Ivan Drago, a bartender at the Grand Hotel Excelsior, has won the preliminary round of the 35th World Cocktail Competition with a cocktail called Monte Carlo. Ivan Drago’s winning entry was judged to be the most original and refreshing cocktail of all 16 entries entered into this preliminary competition by the Maltese Bartenders Guild, the organiser of this competition. By winning this preliminary round, Ivan has become eligible to represent Malta in the finals of the World Cocktail Competition to be held in Berlin in August. There, he will challenge bartenders from 54 other countries, all of whom are members of the International Bartenders Association, to win the title of International Bartender of the Year 2009.

The Malta Bartenders Guild promotes the high standards in the bartending trade to encourage high service standards, and also organises trade events and competitions for members. The Guild is a member of the International Bartenders Association (I.B.A.) that represents 54 countries across 5 continents. Each Guild member must have the international ambition to participate in the World Cocktail Competition held in a different country each year. In 2004, a representative of the Maltese Bartenders Guild won the IBA World Cup Competition in Las Vegas and was declared International Bartender of the Year.

There are, at present, 80 bartenders who are members in the Malta Bartenders Guild.