Canadians Past and Present
Since its launch in 2009, Diageo World Class has crowned one global champion each year—and four champions in the last decade have been Canadian. When it comes to the global finals, Canadians have been an undeniable force, and hosting the world’s most prestigious bartending event on home turf in Toronto was a milestone win for the community.
No one embodies Canadian bartending talent quite like acclaimed bartender and educator Kaitlyn Stewart. When she snagged the global title in 2017, she became Canada’s first champion, and her successes haven’t slowed since. This year, she appeared at the festival as its magnetic host—a role that her charisma and deep bartending wisdom were made for—and she continues to rack up international award nods. She’s grown her Instagram “Like-a-ble Cocktails” into a 300,000 following and her debut cocktail book, Three Cheers, is out now.
At the events she was joined offstage by fellow Canadians James Grant, the Fairmont Royal York’s beverage director who took the title in 2021, and Jacob Martin, bar director at Liberty Group, who followed suit in 2023, and last year’s winner Keegan McGregor of Halifax’s Highwayman, who cemented the streak.
James Grant
Jacob Martin
Keegan McGregor
James Grant
Jacob Martin
Keegan McGregor
This year, Kate Chernoff of Vancouver’s Keefer Bar represented Canada, and her bubbly and hometown-celebrity presence brought crowds to her stage challenges that were so big most could only get an obstructed peak at her bar. To the chagrin of many local supporters, she didn’t advance to the top ten round, but her cocktails were praised for their technical finesse and rich sense of narrative, which at times drew on her experiences as an ex-synchronized swimmer and her love for the Edmonton Oilers.
Kate Chernoff
Kate Chernoff draws a crowd
Kate Chernoff
Kate Chernoff draws a crowd