This Melbourne bar just took out Australia’s best bartender award
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05.07.2022

This Melbourne bar just took out Australia’s best bartender award

Bar Liberty

Nick Tesar from Bar Liberty just took out the title of Australia's best bartender - he'll now battle it out for the world's premier bartending prize.

This week, Australia’s top five bartenders battled it out in Sydney to take home the title of Australia’s best bartender and a coveted place in the World Class Global Finals in September, with Nick Tesar from Bar Liberty in Melbourne taking the top spot at the final round of the competition last night.

The World Class Global Finals bartending competition will take place in Sydney for the first time in the competition’s history this year, bringing the world’s 55 best bartenders with it.

Stay up to date with what’s happening in and around Melbourne here.

Following multiple cocktail challenges at Sydney’s Shell House, Tesar took the win from fellow top five finalists Samuel Cocks (Bar Rogue, WA), Sarah Proietti (Maybe Sammy, NSW), Eduardo Conde (No.92 GPR, NSW) and Kayla Saito (Black Pearl, VIC)

Going head-to-head across three rounds, the competitors battled it out with three whisky-focused challenges – ‘The Icons of Sydney’ featuring Johnnie Walker Blue Label, the ‘Speed Round’ featuring brands from the Diageo Reserve portfolio, and ‘Into The Wild Mystery Box’ featuring Talisker – each round testing the finalists’ skills, creativity and speed.

Tesar expertly crafted a collection of superb cocktails proving too tough to beat including a cumquat cocktail inspired by local produce for the first Talisker challenge ‘into the wild box’. He went on to whip up an impressive 12 cocktails in the space of 5 minutes during the final speed round – almost double that of the other contestants.

 

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He says of the win, “Competing in the Diageo World Class Australian Bartender competition this year has been such an incredible experience. I am incredibly grateful to be part of a this tight knit hospitality community and am proud of being able to represent Australia on the global stage this September. Bring on the finals!”

Based in Melbourne, Tesar is a bartender at Bar Liberty who loves to champion local produce. He is part of the team behind Marionette Liqueurs, who work with local farmers to produce an array of cocktail liqueurs. He is also co-author of the book ‘All Day Cocktails’, that looks at utilising seasonal produce in no and low alcohol drinks.

For more information, head to the Diageo Bar Academy.