- Bartending competition by Diageo India nurtures the rise of a new bartending generation
- India, Nepal and Sri Lanka come together under one platform for the first time
- 11-city roadshow across India, Sri Lanka and Nepal sets out to find the next voice that will shape Indian mixology
There was a time when India’s cocktail culture was defined by a handful of bars, spirits, and bartenders who dared to push boundaries. Today, that world has changed dramatically. Over the last few years, World Class India has become the engine powering one of the country’s most exciting hospitality movements, shaping talent and transforming how India drinks. As the globally renowned bartending competition by Diageo heads into its 12th edition in 2026, it opens a new chapter for Indian bartending.
India’s cocktail landscape has shifted in remarkable ways. Bars across Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Goa, Kolkata, and beyond have moved from spaces of experimentation to full-fledged innovation labs. Storytelling, science, hospitality rituals, and guest experience now define the benchmarks of excellence. But the real story is in the programmes designed to support the bartenders who are rewriting what India’s cocktail future looks like.
How does World Class work?
World Class follows a multi-stage format designed to identify and elevate the country’s most promising bartenders. The journey begins with an online submission round in which bartenders share their cocktail concept, recipe, and inspiration. From these entries, the top 100 are selected to participate in regional challenges across key cities, where they are judged on flavour, technique, storytelling, and hospitality. The highest-scoring bartenders from each region advance to the national stage, where the top 16 compete in a series of themed rounds from speed and efficiency to flavour innovation and community-led concepts.
These challenges test not just skill but creativity and personal expression. Ultimately, three finalists emerge in the national showdown, where they present signature serves, complete experience-led challenges, and showcase their individual bartending philosophies. One winner is crowned World Class India Bartender of the Year and represents the country at the Global Finals in Dubai in September.
The 2026 roadshow is already underway, taking the programme directly to bars and communities across the region. In recent times the team has travelled through 11 cities, including Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi, Goa, Kolkata, Colombo, Kathmandu, Hyderabad, Pune, and Guwahati, engaging hundreds of bartenders in immersive workshops, flavour modules, and hands-on mixology sessions.
World Class India 2026 deepens this transformation with a comprehensive, year-long programme designed to help bartenders grow, experiment, and find their voice. Beginning with education, the team has introduced a ‘flavours module’ which breaks it down into science, memory, and emotion, encouraging bartenders to build cocktails from the palate up rather than relying on theatrics. It expands through community, past winners and alumni return as mentors, judges, and leaders—bringing global expertise back into India’s bar culture.
Aanchal Kaushal, VP, Customer Marketing, Diageo India, said, “Every city has revealed one thing—South Asia’s bartending culture is evolving at extraordinary speed, driven by talent that is hungry to learn, experiment, and push the boundaries of flavour and hospitality. From metropolitan bars to rising neighbourhood spaces, we are travelling across India, bringing training, mentorship, and experiences to find the next voice that will shape Indian mixology.”