This past week I attended a very fun event here in Cape Town, South Africa. It was held at the “Shimmy Beach Club” at the harbour. I loved the vibe of the evening. There were loads of people all gathered together to see who would win the coveted title of the Cosmopolitan Hottest Bartender of the Year (with prize money of R20 000)!  Cosmopolitan magazine, in partnership with Collison’s White Gold Brandy,  announced on 14 January this year the five guys and five girls who got the nod to compete for the title of “SA’s Hottest Bartender”. The 10 finalists for 2013 were featured in the February issue of Cosmo. Readers had the opportunity to scrutinize these movers and shakers of creative cocktails, and to vote for their favourite. The aim of the Cosmopolitan Hottest Bartender search every year is to find a bartender with the perfect combination of creativity and charisma, who has his or her craft honed to perfection.

The competition is not judged only on looks: each entrant has to submit an original cocktail recipe.

They will then be required to prepare their cocktails on the night of the big finale in Cape Town on 14 March, and the overall winner will walk away with the grand prize of R20 000.

The 10 finalists were:

• Dillon Nuss from Taco Zulu, Durban
• Le Riche Meyer from Carnival Court, Cape Town
• Nicole Adams form Boulevard, Durban
• Gabriella Trollip from Tiger Tiger, Cape Town
• Domenico De Lorenzo from Molecular Bars, Johannesburg
• Johnny Bezuidenhout from Café Caprice, Cape Town – WINNER
• Robyn Horwitz from Movida, Johannesburg
• Imaan Mac Quena from Jade Champagne Bar & Lounge, Cape Town
• Nancy Ellis from Hooters, Durban
• Donovan Prince from Café Caprice, Cape Town

I thought the girls were great contestants! They had a lot of spunk and could definitely hold their own next to the boys. But I have to say, the boys had that cheekiness that’s a huge crowd pleaser in something like this. Let’s put it this way……while the girls were smiling, doing a few dance moves from behind the counter and tamely stirring in the vodka, the boys were literally ripping their shirts off, jumping on the counter and flexing their tattoo-covered muscles while shaking that martini! 

The winner was Johnny Bezuidenhout from Cape Town’s most popular beach bar Café Caprice and he was really deserving. MC Poppy Ntshongwana didn’t have a hard time handing over the cheque!

We shot Caprice’s Skybok Profile a few months ago and for the video, we got Johnny to prepare a Mojito for us on-camera – check out his talent for yourself by watching it HERE. A great performance was given by “iScream & The Chocolate Stix” after the show and I really enjoyed their performance. It’s nice to hear local bands singing good music. Check out their blog HERE. Thank you to everyone involved for bringing us an awesome event!