A Night of Cocktails at Kempinski with World Class Kenya

I made my way to 5-star hotel, Villa Rosa Kempinski in Nairobi for a night of cocktails with World Class Kenya. Since its launch in 2009, Diageo Reserve World Class has played a huge part in transforming cocktail culture around the world. With the World Class Bartender of the Year competition, thousands of bartenders from over 60 countries have been supported and inspired. Last year, the World Class Kenya winner who went on to represent Kenya in Berlin, was actually the head bartender at Kempinski, Patrick Mutua.

We got to play judge as two of the finest mixologists faced off in the quest to create the best cocktail. They were each using Singleton, Tanqueray and Ron Zacapa, brands that are under the luxury division of Diageo, Diageo Reserve. There was therefore lot of room there to be creative and fun as we got to sample whisky, gin as well as rum based cocktails.

What makes a great cocktail?

A number of things make a  great cocktail: it must be good to look at, so presentation matters and it must be delicious to drink so it needs to be well balanced. It’s also the experience at the bar – a bartender or mixologist with great technique, creativity and flair is always a win in my books.

About the mixologists

The mixologists going head to head to have their cocktails featured on the Kempinski Balcony Bar menu were two of the finest mixologists in the country; Evans Otieno and Joshua Wesonga.

The Singleton Cocktails

The Singleton is one of the best whiskys in the world, with a proud Scotch history spanning over a century. The mixologists were using Singleton Sunray, that has red berries and oak flavour notes. My favourite whisky cocktails include Old Fashioned, Rob Roy, Whisky Sour and Hot Toddy, and I was curious to see how they worked with the whisky and I was not disappointed.

Evans’ Singleton based cocktail was Invaded Kingdom with the ingredients being Singleton Tailfire, homemade lime cordial, tamarind infused gin, passion juice, cinnamon honey syrup and egg whites.

Joshua’s Singleton based cocktail was Singleton Tile Sour with the ingredients Singleton Tailfire, sweet potato paste, lime juice and sweetener.

They were both interesting cocktails, balanced and delicious, though not cocktails I could drink more than a glass or two of. For the first round, I favoured Evans’ Invaded Kingdom as it had more depth of flavour.

The Tanqueray Cocktails

Tanqueray is a world-famous London dry gin containing 4 botanicals: juniper, coriander, angelica root and liquorice. My favourite gin cocktails include Gin and Tonic, Martini, Collins and Negroni. The mixologists were using Tanqueray No. 10, which in addition to the 4 botanicals of Tanqueray include fresh orange, fresh white grapefruit, camomile flowers and fresh lime for that refreshing citrus flavour with juniper and hints of camomile. Gin is great for cocktails and I couldn’t wait to see what they did it.

Evans’ Tanqueray based cocktail was War Zone with the ingredients Tanqueray No. 10, clarified lemon juice, gun powder, mint, 7 spices and syrup.

Joshua’s Tanqueray based cocktail was Tanqueray Song Bird with the ingredients Tanqueray No. 10, Campari, grape fruit, vanilla syrup and rose water tonic.

They were both refreshing cocktails and easy drinking and I could see myself having several of those. For the second round, I favoured Evans’ cocktail mostly because of the creativity in presentation as he served the cocktail in a gold-plated tea cup out of a gold-plated tea pot; both clever and beautiful.

The Ron Zacapa Cocktails

Ron Zacapa Centenario is a premium rum from Guatemala named for the town of Zacapa in celebration of its hundredth anniversary of its foundation. Aged in the ‘’house above the clouds’’, it is one of the finest rums and a personal favourite.

My favourite rum cocktails tend to be classics like The Mojito, Daiquiri, Mai Tai and Dark & Stormy. The mixologists used Zacapa 23 with its spiced oak, raisined fruit and honeyed butterscotch flavour profile, and I was looking forward to seeing how they incorporated it into their cocktails.

Evans’ Zacapa based cocktail was Slow and Clouds with Ron Zacapa, Singleton Tailfire, fresh lime, banana syrup and Aperol.

Joshua’s Zacapa based cocktail was Zacapa Presidente with the ingredients Zacapa 23, home made sweet, vermouth, pineapple juice and grenadine syrup.

They were both delicious cocktails, which was not surprising because rum cocktails are always a hit. For this final round, I favoured Joshua’s cocktail because of the flavour profile that I found to be more delicious, as well as the presentation in a cocktail glass whose stem was wrapped in beads.

Evans Otieno took the day and will have his cocktails featured on the Kempinski Bar menu.