A Hull bar manager is no stranger to creative cocktail-making, having previously designed a signature drink featuring Chip Spice and tipples inspired by Lego and liquorice, among many others.
Last year, it was the tomatillo, or Mexican husk tomato, that featured in a heat-winning cocktail for Matt Smith as he battled other bartenders in a “Margarita Masters” contest. Matt, of The Brain Jar, in Hull’s Old Town, had already earned a top 20 placing earlier in 2024 in the World Class competition, a prestigious global challenge run by Diageo Bar Academy.
Now, Matt is back bidding for World Class stardom after being placed in the top ten contenders from Great Britain hoping to lift the 2025 world title. In around 60 nations, the best bartenders are selected in advance to then travel to the global finals – this year’s will be held in Toronto, in September – and prizes for the overall winner include all-expenses-paid trips to Toronto and New York City; VIP entry to two of the best sporting events in the country; VIP entry to two coveted music events and a two-year talent representation with Global Bartending.
Matt, who will meet with the other nine finalists in June to find out who will represent GB, created a number of “serves” that got him to this stage. They included A Singular Construct, a frozen cocktail featuring single malt whisky and a fiery core of Scotch Bonnet coconut “spice cream”.
Also featuring was The Yorkshire Grasshopper – a drink featuring tequila, clarified blue cheese syrup and an edible grasshopper to top it off – and The Zen Garden, a non-alcoholic cocktail made with a botanical spirit and pink soda, the latter being the drink that advanced him to the final stage.
(Image: Matt Smith/The Brain Jar)
Matt said: “Last year, they sent the judges around the country to your bar; this year, they got everybody grouped together to do a roadshow and I went to Manchester, where I was given a Don Julio Blanco Tequila serve.
“I had to import edible grasshoppers from Mexico for it. There was this one little bag that was forty quid-plus.
“They are really tasty; actually they taste quite a lot like they have been dipped in Chip Spice. The whole point was to bridge the gap between Mexico and your locality, so in my case, Yorkshire.”
Matt said he wanted to make it a broader focus than Hull – “I’m from York originally and went to university in Leeds” – as he had put a lot of concentration on Hull flavours before, with his Chip Spice and sage (patties) references. “The judged serves were a presentation as well, not just making the cocktails.
“I said in mine how last year, I was so nervous, a bundle of energy. Since then and a couple of competitions later, I’m a lot more focused with that energy.”
(Image: Matt Smith/The Brain Jar)
A spokesperson for World Class said: “Matthew is in great company in the top 10, with bartenders across the UK from Birmingham, London and Leeds and more. The top 10 finalists will be selected to attend a three-day immersive event in London or Scotland, culminating in the crowning of one winner, who will represent Great Britain on the global stage in Toronto in September; once again offering our talented bartenders the opportunity to achieve international acclaim.”
The Brain Jar’s Ash Ombler also made it through as a top 100 bartender in the competition. Separately, Matt is also representing the UK in the Jameson Black Barrel Bartender Series 2025, paying tribute to Hull again, and its street art culture, with his cocktail, Dead Bod.
Inspired by the city’s iconic graffiti-turned-art piece, it incorporates beetroot from a Hull community allotment for “earthy sweetness”, while roasted dandelion root, “a humble street ingredient”, echoes Black Barrel’s oaky, smoky depth. Matt said of competing: “There’s a lot to factor in, these competitions are on top of the normal day-to-day job.
“It’s all added on as an extra but there’s a lot of fun involved.” Matt said: “We do a lot of takeovers at the moment.
“The Brain Jar goes on tour to other bars and takes over service for the day – we go to Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham, all over the country – and when people think about cocktails in this region, they’ve heard of Hull because of us.”