Local cocktail mixologist champion bags Scottish holiday prize

Thabiso Molonyama is a cocktail champion. Picture: Supplied

Thabiso Molonyama is a cocktail champion. Picture: Supplied

Published May 16, 2023

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Pretoria - A Pretoria cocktail mixologist will celebrate his birthday in Scotland later this month, after winning a three-night holiday for mixing-up a top-notch cocktail.

Pretoria’s Thabiso Molonyama, 33, the founder of The Everyday Bar, joined bartenders from across the world in getting creative and sharing an Instagram post of their own signature Johnnie Walker Black Label cocktail, explaining why the spirit works perfectly in the serve.

With more than 200 entries across 47 countries, Molonyama’s cocktail, Nimbus Moon, was selected as the African winner, with three other winners from Asia and Australasia, South and Central America and Europe.

His winning serve is a balanced blend of Johnnie Walker Black Label, aperol, orange bitters, lemon yuzu and cranberry juice.

His trip takes place next week, and will include a behind-the-scenes distillery tour; a visit to the Diageo Archives; a deconstructed tasting of Johnnie Walker Black Label with Dr Emma Walker, Johnnie Walker’s first female master blender and an array of experiences at the brand home, Johnnie Walker Princes Street.

This will include their most premium offering, the Whisky Makers’ Cellar tour, where exceptional whiskies can be tasted from the cask.

“I can’t believe I won. I'm still waiting for someone to tell me it’s a prank,” Molonyama said.

As for his winning cocktail, he said that he wanted the woodiness and fruitiness of the Johnnie Walker Black Label to shine through.

“My aim was to showcase the versatility of Johnnie Walker Black Label; keeping it simple and yet complex in experience,” Molonyama said.

With international experience working and consulting in Ibiza, the US and Dubai, Molonyama first stumbled onto the cocktail scene 13 years ago, when he asked for a student job in a Rosebank cocktail bar.

Pretoria News