6 years of World Class Cocktails for Cayman



2 mins readJun 1, 2019

The World Class Cocktail competition 2019 entered its 11th year and will be the 6th year that Cayman has participated since 2013. The winner of the competition will be heading to Glasgow in September to compete against the top 55 bartenders from other countries around the world. In Glasgow we’ll find out who the World Class global champion 2019 will be!

Here in Cayman we saw another record number of bartenders enter the first round from 15 different bars and restaurants on island.

The bartenders were charged with creating two cocktails. The first was a Ketel One cocktail where they were required to use one ingredient in three different ways all within the one drink, highlighting sustainability and the reduction of waste within bars.


The second was a Tanqueray 10 cocktail where bartenders were challenged to create a modern ‘heart’ of the cocktail which would be added to Tanqueray 10 and soda to create a cocktail. This is inspired byb the heart of Tanqueray 10, created using the Tiny Ten pot still where fresh citrus is added.

After all 18 bartenders had finished showcasing their cocktails to the judges, Cory Scruggs from Agua Restaurant and Lounge took home the bragging rights from the first round with his Ketel One drink inspired by local honey, and a Tanqueray cocktail influenced by passionfruit and chamomile. In second place just a few points behind was Yuleidy Sanchez from Backroom Bar, and in third place Micha Jensen from Bar Barolo.

In all, 11 bartenders were chosen to move forward to the finals which will take place June 5th & 6th at Royal Palms Beach Club:

  1. Cory ScruggsAgua Restaurant & Lounge
  2. Yuliedy Sanchez – Backroom Bar
  3. Micha Jensen – Barolo
  4. Ensor Yuseff – Pappagallos
  5. Gary Mandabon – Silver Palm, The Ritz-Carlton
  6. Vincenzo D’Amato – Ave, The Kimpton Seafire
  7. Todd Shipster – Cracked Conch Bubble Bar
  8. Adam Slobodian – Seven, The Ritz-Carlton
  9. Johnson Ace – Silverside Bar
  10. Dion Houtris – Seven, The Ritz-Carlton
  11. Paul Murugan – Eating House 1503

CLICK TO READ: Next Article in this World Class 2019 Series.

TAKE A LOOK BACK: 2018 World Class winner snags a ‘heavenly’ victory