Inn
Brazil – Alex Sepulchro from Frank Bar
Bulgaria – German Gochev from The Martini: Food & Cocktails
China – Michael Chen from The Cannery
Cuba – Fabián Ramos from Restaurante Divino
Czech Republic – Filip Jancárek from the Bankers Bar
Dominican Republic – Julio Ruiz from Salitre Restaurante
France – Louis Lebaillif from Little Red Door
Hong Kong – Yuta Inagaki from Butler
Japan – Kentaro Wada from The Ritz-Carlton Tokyo, The Bar
Mexico – Oscar Jesus Armenta Garcia from Puebla
Morocco – Houssam Bennani from The Hilton
Peru – Angel Solorzano Chumpitaz from Felix Brasserie
Poland – Bartosz Konieczny from Ceviche Bar
Switzerland – Chloé Merz from Angels’ Share
Thailand – Arron Grendon from Tropic City
The Netherlands – Rick Marson from The Duchess
The United Arab Emirates – Stefano Ruocco from Flamingo Room by Tashas
United Kingdom – Alex Godfrey from The Milk Thisle
USA – Valentino Longo from Le Sirenuse Four Seasons

Chivas Masters 2016 – Shanghai skyline

Chivas Regal has started the search for the 2016 Global Chivas Master, where competitors this year will be judged not only on their bartending abilities but also on their demonstration of Chivas’ values of brotherhood and generosity. This month sees national heats start around the world, which will for the first time culminate with the grand final in Shanghai in July 2016, celebrating success through teamwork, collaboration and mentorship.

This year’s Chivas Master – Josh Reynolds from Hawksmoor Spitalfields

The national stages will challenge entrants to recreate Chivas Regal’s journey across the globe. Taking inspiration from the classic cocktails of New York to the booming bars of Shanghai, via their local cocktail scene, entrants will be asked to create three drinks that enhance Chivas Regal’s smooth, generous style and epitomise its international appeal in order to reach the grand final.

The most talented competitor from each market will then be invited to spend five immersive days in Shanghai at the Chivas Masters Global Final, where they will undertake a number of key challenges following workshops from the industry’s best. Throughout five days of challenges and inspirational masterclasses, competitors will be judged on their bartending talent and ability to lead, mentor and inspire a team by a distinguished panel of industry experts.

Collaboration will be rewarded this year by granting a winning team at the Global Final a once in a lifetime trip to The Tales of the Cocktail 2016 in New Orleans to learn from some of the industry’s most renowned bartenders. A further prize will be awarded to the 2016 Global Chivas Master, who will earn a bespoke trip to one of the world’s most iconic bars in a city of their choice to create a signature Chivas cocktail as their lasting contribution to the global competition.

Mentorship and collaboration are traits found at the heart of the bartending industry. We want to celebrate this spirit of camaraderie through the Chivas Masters 2016 competition by encouraging entrants to celebrate success with their peers. We will be looking for competitors who are able to demonstrate a true spirit of leadership as well as excellent bartending talent.
– Max Warner: International Brand Ambassador for Chivas Regal

Bartenders with the ambition to become the next Chivas Master are encouraged to get in touch with their local market Pernod Ricard representative for details on how to enter.

The Chivas Masters cocktail competition returns in 2015!

Chivas Regal is once again selecting the world’s top bartenders to take part in this year’s Chivas Masters competition. Developed to celebrate innovation, camaraderie and the craftsmanship at the heart of mixology the competition will see global finalists compete to become the 2015 Chivas Master.

Following the success of the inaugural competition in 2014, Hong Kong will be the first of 12 countries to hold national finals, before the competition culminates in a two-day grand final in New York City in July which will be judged by a distinguished panel of leading bartenders and industry experts. To become the Chivas Master, competitors will need to demonstrate their knowledge of cocktail heritage, mastery of the art of presenting and making great drinks to produce their own classic serve.

As well as putting the industry’s best bartenders onto the world stage, the competition enables competitors to explore cocktail history through Chivas Regal’s rich heritage. Finalists will be challenged to create classic drinks from four of the great cocktail eras – the Classic Age (1880-1920) in which Chivas Regal was created; the Post War Boom (1945-1965) during which time Chivas 12 was introduced; the Disco Years (1975-1990) when Scotch whisky became a truly global brand, and the present modern Age of Revivalism, as Chivas continues to build its reputation as an icon of timeless luxury and exceptional quality.

A unique prize waits for the global 2015 Chivas Master, as they will have the opportunity to work in three iconic bars, in three iconic cities to create three iconic signature drinks. The Chivas Master will be taken on an extraordinary experience where they will work alongside some of the most influential bartenders around the world to collaborate on the creation of a series of signature drinks.

Max Warner, International Brand Ambassador for Chivas Regal said, “Last year’s Chivas Masters surpassed all expectations, and we were thrilled to see what was achieved by finalists when placed under competition pressure. We are very excited to again to be engaging with the top bartenders in the world and celebrating this amazing industry we are all a part of.”

Over the next few months, national heats will play out around the world as bartenders compete in countries such as China, France, Russia and the United States. Only one competitor from each market will be selected to travel to New York to take part in the grand final in July.

(L-R) Dave Arnold with winner Masahiro Urushido and Max Warner,
Chivas Global Brand Ambassador

American bartender, Masahiro Urushido, has been revealed as Chivas Regal’s first ever Chivas Master, winning the iconic whisky brand’s inaugural bartender competition in style at the NoMad hotel in New York (15th July 2014).

During the national heats, competitors were tasked with creating a new classic cocktail that would stand the test of time – just as Chivas does – inspired by one of the four great cocktail eras; the Classic Age (1880-1920) which saw the birth of Chivas Regal; the Post War Boom (1945-1965) during which time, Chivas 12 was introduced; the Disco Years (1975-1990) which saw the brand become a truly global icon, and the present modern Age of Revivalism.

Masahiro said: “It’s an honour to be chosen as the first Chivas Master.
As a bartender, I am well aware of the long heritage of Chivas so immersing myself into the history of cocktails to create a drink that can stand the test of time has been very inspirational.

I am excited to share this experience with my fellow bartenders and to introduce my The New Pal cocktail to my customers in New York.
I hope that it encourages other bartenders around the world to create new Chivas cocktails inspired by the great classics”.

Max Warner, Global Brand Ambassador for Chivas Regal, commented: “From Australia to Israel, Chile to China, there was talent from all over the world involved in the competition and we are very excited with the success of the inaugural Chivas Masters.

The global cocktail scene is seeing a growing interest in classic-inspired modern cocktails and, as a brand proud to be nurturing the bartending community, we look forward to continuing to inspire the on-trade to create great cocktails steeped in heritage, such as the one created by the very talented Masahiro Urushido.”

All competitors who took part in the final are now to conclude their trip with a visit to the world’s premier cocktail festival ‘Tales of the Cocktail’ in New Orleans, where Chivas is sponsoring the Best American/International Cocktail Bar at the Spirited Awards.