Kenya’s best bartenders will be whipping-up their best cocktails tomorrow (17th of May) at the Diageo Reserve World Class Bartender of the Year Kenyan Final.

Held at Villa Rosa Kempinski, the annual competition, which is recognized internationally as a mark of distinction for mixology, will see the 2016 Kenyan Bartender of the Year represent the country against 59 nations at the Global Finals.

Held in Miami this coming September, the Global Finals will see Michito Kaneko, the winner of World Class 2015 after a hard-fought Global Final in Cape Town, South Africa, award the new Diageo Reserve World Class Bartender of the Year.

Seen as the world championships of mixology, the Diageo Reserve World Class Global Final will see competitors push the boundaries of contemporary and experiential cocktail culture throughout the grueling competition through skill, ingenuity, and perseverance.

For the national final in Kenya, seven finalists will take on four challenges in a round robin affair. From the crowd-favourite Against the Clock challenge where finalists will have ten minutes to make up to eight drinks, to a cocktail journey where they will create two cocktails (one inspired by Kenya and one by USA) to a task that showcases the natural rhythms of life from night to day, and finally to my favourite, the Street-Food Jam where the bartenders will create cocktails inspired by Kenyan cuisine – the bartenders will be going shaker to shaker.

The 2016 Kenyan finalists are:

Keith Mutuse – Hemmingways
Joan Samia – Artcaffe
Benu Kundra – Brew Bistro
Wilberforce Ochanda – Juniper Social
Yeri Randu – Sankara Nairobi
Redempta Muluka
Perminus Waiharo – Dusit d2 Nairobi

Good luck competitors!