The Secret to a World-Class Cocktail, According to Global Bartending Champion Felice Capasso
For Felice Capasso, the 2025 Diageo World Class Bartender of the Year, the answer begins long before the first pour. While technique is essential, true excellence goes beyond what happens behind the bar.
The world-renowned bartender brings his award-winning craft to The Spirits Library with cocktails featuring The Singleton, Don Julio, and Tanqueray No. TEN, plus an exclusive masterclass for local bartenders
What separates a good cocktail from a world-class one?
For Felice Capasso, the 2025 Diageo World Class Bartender of the Year, the answer begins long before the first pour. While technique is essential, true excellence goes beyond what happens behind the bar.
“It’s not about what you do, but how you do it,” Capasso said. “Besides the technical aspect—which of course requires years of learning—it’s ultimately about the way the drink is delivered and the experience you create for your guest.”
That philosophy came to life in Manila through a two-day Diageo World Class experience celebrating creativity, craftsmanship, and hospitality.
It began on July 15, when Capasso took over The Spirits Library in Poblacion, Makati. Inspired by the flavors and culture of Norway, he introduced guests to a specially curated cocktail menu featuring The Singleton, Don Julio, and Tanqueray No. TEN. Each drink demonstrated how the distinct character of a spirit—from its aroma and texture to its flavor and heritage—can shape every element of a cocktail.
The guest shift featured five cocktails built around three distinctive Diageo spirits. The Singleton brought its smooth orchard fruit and honeyed character to the Strawberry cocktail, Don Julio Blanco’s bright agave notes anchored the savoury Cloudberry cocktail, while Tanqueray No. TEN—distilled from whole fresh citrus fruits—formed the backbone of the Dry Martini, Rhubarb and Negroni. Together, the menu demonstrated how each spirit’s inherent character can inspire a completely different style of cocktail.
But beyond showcasing signature serves, the evening also reflected Capasso’s philosophy that every great cocktail begins with understanding the spirit itself.
“The approaches are almost unlimited,” he explained. “The first step is to understand what guides each spirit, then identify one or two of its defining characteristics—whether that’s texture, aroma, or flavor—and build your concept around them. If you’re inspired by a particular flavor profile, it’s equally important to understand where that character comes from and which part of the spirit-making process created it.”
The conversation continued the following day as Capasso shifted from guest bartender to mentor during an exclusive masterclass for local bartenders to talk about what it takes to win the Diageo World Class Bartending Competition. Rather than teaching recipes alone, he challenged participants to rethink what it truly means to be a bartender and their approach towards the competition.
Drawing a comparison to great chefs, he believes bartenders should understand their ingredients with the same level of precision. That same intentionality extends beyond the bar—Capasso, who is vegan, believes every ingredient deserves thought and respect, a mindset that also shapes the way he approaches cocktail creation.
“Have you ever met a great chef who doesn’t know the DNA of the raw materials they’re working with?” he said. “Every great chef understands them in detail.”
For bartenders, that means looking beyond tasting notes. It means understanding how every stage of production—from raw ingredients and fermentation to distillation and maturation—contributes to a spirit’s aroma, texture, and flavor. Only then, he said, can a bartender create cocktails that elevate, rather than overpower, the base spirit.
“It’s science,” Capasso explained. “Your job as a professional is to understand those factors and then decide how to highlight them in the cocktail.”
The masterclass reflected the broader mission of Diageo World Class, one of the industry’s leading platforms for bartender development. Through education, mentorship, training, global networking opportunities, and the World Class Bartender of the Year competition, the program has helped shape the careers of hundreds of thousands of bartenders worldwide while raising standards in bartending, hospitality, and cocktail culture.
That relentless pursuit of knowledge has defined Capasso’s own career.
Winning the 2025 Diageo World Class Bartender of the Year title was, in his words, “the best moment” of his life—but it also marked the beginning of a new chapter.
“Winning World Class is not the end,” he said. “It’s the beginning.”
The title gave him more than international recognition. It gave him a platform—and with it, a responsibility to mentor others, share meaningful ideas, and stay true to the values that shaped his journey. Traveling the world, meeting bartenders from different cultures, and exchanging knowledge have broadened not only his perspective on cocktails, but also on the global drinks industry.
“Knowledge is power,” Capasso said. “World Class pushes you to perform under pressure, to research, to study, and to work against deadlines. When you sign up for World Class, you learn more in a few months than you probably did in years.”
For Capasso, becoming world class isn’t about collecting trophies or perfecting a single cocktail. It’s about developing the curiosity to keep learning, the discipline to master every aspect of the craft, and the humility to keep improving.
Those were the lessons he brought to Manila—not only through the cocktails he served at The Spirits Library, but through the conversations he shared with local bartenders. In the end, what he left behind was more than a menu or a masterclass. It was a reminder that behind every truly world-class cocktail is a bartender who never stops learning.
