Melbourne bartender Mel Hack is one of the ten global finalists in the annual Jameson Black Barrel Bartender Series 2024 competition.
Jameson, the world’s most shared and most awarded Irish whiskey, is delighted to announce the Top 10 Finalists of the annual Jameson Black Barrel Bartender Series 2024 competition.
Winning €500 each and a once-in-a-lifetime 3-day, all-expenses-paid trip to Ireland* to attend the Jameson HOSTS Global Summit, the Regional Winners, announced last week, were judged based on how their entry championed their local cultures and communities, in addition to how they have created a unique, regionally inspired cocktail using Jameson Black Barrel.
Inspired by their local bar culture, this year’s cocktail entries employed extraordinary regional ingredients from across the globe, including Zambia’s Mabuyu Fruit, Kazakhstan’s Kumiss (fermented mare’s milk drink), Bali’s Mangosteen, Bulgaria’s Smyliyan Beans, Thai Macapuno coconut and even fallen leaves from a tree in New Zealand. Winning efforts also drew inspiration from their local food culture and trends, such as Australia’s Vanilla Slice, Wales’ Welsh Cakes, Swiss Chocolate and Malaysia’s Kaya Toast.
Each of the Final 10 will compete in the Grand Final at the Jameson HOSTS Global Summit in September to secure one of three ‘Global Champion’ titles.
The final 10, hand selected from the Regional Winners by global judges Danil Nevsky [Indie Bartender, Spain], Priyanka Blah [The Dram Attic, India] and Ethan Liu [CMYK, China] are: Melanie Hack from Australia, Borty Jessika from Indonesia, Yu Kajitani from Ireland, Vladimir Reitenbakh from Kazakhstan, Rohan Matmary from Malaysia, Andrea Maseglia from New Zealand, Linus Schwaerzler from Switzerland, Parbun Bunragsatrakul from Thailand, Josh Black from the U.K and Natasha Sinkala from Zambia.
Each of the Final 10 will compete in the Grand Final at the Jameson HOSTS Global Summit in September to secure one of three ‘Global Champion’ titles. The final will be judged by a live taste test of their cocktails, which will be anonymously evaluated by 100+ global bar community members, including the rest of the Regional Winners in a unique peer-judging process.
The final three Global Champions will win an additional €5000 each and gain access to the first-ever Jameson Black Barrel Bartender Series mentorship programme. Comprising one on one in-person and virtual sessions, the new for 2024 mentorship programme will allow each individual winner unique access to industry giants such as hospitality consultant Danil Nevsky, bar owners Ezra Star and Beckaly Franks, and summit curator Remy Savage, to discuss topics from brand building to social media strategy and team culture development.
Mentorship Programme
The Jameson Black Barrel Bartender Series mentorship program, aims to provide guidance and support to aspiring bar professionals seeking to enhance their skills and knowledge in brand building, social media strategy, content creation, bar operations, and team culture development.
Industry giant Remy Savage will discuss brand building and creative identity, sharing his expertise in building bars and his experience, working with each winner to define a bar project and brand, discuss venue concept and ideate a menu.
Social media trailblazer Danil Nevsky will utilise his expertise to discuss how winners can build their personal brand, develop a social media strategy and how to lead the game in content creation, creating high engagement and build a distinctive online presence.
Finally, power couple Ezra Star and Beckaly Franks will jointly focus on more operational elements of bars. Ezra will discuss aspects such as building and running a successful, high-performance bar, and Beckaly will share her approach to creating and fostering team culture and development.
Each mentor will host the one-on-one sessions, commencing with a face-to-face session at the Jameson HOSTS Global Summit following the Global Winners’ win and followed by virtual sessions in the months following the September summit.
The Jameson HOSTS Global Summit
The annual summit, attended by 100+ global bar community guests, offers unrivalled networking and inspirational seminars lead by prominent industry figures. As part of their prize, the Regional Winners will win travel and access to 2024’s summit as well as behind-the-scenes tours and unique experiences during their trip.
Speaking on the addition of the mentorship programme, Tony O’Brien, Jameson Global Advocacy Manager, commented: “This year the competition will not just offer a traditional monetary prize, we have added a mentorship element to really ensure that the legacy of this competition gives back to the community that it is inspired by. Access to some of the best in the business where they can discuss areas such as bar operations, social media, and bar/menu concept, each of which has been chosen following feedback from the community that this would be instrumental to their career. We feel like this is an extraordinary prize this year, with all Regional Winners also experiencing a one-of-a-kind trip to Ireland to visit our Jameson HOSTS Global Summit, where they will also have access to networking and connection opportunities with peers that might otherwise be challenging or exist solely online. This is what it’s all about really, bringing the global bar community together so they can connect, learn from each other, and be inspired.”
Remy Savage, award-winning bartender, and mentor for 2024, commented, “Mentorship is something I have always made part of my identity as a bartender and bar owner. I believe it is the past, present and future of our industry and I am very happy to continue to mentor the next wave of creatives and be part of their journey in this community”.
Remy will also host seminars at the Global Summit, with his 2024 presentation focusing on drinks development theory.
For more information and updates, bartenders can visit the Jameson website or follow @JamesonHOSTS
*Subject to Terms & Conditions