HALIFAX — Canada’s top bartenders and cocktail enthusiasts recently attended Diageo’s annual WORLD CLASS Canada Bartender of the Year competition in Halifax. After demonstrating their bartending expertise in seven unique challenges across a three-day competition, Keegan McGregor from The Highwayman in Halifax took home the honourable title of WORLD CLASS Canada Bartender 2024.
The competition challenges are crafted to showcase the five key characteristics it takes to be a WORLD CLASS bartender, including hosting, craft, flavour analysis, knowledge and WORLD CLASS advocacy.
Following this win, McGregor will represent Canada at the Diageo WORLD CLASS GLOBAL competition in Shanghai, China from Sept. 9 to 13, 2024.
“This has truly been a deadly week and I’m deeply humbled and honoured to take home the title of WORLD CLASS Canada Bartender of 2024,” says McGregor. “This competition and the other nine competitors from across Canada have pushed my creativity, hospitality style and bartending craft further than I would’ve expected and I’m excited to represent Canada on a global stage in Shanghai.”
“This year, we’re celebrating 15 years of WORLD CLASS, a place where we immerse ourselves in cocktail culture and top-tier hospitality. Every year, we bring together the most talented bartenders and I’m always pleased by our industry’s extraordinary creativity and unparalleled sense of community,” says Michael Armistead, Diageo Canada’s National Reserve and Sponsorship manager. “We’re thrilled to celebrate with Keegan McGregor, our 2024 winner. He deeply impressed our panel of esteemed judges, pulling inspiration from his surroundings, as well as his high-quality hospitality and technical bartending skills. We’re excited to see how he approaches the competition in Shanghai this September at the global final.”
