The Friendship Test with Ivy Mix and Lynnette Marrero
Breaking barriers since 2011, Ivy Mix and Lynnette Marrero are the visionaries behind Speed Rack, the world renowned all-female-identifying bartending competition, putting talented, up-and-coming bartenders on the cocktail map, while also raising over $1 million for breast cancer research charities. At this year’s Tales of the Cocktail, SpeedRack celebrated its tenth edition. Pioneers, colleagues and of course great friends, but will these two bar icons stand the Campari Academy Friendship Test?
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The future is yours to create: So-yeon Kim (Alice)So-yeon Kim, also known as Alice, is a bartender based in South Korea whose approach to hospitality is rooted in emotional awareness and quiet observation. Drawn to bartending through curiosity rather than convention, she sees cocktails as moments shaped by memory, mood, and human connection. As a Campari Red Hands APAC 2025 finalist for South […]
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The future is yours to create: Phirun LekPhirun Lek is a lead bartender at SORA Phnom Penh, a venue that marked both the beginning and the foundation of his bartending career. Starting in hospitality through service roles before finding his place behind the bar, his journey reflects steady growth shaped by curiosity, practice, and people. With a mindset rooted in learning and […]
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Drink Like a Local: Macau with Frankie LeongExplore Macau with Frankie Leong, to discover a compact city where Chinese and Portuguese cultures meet through layered histories, late-night rituals, comfort-driven food, and a quietly evolving cocktail scene. Macau is often described through contrast: a city shaped by centuries of exchange between East and West, where Chinese traditions and Portuguese heritage coexist in daily […]
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The future is yours to create: Liu Yuan (Kim)Liu Yuan, also known as Kim, is a bartender at Wing Lei Bar in Macau whose journey into hospitality began with curiosity rather than convention. Drawn into the world of cocktails through a single, formative experience, she approaches bartending with a balance of discipline, creativity, and openness to discovery. As the first bartender from Macau […]
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The future is yours to create: Thanesh JoelThanesh Joel is a bartender whose relationship with hospitality is shaped less by ambition and more by curiosity. Based in Penang and deeply rooted at Backdoor Bodega, his work reflects a mindset driven by understanding, of flavour, systems, and human behaviour. As the Campari Red Hands APAC 2025 finalist for Malaysia, he approaches competition not […]
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The future is yours to create: Hiroyuki YamadaHiroyuki Yamada is a bartender at Bee’s Knees in Kyoto, whose path into hospitality began quietly during his student years. What started as a part-time job at an izakaya became a long-term commitment to service, shaped by daily human interaction and cultural exchange. As the Campari Red Hands APAC 2025 finalist for Japan, he approaches […]
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Bartending as a career: AsiaAs Asia continues to grow in visibility on the global bar stage, we take a look at how the profession has been perceived in the past – and ask how this could be changing. From Tokyo to Goa, six bartenders on the ground tell their stories Biznu Saru has his father to thank for introducing […]
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Flavour of: Singapore – Tropical fruitsShare From calamansi limes, to durian and mangosteen – Singapore’s tropical fruits are a cornerstone of its flavour identity. We get a closer look at five of the most famous A rainbow of flavours and aromas, hidden within rough skins or juicy pulps: Singapore’s tropical fruits cannot be missed when travelling to Southeast Asia. They […]
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Jim Meehan: When it comes to bar design, we all have the power to work with itThe author of ‘The PDT Cocktail Book’ and ‘Meehan’s Bartender Manual’ knows we can’t always choose our dream bar design. But we can work with it. He explains how for owner, management and bartenders After 12 years working behind other operators’ bars – including Audrey Saunders’ Pegu Club and a little-known landmark in Madison, Wisconsin, […]
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The future is yours to create: Liu Yuan (Kim)Liu Yuan, also known as Kim, is a bartender at Wing Lei Bar in Macau whose journey into hospitality began with curiosity rather than convention. Drawn into the world of cocktails through a single, formative experience, she approaches bartending with a balance of discipline, creativity, and openness to discovery. As the first bartender from Macau […]
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Design&Technology: the future of barsHospitality is and has always been a field highly centred around human interaction; whether you provide accommodation for travellers, meals for diners or like many of us, beverages for drinkers – it’s easy to forget all the things that are necessary for this last interaction to happen. Long before you can start thinking about serving […]
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Extracting flavour series: Chris Garden on the process of gin distillationIn the second of our series on extracting flavour, we ask head distiller and co-founder of Hepple Spirits Company, Chris Garden, to explain how the method of distillation impacts the final flavours of gin Distillation has been around for thousands of years. It has travelled across continents, starting in Western Asia in around 1200BC, and […]