DIAGEO RESERVE WORLD CLASS Bartender of the Year 2010 Competition Begins in Athens

ATHENS, July 14, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --

- With photo

From around the globe, 24 of the most talented bartenders have gathered in Athens for the final stage of their quest to become DIAGEO RESERVE WORLD CLASS Bartender of the Year 2010.

Over 9,000 bartenders set out on this year long programme to educate and inspire bartenders to create exceptional cocktails and experiences in the best bars around the world. It is the largest global stage for the craft of bartending.

In Greece, home of last year's winner Aristotelis Papadopoulos, the finalists' craft is being tested by the gods of the bartending world - Dale DeGroff, Salvatore Calabrese, Peter Dorelli, Gary Regan, Alberto Soria, and Hidetsugu Ueno - in six challenges, including Ritual & Theatre of Drinks, Speed & Taste and Cocktail Mastery.

Master distillers and blenders are on hand to impart their knowledge of the exceptional brands within the Diageo Reserve portfolio - Ketel One(R) vodka, Ciroc(R) vodka, Tanqueray(R) No.TEN(TM) gin, Don Julio(R) tequila, Zacapa(R) rum, Johnnie Walker(R) Gold Label(TM) and Blue Label(TM) Blended Scotch Whisky.

"WORLD CLASS is a truly international celebration of the flair, creativity and skill of the bartender and the appreciation of great spirit brands." says Andrew Fell, Commercial Director, Diageo Reserve.

Follow the competition at http://www.weareworldclass.com, Global World Class Finals on Facebook or WorldClass2010 on Twitter.

    GLOBAL FINALISTS

    AUSTRALIA     Adam Brewer               Sling Lounge, Brisbane
    AUSTRIA       Heinz Kaiser              Dino's American Bar, Vienna
    BELGIUM       Noach Van Damme           L'Apereau, Blankenberge
    BRAZIL        Rafael Pizanti            Bar do Copo, Rio de Janeiro
    COLOMBIA      Felipe Navarro            Club El Nogal, Bogota
    COSTA RICA    Esteban Delgado Badilla   T.G.I. Friday's, San Jose
    DOMINICAN     Richard Gonzalez          CavaBar Lounge & Martini Lab,
    REPUBLIC                                Santo Domingo
    DUBAI         Tomas Dundulis            Okku, The Monarch Dubai
    FRANCE        Maxime Hoerth             Four Seasons Hotel George V Paris
    GERMANY       Torsten Spuhn             Modern Masters, Erfurt
    GREECE        Ilias Marinakis           Baba Au Rum, Athens
    IRELAND       Max La Rocca              Sheen Falls Lodge, Kenmare
    JAPAN         Takumi Watanabe           The Sailing Bar, Kibi
    KOREA         Do-Hwan Eom               The Ritz Bar, Seoul
    MALAYSIA      Amanda Wan                Vintage Bank, Kuala Lumpur
    MEXICO        Jose Luis                 Leon Martinez Hotel Distrito
                                            Capital, Santa Fe
    NETHERLANDS   Timo Janse                Door 74, Amsterdam
    PUERTO RICO   Arnaldo Hernandez         InterContinental San Juan Resort
                                            & Casino
    SINGAPORE     Richard Gillam            New Asia, Swisshotel The Stamford
    SPAIN         Jordi Otero               Mandarin Oriental, Barcelona
    SWITZERLAND   Thomas Huhn               Les Trois Rois, Basel
    TAIWAN        Angus Zou                 Marquee, Taipei
    UK            Erik Lorincz              The Connaught, London
    VENEZUELA     Rina Fermin               Suria, Valencia

ABOUT DIAGEO

Diageo is the world's leading premium drinks business with an outstanding collection of beverage alcohol brands across spirits, wines, and beer categories. These brands include Johnnie Walker, Guinness, Smirnoff, J&B, Baileys, Cuervo, Tanqueray, Captain Morgan, Crown Royal, Beaulieu Vineyard and Sterling Vineyards wines.

Diageo is a global company, trading in more than 180 countries around the world. The company is listed on both the New York Stock Exchange (DEO) and the London Stock Exchange (DGE). For more information about Diageo, its people, brands, and performance, visit us at Diageo.com. For our global resource that promotes responsible drinking through the sharing of best practice tools, information and initiatives, visit DRINKiQ.com.

Celebrating life, every day, everywhere.

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For information about Diageo, its people, brands and performance, visit http://www.diageo.com or contact:

    Dominic McCarthy
    Neville McCarthy Associates
    +44(0)7949-254762
    [email protected]

SOURCE Diageo plc