World Champ Bartender is a Pinay

World Champ Bartender is a Pinay

Rizza Umlas in her winning form.
Photo courtesy of Coconut Manila

For the first time ever, a female bartender bagged the top prize at TGIFridays’ 25th World Bartender Competition held in Dallas, Texas on March 4, CNN Philippine reported Wednesday, March 9, 2016.

Rizza Umlas of TGIFridays Glorietta bested nine other bartenders hailing from Peru, Norway, UK, and the U.S, the CNN report noted. The Filipina bartender is also the youngest ever to win the championship, CNN added.

“It feels amazing to be named the World’s Greatest Bartender,” CNN quoted Umlas in an interview. “I’m so proud to be able to represent Fridays, my country and female bartenders everywhere as the 25th World Bartender Champion. It’s both an honor and a thrill,” Umlas added, making her win especially relevant in light of International Women’s Day.

CNN further noted:

“Ten finalists were selected to compete for the championship among 8,000 bartenders from more than 900 TGIFridays restaurants in 60 countries over the course of the past 10 months. They were scored based on their skills, speed, and accuracy, as well as their product, ingredient, and recipe expertise.

“TGIFriday’s World Bartender Championship began in 1985 to represent the company’s knowledge and expertise in the beverage industry.”

The Street also reported: “Umlas poured, mixed, stirred and shook her way to the top by showing off her signature flair at the bar, demonstrating exceptional mixing expertise and completing a rigorous test of recipe knowledge. Umlas has proven she is the best of the best, as Fridays SM bartenders make up an elite group of passionate cocktail innovators.”

Last year, Stavros Loumis of Cyprus emerged as champion.

Previous winners from the Philippines were Matthew “Kryptonite” Burgos and Eric “El Terrible” Martinez. The two Filipino male bartenders both represented the Philippines and won 2007 1st runner-up and 2006 Champion respectively.