OnTap Magazine

top three - and more. In fact, he became the youngest ever winner, at 24, of the Diageo SA World Class Competition. PAYING IT FORWARD The competition is in its 12th year and takes place across 60 countries. National champions go head to head in the global contest, which is being held in Australia in September. South Africa has never won the globals, but Joshua is trying not to let that distract him. “I’m excited but of course I’m also nervous,” he says. “But I feel like I’ve prepared really well and I’m ready to go and show what I can do.” It will be the first time he’s left the country since a family trip to Mauritius at the age of eight , although he’s well aware that he won’t have much time for sightseeing. “The competition is intense, with challenges every day and very little time for anything else,” he says. He’s not worried about missing the sights of Sydney though. Joshua is focused entirely on what is the biggest bartending competition in the world. “The goal of course is to win,” he says, “but coming in the top 10 would be amazing. Doing well in the Globals opens up so many opportunities. It really does wonders for your career.” Looking past the competition, Joshua has plans to travel in order to widen his culinary and mixology knowledge. “I feel like we’re quite isolated here. I would love to go overseas and learn new techniques then come back here and share that with other bartenders in South Africa,” Joshua says. In the few short years he’s been mastering mixology he has had the benefit of working with a number of inspirational mentors and it’s clear this is something Joshua would like to pay forward. And somewhere in South Africa, there is doubtless a young bartender, pulling pints and pouring shots in a lowkey bar like Springboks, whose spirits will be roused by Joshua’s rapid rise to cocktail stardom. A COCKTAIL WITH HERITAGE One of the challenges in the 2022 Diageo World Class Nationals was to create a cocktail that paid homage to the bartender’s heritage. Johannesburg contestant Bheki Khumalo took the opportunity to honour a beverage that is rarely featured in mixology. “I have been slinging cocktails for the past nine years and currently am one of the senior mixologists at Zioux Restaurant in Sandton,” says Bheki. “My inspiration in making cocktails is derived from the gastronomy culture and focuses mainly on flavour combinations that spark feelings like nostalgia. My main focus is the incorporation of African flavours. “For the “paying homage to our heritage” challenge in this year’s World Class, I made a cocktail called Cerveza Casera, which means ‘home brewed’. It consists of Johnnie Walker Gold Label, sweetcorn puree, fresh lemon juice, freeze clarified Umqombothi, habanero tincture and roasted almond syrup. I drew inspiration from the traditional beer itself. It's a symbol of unity, celebration and humanity that brings people together. My hope was to create a drink that will not only be a traditional drink to my people but to introduce it to the world and have them understand the richness of my culture. Luckily at Zioux we are launching a spring cocktail menu in which some of my work will be seen.” Joshua takes a moment at the 2022 Diageo SA World Class Competition Joshua identifying base spirits during the mastery challenge ontapmag.co.za | Spring 2022 | 21