- Partnerships set to transform your future drinks experiences revealed at 
Diageo World Class Bartender of the Year Finals 2019

In Glasgow's West End, fifty-three of the world's best bartenders are joined by 
drinks-making royalty and movers and shakers from the industry at an 
interactive innovation zone dedicated to showcasing the future of cocktail 
culture.

Simon Earley, Head of Diageo World Class, said: "We are committed to investing 
in the experience economy and "what's next" in global cocktail culture. That's 
why we asked some of our most progressive partners to join us here at the World 
Class Bartender of the Year Finals. 

"For the first time we've created an interactive space - 'A Taste of the 
Future' – where, in conjunction with partners like Spotify, Crucible and 
ChargedUp, we reveal some of the things we believe will shape the future of 
drinks experiences worldwide."

A key partnership on show includes a pioneering initiative between Diageo's 
Futures team and Spotify, the world's most popular audio streaming subscription 
service. To drive innovation within the drinking occasion, Diageo utilised 
social data to collate information and keywords related to specific Diageo 
Reserve brand cocktails. From there, these insights were provided to Spotify 
who created a unique method to identify key tracks and music that best 
encapsulated the mood and spirit of the cocktail. 

This partnership resulted in six data-driven playlists curated for Diageo 
Reserve brand's signature cocktails, including Johnnie Walker, that bring to 
life the mood of each drink. Innovation is at the heart of this collaboration, 
as each playlist is created to enhance the drinking occasion by allowing 
consumers on-site and around the world to both taste and hear their favourite 
cocktails. 

Rak Patel, Head of U.K. Sales at Spotify said: "Spotify listeners come to our 
platform for an experience that is unique to them -- from the music in their 
Discover Weekly to podcast recommendations and so much more. We're able to 
deliver this thanks to our streaming intelligence, our understanding of the 
context and moments that people are streaming. Together with Diageo, we're 
tapping into these insights to set the mood as they sip their favourite 
cocktails while creating a delightful and impactful connection with the brands 
they love."

Also on show was a headset linked to a sensory experiment that could be the 
answer for gin lovers unsure what to mix their Tanqueray No. Ten with The Head 
vs Heart activation recommended personalised perfect serves based on the 
results from the EEG sensors.

Benjamin Lickfett, Diageo's Head of Futures (Europe), said: "Consumers are 
increasingly seeking out personalised and immersive experiences in our 
category. Head vs Heart is just one example of an emerging technology enabling 
consumers to explore their own taste preferences and the flavours of our 
award-winning Tanqueray No. 10 as part of an engaging, sensory and surprising 
experience."

And flavour enthusiasts were able to hear from Stu Bale, Director of London's 
experimental creative bartending hub 'Crucible'. It saw the drinks maverick 
demonstrate the use of 'weird machines' like rotavaps, centrifuges, and 
ultrasonics to express different aspects of flavour and texture. Stu and his 
team used these cutting-edge techniques to create three incredible drinks 
experiences using some of the world's greatest spirits brands including Zacapa 
Rum, Talisker and Don Julio. 

Stu said: "At Crucible, we always describe flavour as a universal language. 
Diageo World Class has always been at the cutting edge of drinks culture and 
experimentation, but no matter how much smoke and mirrors surrounds the mystery 
of developing drinks, it's just about what's tasty at the end of the day. This 
is an attitude that we share with World Class and it's central to what we're 
doing with 'A Taste of the Future'. Whilst flavour is constant, technology is 
continually evolving - as is our understanding of how flavour works. We have a 
load of ways of extracting, developing and showcasing delicious flavour based 
on that knowledge and via a bunch of weird machines. It's going to be pretty 
wild doing that on home territory in Glasgow. I can't wait! Yaldo!"  

Since its launch in 2009, Diageo World Class has played a significant role in 
transforming fine drinking cocktail culture around the world. Over 300,000 
bartenders across the globe have been supported, trained and inspired by World 
Class since its inception. 

Visit www.theworldclassclub.com and follow @WorldClass for more information on 
the latest drinks, trends, cocktail recipes and industry insights. 

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1001249/A_Taste_of_the_Future.jpg   
Photo: 
https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1001248/Simon_Earley_and_Benjamin_Lickfett.jpg 

Source: Diageo World Class