Café Vanessa, an upscale bar located on Victoria Island, Lagos, recently played host to top celebrities, fun lovers and captains of industries, as Diageo brand staged an exclusive Cocktail Night, with Diageo Africa Reserve Brand Ambassador and award winning mixologist Tim Etherington-Judge in attendance.

With a standby DJ blasting popular tunes from the woofers, the fun-filled evening was an opportunity for the brand ambassador to showcase an exclusive master class of Diageo spirit brands’ cocktails to the delight of the enthusiastic guests. Aside from party and networking sessions for guests, connoisseurs at the event also got the opportunities to mix their own cocktail under the guidance of the master mixer, Tim.

A first timer in Nigeria, Tim shared his stories, experiences and intimate knowledge of premium brands of Diageo. He inspired guests with the amazing history and heritage of the brands and shared tips on how to enjoy any of the Diageo spirits brands to the fullest, mixing the best of cocktail.

“This is my first visit in Nigeria and I’m delighted to have met so many enthusiastic lovers of sprit drinks. One of the best parts of my job is having the opportunity to travel and meet people around the world to share my knowledge and stories with them.  I believe my audience in Nigeria certainly do know all about the delights and craftsmanship of the best of spirit brands offered by Diageo, the wonderful taste embedded in all of these premium brands. It has been a pleasure for me to be here and I sincerely hope to be here again soon,” Tim enthused.

As part of his activities on his visit to Nigeria, the Hancocks NZ Bartender of the Year Award winner took selected bar tenders across Nigeria through some exquisite spirit cocktail training that left them asking for more.

“We are trying to achieve the bartenders making better drinks because we believe that better drinking, better brands is the future. If you don’t upscale the bartenders, especially in region like Africa, then our brands would not be well represented. It is about bringing the better drinking culture globally. At Diageo, we feel it is our responsibility to help people drink better around the world.”

On his experience with Nigerian bartenders, Tim informed that, “it has been fantastic and I have loved it; the bartenders were of much higher level than I expected. There were insightful questions from the bartenders from the first day and lots of engagements. It is not about mixing the cocktail but helping our guest create their own cocktail and having an engagement with people.”

According to Tim, there’s a great opportunity in Africa as a result of the growing middle class.

“It is also a great opportunity for our reserve brand; we see a great opportunity here as Africa is most exciting region in the world right now. That’s why I came to work on the Africa business because I truly believe this and there are incredible people across the regions; South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, West Africa, East Africa… Africa is incredibly diverse and a wonderful place to be right now.”

Having spent few days with bartenders in Lagos, Tim is already visualizing the bigger picture of bartending in Nigeria.

“I think there’s a lot of passion and willingness to learn and there is a thirst for knowledge. They really want to know, they are passionate. Unfortunately, there is no much education for them. However, I see the industry as enormous in the next 10 years.”

Describing Nigeria as the biggest market for Diageo, Tim believes that there is a huge potential for spirit market in the country.

“Nigerians do have a taste for spirits and at Diageo, we have the biggest brands in the world, we are 100percent committed to working with Nigerians on all of our products; our responsible drinking program too is very important to us.”

On the possibility of Nigeria producing a brand ambassador to represent Diageo, Tim explained that, “we are developing brand ambassadors for each market. This means Nigeria will have its brand ambassador, so also other markets such as Ghana and Cameroon, South Africa already has three. I will continue to travel through the region, but local brand ambassadors will support me. Developing the different market ambassadors is in progress, and it is market by market.”

In 2005, Tim ran a beach resort in the UK, but later moved to New Zealand and became a bartender where he won lots of competitions. He later relocated to India to work with a famous hotel, from where Diageo came calling.

“They asked me if I was interested in joining the team as brand ambassador. I accepted it because it is the preferred portfolio in the world, covering all categories of spirits. And in each industry, it is a leading brand. There are different kinds of brand ambassadors; I’m industry expert, so I come with the expertise and knowledge of the brand and cocktail expertise,” he said.

Asked what he’s taking home from Nigeria, Tim said, “this is my first time in Nigeria; I’m learning more about the Nigerian market, how I can make my presentation work with Nigerians and how the knowledge that I bring be best put to work. Nigeria is much more fun and upbeat,” he declared.

Diageo is the world’s leading premium drinks business with an outstanding collection of beverage alcohol brands across spirits, beer and wine. These brands include Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, J?B, Windsor, Buchanan’s and Bushmills whiskies, Smirnoff, Cîroc and Ketel One vodkas, Baileys, Captain Morgan, Jose Cuervo, Tanqueray and Guinness.