Nearly 10,000 bartenders from all over the world entered the competition, with 56 selected to represent their country at the Miami finals taking place in last September. Czech bartender Adrián Michalčík made it into the top six after succeeding in a challenge that asked the remaining twelve bartenders to perfect a number of American cocktail classics.
Michalčík was eliminated in the finals, losing out to Jennifer Le Nechet of France who took home world’s best bartender honors with her steampunk-themed creations.
A professional hockey player before he became a bartender, Michalčík is a mixologist at Old Town bar L’Fleur, where his signature drink is a cosmopolitan infused with champagne.