The Deanston Cut From a Different Tartan is an initiative that was created in and for Canadian bartenders who work in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario. We like this competition because it is more than just about making a cocktail with a specific spirit. It’s about celebrating bartenders who are stepping above and beyond their regular bar duties to do something good for the community. We call these people Changemakers. For the last two years we have worked with PMA Canada on this initiative. For it, bartenders apply or are nominated by telling us their story. From there, we choose five finalists who are then asked to create a Deanston Whisky cocktail. One winner is then chosen based 50% on the story they submitted and 50% on their cocktail. This winner receives $5000 and each of the four runner-ups receive $500 each.
In 2024, we worked with PMA Canada by hosting events with Deanston Whisky in Calgary, Victoria and Toronto to promote this initiative and to get bartenders interested in applying. In Calgary and Victoria, we hosted a daytime seminar with the Alberta and BC finalists from 2023’s Deanston Cut From a Different Tartan Initiative. In the evening, we did a guest shift at another bar in those cities. In Toronto, Deanston sponsored our June Independent Study Day where Josh share information about the event and he interviewed the 3 Ontario finalists from last year’s competition.
Bartender Atlas tasks for Deanston Cut From a Different Tartan in 2024 included:
- Booking travel for Calgary and Victoria
- Booking and working with two venues in each of the above cities to host the events
- Organising with 2023 finalists to participate in the events, working with them on their talks, paying them for their time, helping organise travel when needed.
- Photographing each of the above events and providing those images to all involved parties
- Recreation of all cocktails created by the 5 finalists for judging and photography
- Photography of final cocktails for promotion on social media, the Deanston Cut From a Different Tartan and on the Foodism website.
- Judging of final cocktails to choose one winner.
- Batching winning cocktail to be served at Foodism 40 event in November.