With over 600 applications submitted from across the globe, competition for the first round of the 50 Best Bars The Blend Scholarship was fierce from the get-go, with each aspiring bartender pushing hard for the opportunity to experience once-in-a-lifetime internships at Sips in Barcelona, Spain, and Alquímico in Cartagena, Colombia.
The Scholarship, founded in partnership between 50 Best and The Blend by Beam Suntory, enters its next stage today. The field has been narrowed down to a shortlist of 25 nascent bar professionals, with 18 different nationalities represented by the finalists, from Canada to Kazakhstan and Kenya. Read about the talented candidates heading into Round Two below, where each will be asked to create and submit a #FuturePositive cocktail that champions their locale and its produce
Name: Alex Archer
Age: 29
From: Canada
Working in: Canada
Current bar: Wayne Gretzky Estates, Niagara on the Lake
Follow me: @alexarcher13
Name: Ana Mitchell
Age: 28
From: Australia
Working in: Australia
Current bar: The 18th Amendment Bar, Geelong
Follow me: @anamarie.95
Name: Andie Bulley
Age: 22
From: Australia
Working in: Australia
Current bar: Savile Row, Brisbane
Follow me: @Andiebulley
Name: Annette Mulama
Age: 25
From: Kenya
Working in: Kenya
Current bar: Hero Restaurant, Nairobi
Name: Apoorva Kohli
Age: 21
From: India
Working in: India
Current bar: Sidecar, New Delhi
Follow me: @apoorvvaaaa
Name: Asli Karagoz
Age: 23
From: Turkey
Working in: UAE
Current bar: LPM Restaurant & Bar, Dubai
Follow me: @aslkaragzz
Name: Calliope Draper
Age: 25
From: Canada
Working in: Canada
Current bar: Bar Clementine, Edmonton
Follow me: @Non_Barnary
Name: Danilo Frigulti
Age: 26
From: Italy
Working in: UK
Current bar: The NoMad Hotel, London
Follow me: @Thatsmallitalianbartender
Name: Declan O'Brien
Age: 27
From: UK
Working in: UK
Current bar: American Bar at Gleneagles Hotel, Perth
Follow me: @declan_o_brien24
Name: Demitria Dana Paramita
Age: 29
From: Indonesia
Working in: Indonesia
Current bar: People of the Sun Bar, Semarang
Follow me: @demitria_ramona
Name: Dyna Ukala Oluwasola
Age: 25
From: Nigeria
Working in: Ghana
Current bar: Brasa Restaurant, Accra
Follow me: @Sola_niyi
Name: Gaurav Rahoni
Age: 23
From: India
Working in: Thailand
Current bar: Lebua Hotels and Resorts, Bangkok
Follow me: @heybarninja
Name: Janice Lok
Age: 21
From: Malaysia
Working in: Malaysia
Current bar: Chez Chez Bar & Restaurant, Penang
Follow me: @janicecw__
Name: Katie Rouse
Age: 33
From: UK
Working in: UK
Current bar: Couch, Birmingham
Follow me: @krouse89
Name: Mafalda Nunes
Age: 22
From: Portugal
Working in: Portugal
Current bar: Louvre Bar Bistro Micaelence, Ponta Delgada
Follow me: @mnunes_2001
Name: Marcus Costa
Age: 31
From: Brazil
Working in: Australia
Current bar: Shake & Strain, Sydney
Follow me: @shakestrain
Name: Marie-Louise Roy-Bilodeau
Age: 24
From: Canada
Working in: Canada
Current bar: 132 Bar Vintage, Montreal
Follow me: @marie_rb98
Name: Mariya Goncharova
Age: 23
From: Kazakhstan
Working in: Kazakhstan
Current bar: LOT.bar, Almaty
Follow me: @Loa_Filevi
Name: Olivier Denègre
Age: 29
From: Belgium
Working in: Canada
Current bar: Milky Way Cocktail Bar, Montreal
Follow me: @oli_stir
Name: Oscar Jonsson Buhre
Age: 25
From: Sweden
Working in: Sweden
Current bar: Lucy's Flower Shop, Stockholm
Follow me: @oscarjbuhre
Name: René Karthäuser
Age: 28
From: Germany
Working in: Germany
Current bar: Woods, Cologne
Follow me: @el_rhin
Name: Sebastian von Arx
Age: 28
From: Switzerland
Working in: Indonesia
Current bar: Segno, Bali
Follow me: @seb_artender
Name: Shreya Basu
Age: 22
From: India
Working in: UK
Current bar: Lyaness, London
Follow me: @bongpotato
Name: Sofiia Kossakovska
Age: 22
From: Ukraine
Working in: Japan
Current bar: Bar36 at Swissôtel Nankai, Osaka
Follow me: @kss_p
Name: Thomas Svensson
Age: 24
From: Australia
Working in: Australia
Current bar: Boston Shaker Bar, Mooloolaba
Follow me: @thomasjsvensson
The winner of the 50 Best Bars The Blend Scholarship will be announced at the live ceremony of The World’s 50 Best Bars 2023 in Singapore on 17th October. To be the first to hear about the latest news and announcements, browse the website, follow us on Instagram, find us on Facebook, visit us on Twitter and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
