FAQ

USBG Presents World Class Sponsored By DIAGEO offers a great opportunity for bar professionals of all skill levels and backgrounds to test themselves, join a community of competitors and judges from around the world, and ultimately become a stronger bar professional by focusing on the categories below:

– Education: World Class US provides access to trend-leading training and education programs through Diageo Bar Academy, designed to expand the knowledge and skill of trade members

– Mentorship: World Class US provides mentorship opportunities for applicants and competitors from best-in-class industry experts

– Community: This competition enables participants to expand their network globally and join a community of like-minded professionals

– Growth: World Class provides the opportunity for bartenders to learn, challenge themselves, and ultimately further their career

More than a cocktail competition, USBG Presents World Class Sponsored By DIAGEO is rooted in providing trend-leading education and mentorship to bartenders of all skill levels, while providing opportunities to celebrate their craft, creativity, and passion. The World Class competition is backed by the vast resources available on Diageo Bar Academy and offers mentorship at every stage of the competition. These tools prepare participants with the tools and knowledge to develop their personal and professional skills.

– “It’s a holistic style of bartending competition. There are lots of cocktail competitions; but this one really tests everything, your knowledge, your speed, your presentation. And I wanted that challenge of all parts of what it is to be a great bartender.” – Jessi Pollak, 2022 World Class US Bartender of the Year

In this year’s competition, applicants will represent one of three Regions (West, Central, and East). Region assignments are based on an applicant’s current state. State / Region designation can be found on the 2025 World Class application.

The structure and timeline of 2025 competition will be as follows:

– October 15, 2024: Application Due – All submissions will be blindly-paper judged and scored by the World Class Judges to determine the Top 100 Competitors.

– December 2024: Top 100 Announcement – Once determined, the Top 100 will receive a new challenge prompting the creation and submission of a new signature serve. This serve will be re-created by experienced mixologists for tasting and scoring by World Class Judges to determine the Top 30 Competitors moving onto the in-person competition.

– February 2025: Top 30 Announced – The Top 30 will include 10 competitors from each of the (3) Regions. At this stage, the Top 30 will receive a Competition Toolkit outlining several challenge prompts and information to compete in person.

– Spring 2025: In-Person Competition – The Top 30 will compete in-person at the National Competition. Those who advance to Top 10 Finals will participate in additional in-person challenges to determine who will become the next World Class US Bartender of the Year.

No, membership to the USBG is not required to apply to the competition. However, if you’d like to find a chapter near you or renew your membership to the USBG, click here.

Yes! This competition is open to all levels of bar professionals. Whether you’re actively bartending or not, you are able to participate in the competition. This competition is open to bar professionals of all skill levels and is meant to test bartending abilities while providing valuable tools to improve skill sets.

Please find a full list of terms and conditions here.

To determine the Top 100, application submissions will be blind judged by World Class Judges. Judges will review challenge accuracy, craft, flavor analysis, and knowledge of the selected DIAGEO product. Please refer to the application to review the judging rubric to confirm your entry satisfies all requirements.

To determine the Top 30, application submissions will again be blindly judged with recipes re-created following the step-by-step instructions included in your submission. At this point, judges will base their scoring on challenge accuracy, craft, flavors & balance, and knowledge.

At the time of the application deadline (October 15, 2024 at 11:59PM PST), only your latest (most recent) submission will be accepted. You do not need to finish your application in one session, by saving the link generated, you can return as many times as needed to complete the form and submit.

World Class is not responsible for applications past the deadline due to technical difficulties, we recommend you submit as early as possible to avoid last-minute technical issues. In the case you have an error on an already submitted application, or if you wish to withdraw your application, please contact worldclass@usbg.org.

This year’s application challenge requires applicants to select one Diageo Bar Academy resource to take the learnings from to help develop their recipe. Applicants are more than welcome to utilize and reference supplemental resources such as e-learnings, courses, articles, etc.

World Class Mentorship continues to evolve to meet the needs of our industry. In the 2025 Competition, mentorship sessions will be hosted for industry members 21+ on @WorldClassUS via IG Live. Mentors will discuss best practices and preparation tips for the competition, current trends, and professional development.

The Top 30 Competitors will have access to one-on-one mentorship with industry leading experts from the World Class network.

To assist competitors in their World Class journey and beyond, World Class is proud to offer a variety of educational tools and resources through Diageo Bar Academy. Diageo Bar Academy is a free educational platform, home to the latest trends and techniques, designed to enhance bar knowledge and prepare competitors for the World Class competition. Enroll now!