Raconteur's Jamie MacDonald is crowned UK's best bartender

By Tom Allsop

- Last updated on GMT

Related tags Bartender Diageo Cocktail

Jamie MacDonald beat 600 people to the UK's best bartender title
Jamie MacDonald beat 600 people to the UK's best bartender title
Jamie MacDonald of the Raconteur bar in Stockbridge, Edinburgh has been crowned the UK's best bartender after winning the UK final of the international cocktail competition World Class 2011.

MacDonald was one of 12 finalists selected from 600 entrants to take part in the competition's final at Floridita bar and restaurant in London's Soho last week.

He wowed six judges, who included mixologist Andy Pearson and last year’s winner, Erik Lorincz, with his signature cocktail - Chaste - a mix of Ketel One vodka, sweet Italian vermouth, Lagavulin, Martini Rosso, Benedictine and 12 year-old Caol Ila, which he delivered with 'showmanship and knowledge of ingredients'.

He said: “I am thrilled to have won such a challenging and prestigious competition. To be up against some of the best bartenders in the UK and to be judged by people whom I both admire and respect has to be one of the most amazing experiences of my career.”

MacDonald, who has worked as bar manager at Tigerlily, Rick's Bar & Hotel and Booly Mardi's, will now compete against 36 bartenders from 29 countries at the competition's global final in Delhi.

The World Class contest has been held annually for the past six years. It is sponsored by Diageo Reserve Brands, the company behind brands such as Johnnie Walker, Baileys, and Tanqueray.

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